Inspirational Quotes from Great Literature.

You know that James Wright-y feeling you get when you look back on the last year or so of your life and see it amounts to nothing more than staring at a screen writing words nobody will ever read, both professionally and for pleasure? Well, a heavy wave of that burnt-retina despair washed over me last night, children.

So I did the only thing a person can do under the circumstances. I poured a glass of whiskey and I got out The Long Winter for inspiration. Because as pointless as contract-writing life seems, it's like a day at a beauty spa compared to the Blizzards of '80 - '81. As usual, the reading worked like a charm (the whiskey worked like an alcohol.)

Here are the most inspirational quotes I came across.

1. How brave Laura is here. "Just" buying something, she says. As if buying something were easy! As if it were something people did every day of the week! How can a person not be inspired in the face of such heroic stoicism?

2. You may have thought that only 20th and 21st century people knew how to "peace out," but Pa Ingalls was doing it long before it was cool. (And long before the spelling change.)

3. See what I mean? I may think it's boring to stare at a computer all day--BUT AT LEAST I DON'T HAVE ICICLES IN MY MUSTACHE!

Eating Leaves.

One thing that hopefully has changed by the time you exist and are reading this is that your father often accuses me of "only eating leaves." As in, "All you ever eat is leaves!"

Of course, children, this couldn't be further from the truth. I also eat a number of roots and tubers, and occasionally a flower or two (including asparagus and broccoli).

Nevertheless, I admit that when he traveled to visit his brother (your Uncle Charles) last week, I found myself preparing an awful lot of "leafy" dinners.

Like this one, made of leaves on a bed of rice.


And this, composed of leaves and raisins and seeds.


And this one of leftover leaves with other leftover footstuffs.


OH MY GOD, I KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING. This is like in On the Banks of Plum Creek, when the grasshoppers come and eat "every green thing" and the Ingalls family can't make a crop and then Mary gets the scarlet fever and it settles in her eyes and she goes BLIND!


AND I'M THE GRASSHOPPERS!!!!

... I'm so sorry, Mary. And I'm so ashamed.