From a new book entitled Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems by Gail Carson Levine:

I have torn
down
the water
spout

which
you obsessively
wanted to climb up
and slide off forever

Forgive me
kick your habit
spin a web
catch a bug.

"I come from an academic family, and we like to think things through--then think about whether the process of thinking them through was as thorough as it could be, then write a book about it. (A book that takes twenty years.)"
Ben Ryder Howe, from My Korean Deli . . .

Favorite new Children's Book of the Week:

Give Probability a Chance

Overheard at the public library:

"Those baby hyenas are soooooo cute!"

A Little Advice from Harper Lee Letters of Note featured Harper Lee's thoughtful 2006 response to a young fan of To Kill a Mockingbird who had requested a signed photo, but received instead "this lovely piece of advice from the author that is far more precious." Lee wrote: "As you grow up, always tell the truth, do no harm to others, and don't think you are the most important being on earth. Rich or poor, you then can look anyone in the eye and say, 'I'm probably no better than you, but I'm certainly your equal.' "

Steve Jobs' last words, as told by his sister to the Washington Post. He was looking slightly above his family members and said "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow."

The Wizard of OZ: "The ultimate chick flick: two women trying to kill each other over shoes."

"In America any boy may become President, and I suppose it's just one of the risks he takes."
-Adlai Stevenson-

Nancy's Take on World Affairs

Nancy and I were talking about all the trouble spots in the world, and trying to figure out anyplace that wasn't a trouble spot and she said "The whole world should put their heads down on their desks." Nose to the wall, or sit on a chair might work, too.

From George Steinbrenner's obituary in The New York Times: "Steinbrenner was given a vintage New York sendoff: 'Good riddance and God bless.'"

"The world was my oyster but I used the wrong fork." Oscar Wilde

On the marquee at Vineyard Nursery

"Spiring is coming!" "Seed Staring Kits."

Jill Castillo, Sunbeam, in Primary this morning: "I know another Church song. "My Bonnie Lies in the Ocean."

Famous last words from the Children's Department: "I can carry a heavy backpack with my teeth. Just watch!"

Never suppress a generous impulse. Camilla Kimball

From the "rude but true" department, a bumper sticker I saw on the way to work this morning: HONK if you have intercepted Max Hall. ha ha

"With my luck, I will die the night before the Resurrection and have to get up the next morning and go to work." LeGrand Richards

From the NPR Reader's Quotations Blog: "We were told that if one locked a million monkeys in a room with a million typewriters they would eventually produce the Complete Works of Shakespeare. Thanks to the Internet, we know that isn't true."

From the Extreme Bulls rodeo in Rapid City

"That bull could have knocked him nekkid."

Like Park Avenue debutantes, our Holsteins were high maintenance, moved in packs, and were immune to reasoning or punishment. Though we assumed that they were dumb as fence posts, they didn't have to outsmart us--they merely wore us down with repetition. Whatever they had done today, they would find a way to do again tomorrow.
Amy Dickinson in The Mighty Queens of Freeville