"There is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America." ~Barack Obama

"I live my life everyday in the best way that I can. I try to be decent and fair to the people I know and the people I don't. I work hard, I stop at crosswalks, and I pay taxes. I love my family, my friends, and my dog Riley. I recycle, I volunteer, and I try to be conscious of the world I inhabit... I also happen to be gay, and like all of you, no matter your orientation, I just want to love and be loved at the end of the day."
~John Palmer, on why we should vote NO on Prop 8 in California

"Giving up, selling out, cashing in, or simply moving on. In bluesy times, these can seem like reasonable, even attractive, options. But sometimes, in the midst of an outright mutiny, the best alternative is to just chain yourself to the masthead and wait out the storm. Play with your kid. Plant a garden. Write songs." ~Stacey DeWolfe, The Dears bio

"You think that's garbage?!... I always finish my pastries. Always!" ~jG Francis to me, regarding his half-eaten brownie

“What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do - especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.” ~William Least Heat-Moon

"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential." ~Barack Obama

"Just a warning; Memphis will make you do crazy things like eat a dizzying amount of dry ribs after 10 years of vegetarianism."
~Heidi Fikstad, whereisheidi

"We are competitive. But when you look at examples of great competitions you will see boundaries, goals, parameters. Capitalism and greed have no end, a ball game or a race to the moon have clear end goals achieved by groups of individuals and celebrated by many.

The only thing that capitalism has "given" us is Rock and Roll and that didn't come from competition, it came from revolution. And now, in the spirit of Chuck Berry..."
~Sara Kaye Larson, kayekilla

"Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe." ~Anatole France

"Heartbreak never sounded so good."
~Bill Dahl, on Otis Redding

"Those who do not move, do not notice their chains."
~Rosa Luxemburg (thanks Sara)

"This is a nice treat - you got hummus in Arkansas!"
~jG Francis, in Fort Smith, Arkansas

"The only weapon I keep in my house is my girlfriend's baton from when she was a majorette."
~Cort Williams, over a PBR at the Lamplighter Lounge in Memphis

"Nothing against the Louvre. But you can't dance to DaVinci." ~The Stax Museum brochure

"I wouldn't leave you to go to heaven."
~Larry D'Mongo, owner of Detroit's D'Mongo's Speakeasy

"Seeing you guys out and about reminded me that we really are citizens of the world. Our destiny is huge."
~Sara Kaye Larson, via email

"I can't remember his name, I'm having a senior moment."
~Mary Babcock (Ron's mom), the baddest ass "senior" I've ever met

"I enjoyed breakfast with you this morn and the memory of Gus and the delicious looking bacon on your sandwich will live on in my brain forever."
~Jamie Sue Masters to Kimberly Faith Waid, via a love letter

"Welcome to Budweiser." ~Phelan Wibecam to jG, upon drinking his first Budweiser at 34

"Man, I've gotta pee like a horse, but unlike a horse, I will pee in the toilet." ~Ben Pringle

"I just felt something happen in my shorts."
~Heidi Fikstad, upon sitting down

"Life will always throw you curves, just keep fouling them off... the right pitch will come, but when it does, be prepared to run the bases." ~Rick Maksian

Builders and warriors, strengthen the steps.
Reader, if you have not grasped — read again,
after a while.
The predestined is not accidental,
The leaves fall in their time.
And winter is but the harbinger of spring.
All is revealed; all is attainable.

~Nicholas Roerich

I get by with a little help from my friends. ~The Beatles

"Heaven, period. On, period. Earth, period."
~Chris Keslar, on Dollywood

"And if you can't survive in this world, you had better make a world of your own." ~Jeanette Winterson, Lighthousekeeping

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I don't care what other people think about us. I know we're a good team. Our whole team knows what we're capable of. As long as we believe in ourselves, that's all we need."
~Russell Martin (GO DODGERS!), mlb.com

"When they start the game, they don't yell, "Work ball." They say, "Play ball." ~Willie Stargell

"I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us." ~Walt Whitman

"I saw you lookin' at me."
~the bro wearing his sunglasses indoors at night, hitting on a Hooter's girl in Hollywood