It Is Difficult To Be King When

Millions Upon Millions Of Years Ago, When The Continents Were Already Formed And The Principal Features Of The Earth Had Been Decided, There Existed, Then As Now, One Aspect Of The World That Dwarfed All Other ... A Mighty Ocean, Resting Uneasily To The East Of The Largest Continent, A Restless Ever-changing, Gigantic Body Of Water That Would Later Be Described As Pacific.

I Had Learned Volleyball In The Navy, Where All The Captains And Admirals Wanted To Be Spikers, And I Found Then That A Man Who Can Subdue His Own Desires And Master The Art Of Serving Others Can Make Himself Invaluable. In Choosing Sides The Team Captain Always Chose The Good Spikers On The First And Second Choice, But Then The Spikers Would Grab His Arm And Whisper, 'take Michener.' I Was Never Chosen Lower Than Third, Because I Was Needed. I Wasn't Good, But I Was Faithful.

America Is A Nation With Many Flaws, But Hopes So Vast That Only The Cowardly Would Refuse To Acknowledge Them.

Only Another Writer, Someone Who Had Worked His Heart Out On A Good Book Which Sold Three Thousand Copies, Could Appreciate The Thrill That Overcame Me One April Morning In 1973 When Dean Rivers Of Our Small College In Georgia Appeared At My Classroom Door

I Think The Bottom Line Is That If You Get Through A Childhood Like Mine, It's Not At All Bad. Obviously, You Come Out A Pretty Tough Turkey, And You Have Had All The Inoculations You Need To Keep You On A Level Keel For The Rest Of Your Life. The Sad Part Is, Most Of Us Don't Come Out.