Richard Elman

I can recall photographs of Comrade Ulbricht being embraced by Comrade Brezhnev, which must have been like putting your arms around Grant's Tomb.

Now, past middle age, with so many books written I still care about and only a few still in print, I know the feeling of being overlooked.

If you're famous and supposedly wise, it's always a good idea to have a tape recorder in the room. Never can tell when you might spew out a line or two worth printing somewhere.

When I write that I've known about something for a long time, that's not a boast. That's a confession. It's me acknowledging that I have withheld something important from the public.

It's an ear job, not an eye job.

I was a bit challenged when I was younger to stay on the right path.