Richard Ford

"Happiness for me is getting to write about the most important things I know."

"America beats on you so hard the whole time. You are constantly being pummeled by other people's rights and their sense of patriotism."

"If I could have married my wife and been a sports writer for the past 30 years, I wouldn't be sitting here - but I don't think I'd be sitting someplace where I was sorry to be sitting."