The Puritans thought they could simply repress man's sexual nature, and they reaped a whirlwind as a result. Their code of sexual morality -- which became America's -- was nothing more than a set of rules laid down by people who believed that all pleasure was suspect.

Ageism is a variation of racism or sexism, all the other isms.

Since time immemorial, youth has set the universal standard of physical beauty, and the reason is simply that a shapely firm young face and body are more attractive sexually and aesthetically than bulges, sags and wrinkles.

As big as my dreams were they certainly didn't begin to match what came to pass. Who could have imagined a life like this before the fact?

My parents are wonderful people and they instilled in me an idealism for which I'm grateful.... But my parents also raised a son whose skepticism of bullshit included even the bullshit they themselves accepted.