There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before. - Willa Cather

It's all very well to tell us to forgive our enemies; our enemies can never hurt us very much. But oh, what about forgiving our friends?

Men are all right for friends, but as soon as you marry them they turn into cranky old fathers, even the wild ones. They begin to tell you what's sensible and what's foolish, and want you to stick at home all the time. I prefer to be foolish when I feel like it, and be accountable to nobody.

It must have been the scarcity of detail in that tawny landscape that made detail so precious.