Richard Derus

“I realize I've sometimes raced over the years like an ice skater fleeing the devil on a frozen river.”
― Howard Norman, What Is Left the Daughter

“Early on, I'd got a sample of how Cornelia Tell questioned all motives for politeness. I'd sat down and said, "Would it be too much trouble if I got a scone with my coffee?" Cornelia Tell shot back, "Even if it does cause me trouble, do you still want a scone?" I never put it that way again, believe me. I just said, "I'd like a scone.”
― Howard Norman, What Is Left the Daughter

“Even while you paid attention to what you must do today and tomorrow, you heard the receding sound of what you had relinquished.”
― Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose

“I complain about the United States not being Athens. I certainly say we are a very good Roman republic, and the lies are based upon the most advanced techniques of advertising, which is the only art form my country has ever created—the television commercial—and we sell soap and presidents in the same fashion. Once a country is habituated to liars, it takes generations to bring the truth back.”
― Gore Vidal, Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia