"An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life. 'There's a great fight going on inside of all of us,' he told him, 'and it's a fight between two wolves. One is evil. He has anger, envy, guilt, sorrow and ego, and the other is good; He is joy, love, hope, truth and faith.' The grandson asked, 'which wolf will win?' and the chief replied, 'The one you feed.'"--from an episode of 90210

The great fight. Does it ever diminish? It seems to me we fight for things our entire lives. We fight for people, for dreams, for change and stability. For life. Lately, I've fought for success. I crave it, and not because my fictional characters depend on me to find them 'homes' but because I can't rest until they are at peace. This sense of obligation controls my life. And so there is an evil wolf in me because the anger, envy, sorrow and ego bash in my skull at times, but the good wolf keeps me going. It's about faith, I think, because if I didn't have it I wouldn't still be writing after all these years, and I wouldn't be so intrigued by information I hear on television, the radio or from a stranger's mouth. I wouldn't believe that the good wolf can prevail, and will, if I feed her well and often. No one out there has perfected this struggle. If they have, then they aren't human.

"What's complicated? I don't live in a cave; I get it. The rich girls steal, the pretty girls lie, the smart girls play dumb, and the dumb girls spend their days trying to be all of the above."--from a character from Pretty Little Liars

My, how this character stereotypes girls. I wonder, though, is there truth to this? What do you think?

"No poet and no historian and no man skilled in any kind of writing has been able to please all his readers in every respect. Nor is it possible for human nature, whatever its achievement, to gain the unqualified approval of all." --from Diodorus Siculus (ca. 60-30 B.C.), Book 26.

"All husbands are a little insane. There will be a time you're thinking, 'what the hell did I marry this guy for,' and then like it will snow and he'll put chains on your tires and then you'll remember why you married him."--from Roseanne

What woman can dispute this? You know you've stared at your man at least once in your relationship and thought, What level is his brain working on?

"Attention shoppers. If you've lost your kid, please come to customer service to claim him."--in Walmart, over the intercom

What is he? Luggage?

"If you live to be hundred, I want to be hundred minus one day...so I never have to live without you."--Winnie the Pooh

You know you have someone in your life you feel this way about. Think of that person. Now go share this quote with them.

"Dr. Haggen was right when she said memories can either push us forward or hold us back. I carry the memory of Hannah like a soldier carries his rifle into war, a war most people don't even know exists, a war that may someday engulf us all."--from a show on the Syfy channel, and of course the name completely escapes me now

I love the simile, though, the equation of memories being attached to people like weapons are attached to men in war. Weapons are dangerous, as everyone knows, but memories can be, too. And when you feel them, slamming into you with each breath you take, they can knock you down until there's barely anything left of you. It's interesting the way things get into people's heads, and stay there, particularly when you want these memories to just drift away, like soldiers can when they come home from war.