“Poor empty pants with nobody inside them.”

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who’ll decide where to go.

You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.

Everything stinks till it’s finished.

Unless someone like you comes around, things will never change.

Only you can control your future.

Kid, you’ll move mountains.

Because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing.

You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!

You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.

Cause when a guy does something stupid once, well that’s because he’s a guy. But if he does the same stupid thing twice, that’s usually to impress some girl.

You are you. Now, isn’t that pleasant?

Fiction is my addiction

It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become.

Making a decision to write was a lot like deciding to jump into a frozen lake.

Everyone must believe in something. I believe I’ll have another beer.

Money is not everything but it ranks right up there with oxygen.

The funniest people are the saddest ones.

I did not attend his funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.

I only drink Champagne on two occasions, when I am in love and when I am not.

I think that I’m so psychotic and so mentally ill that if I could tap into that I could do something really interesting.

Whenever someone refers to me as someone “who happens to be black,” I wonder if they realize that both my parents are black. If I had turned out to be Scandinavian or Chinese, people would have wondered what was going on.