I Miss It Every Minute, And I

Real Destiny Takes Everything-the Last Drop Of Blood, And Strip Out Your Veins To Be Sure-and Gives It Back Doubled. Quadrupled. A Thousand-fold! But You Can't Give Halves. You Have To Give It All. I Know. I Swear. I've Come Back From The Dead To Speak The Truth To You. Real Destiny Gives You A Mountain Of Life, And Puts You On Top Of It.

Think Of The Glory. Think Of Your Reputation. Think How Great It'll Look On Your Next Resume." On My Cenotaph, You Mean. Nobody Will Be Able To Collect Enough Of My Scattered Atoms To Bury. You Going To Cover My Funeral Expenses, Son?" Splendidly. Banners, Dancing Girls, And Enough Beer To Float Your Coffin To Valhalla." - Miles Coaxing Ky Tung To Agree To An Almost Suicidal Mission

Reputation Is What Other People Know About You. Honor Is What You Know About Yourself.

You Don't Pay Back Your Parents. You Can't. The Debt You Owe Them Gets Collected By Your Children, Who Hand It Down In Turn. It's A Sort Of Entailment. Or If You Don't Have Children Of The Body, It's Left As A Debt To Your Common Humanity. Or To Your God, If You Possess Or Are Possessed By One. The Family Economy Evades Calculation In The Gross Planetary Product. It's The Only Deal I Know Where, When You Give More Than You Get, You Aren't Bankrupted - But Rather, Vastly Enriched.

I've Described My Usual Writing Process As Scrambling From Peak To Peak On Inspiration Through Foggy Valleys Of Despised Logic. Inspiration Is Better When You Can Get It.