People Don't Die From The Old Diseases

And We Passed Through The Cavern Of Rats. And We Passed Through The Path Of Boiling Steam. And We Passed Through The Country Of The Blind. And We Passed Through The Slough Of Despond. And We Passed Through The Vale Of Tears. And We Came, Finally, To The Ice Caverns.

My Philosophy Of Life Is That The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing But Debasement, Frustration And Ignoble Deaths; That There Is Security In Personal Strength; That You Can Fight City Hall And Win; That Any Action Is Better Than No Action, Even If It's The Wrong Action; That You Never Reach Glory Or Self-fulfillment Unless You're Willing To Risk Everything, Dare Anything, Put Yourself Dead On The Line Every Time; And That Once One Becomes Strong Or Rich Or Potent Or Powerful It Is The Responsibility Of The Strong To Help The Weak Become Strong.

There Is No Nobler Chore In The Craft Of Writing Than Holding Up The Mirror Of Reality And Turning It Slightly, So We Have A New And Different Perception Of The Commonplace, The Everyday, The 'normal,' The Obvious. People Are Reflected In The Glass. The Fantasy Situation Into Which You Thrust Them Is The Mirror Itself. And What We Are Shown Should Illuminate And Alter Our Perception Of The World Around Us. Failing That, You Have Failed Totally.

Time Is Like A River Flowing Endlessly Through The Universe. And If You Poled Your Flatboat In That River You Might Fight Your Way Against The Current And Travel Upstream Into The Past. Or Go With The Flow And Rush Into The Future. This Was In A Less Cynical Time Before Toxic Waste Dumping And Pollution Filled The Waterway Of Chronus With The Detritus Of Empty Hours Wasted Minutes Years Of Repetition And Time That Has Been Killed.

Entertain, Yes. That Goes Without Saying. But A Good Writer Does That Automatically, It's Built Into The Machine. Telling A Thumpingly Good, Mesmerizing Story Is What One Does Without Question. But Beyond That, Any Writer Worth His/her Hire Knows That All Writing, One Way Or Another, Is Subversive. It Is Guerrilla Warfare Against The Status Quo.