“... if you give it wings, it wants to fly away. ”

“Losing a mate to death is devastating but it's not a personal attack like divorce. When somebody you love stops loving you and walks away, it's an insult beyond comparison.”

“If the phone rings...then you and I, greedy newshounds that we are, will jump up -- even if it rings during the good part -- and chase that perverse thrill of another big headline, another shocking story. We'll shake our heads that it excites us so, but we will give up sleep, food and love for the story.”

“Never trust a man who dresses too well or stays too clean. It ain't natural and whatever he's up to probably ain't legal.”

“Christmas makes me schmaltzy. I'm proud to be level-headed, even a little tough most of the time. But once a year I like to believe that peace on earth may be possible and calories don't count.”

“Reporters can't douse flames or soothe burns. They have no control over the horrors they witness. But if they can overcome fear and physical obstacles and wrestle the monster to the page before the sun comes up, it's a victory -- not just for the newspaper staff but for all those sleeping soundly who will find the facts at their fingertips and all those victims whose suffering won't go unnoticed.”

“While the novelist is banging on his typewriter, the poet is watching a fly in the windowpane.”