As a boy, I was a member of a club run by the famous reptile showman Ross Allen, and the club sent its members pseudoscientific papers mimeographed on construction paper with a three-hole punch. Padgett Powell More Quotes by Padgett Powell More Quotes From Padgett Powell Have you come over time to think that you know more now than you did when you were young, know less now than when young, know now there is so much more to know than you knew there was to know when young that it is moot whether you think you knew more then than now or less, or do you now know that you never knew anything at all and never will and only the bluster of youth persuaded you that you did or would? Padgett Powell bluster youth thinking I've had an addiction for a long time to the whole business of maximizing one's potential, what I call human activation. The vehicle for actualizing oneself is choice, options, seeking out the proper choices. Padgett Powell addiction choices long Life is a sandwich of activity between two periods of bed-wetting. Padgett Powell bed sandwiches two If you could have a famous writer, dead or alive, write an obituary for you and really puff you up to have been something you weren’t, perhaps, or otherwise take liberties with your memory, what writer would you choose? Padgett Powell liberty writing memories Writing books is a nice retreat. There's nothing quite like diving into a book for a few hours. That is a big time vacation. Padgett Powell nice writing book There's a lot of phones; but I'm out of that field. They make me feel like a prisoner of war; there's not going to be any texting for me. The pre-paid phone is the frontier of my technological advance. Padgett Powell texting phones war That's part of fiction, creating a world better than the one you live in. Padgett Powell creating fiction world Notable American Women is a weird nougat of a book that suggests Coetzee, Kafka, Beckett, Barthelme, O'Brien, Orwell, Paley, Borges-and none of them exactly. Finally you just have to chew it for its own private juice. Padgett Powell juice notable book Even if you're the worst writer in the world, at least you'll have the evidence. Padgett Powell evidence worst world Is a gesture of charity genuine or is it a kind of deep moral tax write-off? Padgett Powell gestures charity writing I knew I was supposed to be a writer; I had made that declaration in the closet of my soul. Padgett Powell closets soul made Heavy booze is a big time vacation, but you come back with a headache. Padgett Powell headache vacation bigs It's hard to say conversation has become a minimal thing, because look at the rise of mobile communications in the last 10 years. It used to be only the President had a mobile phone. Now everyone on earth, even if they have nothing else, they have a cell phone. It's a larger anthropological shift in my mind than even the tattoo age in the United States. Padgett Powell phones communication tattoo Conversations are the most direct way to connect with people. Padgett Powell conversation people way I don't know any more about America than one knows being trapped in it. Padgett Powell trapped knows america Cholesterol to go with alcohol; all the bad things in English-speaking life end in -ol. Padgett Powell cholesterol alcohol ends If I tell you that I have robbed a bank, prepare the correct reaction. Padgett Powell reactions ifs Many parks in Florida have information kiosks with colorful enamel signs showing the special flora and fauna in the park. The gopher tortoise, the scrub jay, the indigo snake. At no park with an indigo snake on its kiosk signs could I find an indigo. Padgett Powell snake colorful information special Military brats have this toughness: they're almost like orphans or foster children; they develop little mechanisms. It sets you up to look at things a little differently. Padgett Powell things look you children An indigo snake leaves a lasting impression. Padgett Powell leaves snake lasting impression
