Russell Baker

"The only thing I was fit for was to be a writer, and this notion rested solely on my suspicion that I could not be fit for anything else."

"Irrational exuberance has welled up in our markets."

"All the President's men were not very nice people, but they were smart and they were effective."

"A person is wise if he listens to lots of advice and forgets all of it."

"The hours when I write are the only hours when I feel entirely myself."

"Especially in Hollywood, they've got this thing where if you're not a name, you're not a person."

"I'm an old-fashioned guy, and I believe that it is still a virtue to own what you do."

"Life is a gift, and as I've learned, it's a very short gift."

"There is something about a writer that makes you want to be alone with him for about ten minutes."

"The charm of History and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different."

"It takes all kinds of people to make the world go round."

"The fashion industry is a bad, bad place."

"To eat is human, to actually enjoy it is divine."

"Children despise their parents until the age of forty."

"Happiness is a real, tangible thing—but so is unhappiness."

"I don't know if there are men on the moon, but if there are they must be using NASA to live there."

"The pace of science surpasses the pace of ethics."

"A writer is someone who has taught their mind to misbehave."

"Do something every day that scares you."

"Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives."

"As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands—one for helping yourself, one for helping others."

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too?'"

"The secret of being happy is accepting where you are in life and making the most of it."

"Life is a lot like jazz. Improvisation is at the heart of it."

"What is a leader? A leader is someone who takes you where you don't think you can go."

"The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy."

"In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves."

"There is something about being a writer that is very much like being a spy."

"The average American family is not average anymore."

"Computers are supposed to save us time but they don't."