The State Of Perpetual Emptiness Is, Of

Among All The Emotions, The Rich Have The Least Talent For Love. It Is Possible To Love One's Dog, Dress Or Duck-shooting Hat, But A Human Being Presents A More Difficult Problem. The Rich Might Wish To Experience Feelings Of Affection, But It Is Almost Impossible To Chip Away The Enamel Of Their Narcissism. They Take Up All The Space In All The Mirrors In The House. Their Children, Who Represent The Most Present And Therefore The Most Annoying Claim On Their Attention, Usually Receive The Brunt Of Their Irritation.

The Future Turns Out To Be Something That You Make Instead Of Find. It Isn't Waiting For Your Arrival, Either With An Arrest Warrant Or A Band, Nor Is It Any Further Away Than The Next Sentence, The Next Best Guess, The Next Sketch For The Painting Of A Life Portrait That Might Become A Masterpiece. The Future Is An Empty Canvas Or A Blank Sheet Of Paper, And If You Have The Courage Of Your Own Thought And Your Own Observation, You Can Make Of It What You Will.

It Is No Accident That Banks Resemble Temples, Preferably Greek, And That The Supplicants Who Come To Perform The Rites Of Deposit And Withdrawal Instinctively Lower Their Voices Into The Registers Of Awe. Even The Most Junior Tellers Acquire Within Weeks Of Their Employment The Officiousness Of Hierophants Tending An Eternal Flame.

Most Of The Ladies And Gentlemen Who Mourn The Passing Of The Nation's Leaders Wouldn't Know A Leader If They Saw One. If They Had The Bad Luck To Come Across A Leader, They Would Find Out That He Might Demand Something From Them, And This Impertinence Would Put An Abrupt And Indignant End To Their Wish For His Return.

To The United States The Third World Often Takes The Form Of A Black Woman Who Has Been Made Pregnant In A Moment Of Passion And Who Shows Up One Day In The Reception Room On The Forty-ninth Floor Threatening To Make A Scene. The Lawyers Pay The Woman Off; Sometimes Uniformed Guards Accompany Her To The Elevators.