I’ve never understood a society of want. We don’t have a society of want — not on a general level. We have a society of total surplus: unwanted goods… - Studs Terkel

It was an exciting community, where we lived in Washington. The basic feeling — and I don’t think this is just nostalgia — was one of excitement, of achievement, of happiness. Life was important, life was significant.

What's it like to be that goofy little soldier, scared stiff, with his bayonet aimed at Christ? What's it like to have been a woman in a defense-plant job during World War II? What's it like to be a kid at the front lines? It's all funny and tragic at the same time

So, my credo consists of the pursuit and the act. One without the other is self-indulgence.