“I addressed the scribes directing, speaking over his head. "History is merely a list of surprises," I said. "It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again. Please write that down.”

“History is merely a list of surprises,' I said. 'It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again. Please write that down.”

“Because' I repeated, as a breeze blew over us, "sometimes things just happen. That aren't expected. Or on the list." "Such as?" he asked"I don't know," I said, frustrated. "That's the point. It would be out of the blue, taking us by surprise. Something we might not be prepared for.""But we will be prepared," he said, confused. "We'll have the list.”

“I don’t put my name and address on the return address section of an envelope. I simply write “Surprise!”

“To be prepared against surprise is to be trained. To be prepared for surprise is to be educated.”

“No SurprisesA heart that’s full up like a landfill,a job that slowly kills you,bruises that won’t heal.You look so tired-unhappy,bring down the government,they don’t, they don’t speak for us.I’ll take a quiet life,a handshake of carbon monoxide,with no alarms and no surprises,no alarms and no surprises,no alarms and no surprises,Silent silence.This is my final fit,my final bellyache,with no alarms and no surprises,no alarms and no surprises,no alarms and no surprises please.Such a pretty houseand such a pretty garden.No alarms and no surprises,no alarms and no surprises,no alarms and no surprises please.”