But to sustain a marriage for 50 years you have to get real a little bit and find someone who is understanding and who you can grow with. My mom always says 'Marry the man who loves you a millimeter more.'

I feel most empires fell when they started to act human but then look at Russia. They kept a pretty strong hand and they fell from Afghanistan alone because Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires. I guess you just can't sustain it.

Writing is a solitary occupation. Family friends and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone uninterrupted and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking.

Probably nothing serious or worthwhile can be accomplished without one's willingness to be alone for sustained periods of time which is not to say that one must live alone obsessively.

Look at the Afghans during the time of the Soviet invasion. They were among the poorest Muslims in the world yet they were sustained by their faith in God and God alone.