These Were People... Who Built Redwood Decks

And Sandy Martindale ... Dated Elvis Before The Rhinestone Jumpsuits And The Drugs, When He Was Sharp And Cool And Jagged, Like Porcelain That Has Been Hurled Against A Wall.

When You're A Sportswriter, You Learn How To Use Your Imagination And To Flex Your Literary Muscle, Because It's The Same Game Played Over And Over Again. There's Nothing Unique Or Marvelous. It's Not An Earthquake, Or A Weird Mass Murder. It's Just The Same Old Game Played Over And Over, And You Have To Bring Out The Personalities. You Have To Drag Them Kicking And Screaming Out Into The Light Of Day, Or You're Not A Good Sportswriter.

You Do Not Hate The Time You Waste; It Evokes A Much More Passive Emotion Than That. You Only Wish You Had It Back, Like A Quarter In An Unlucky Slot Machine.

It Wasn't That I Had Gotten It Right . . . But That I Had Gotten True.

I Believe That If We Are Going To Write About Life And Death, We Should Not Do It From The Cheap Seats.