The Quotable.

Much of what I see on social media seems to consist of platitudes, obviousisms or banalities. 

To be fair, social media for me is really only LinkedIn and Twitter. I left Facebook because of their support for hate, racism and fascism--and their lies. I never joined Instagram and refuse to even consider submitting myself to a Chinese/Surveillance-state platform like Tik Tok.

Nevertheless, who am I, a lowly blogger to swim against the current? 

In fact, not long ago, I read Dwight Garner's wonderful, quirky selection of quotations pictured above. Garner's collection is excellent. If you're ever "stuck," in need of an idea, or just want a laugh or something to think about, you could do worse than buying yourself a copy. Here's an essay by Garner on his collection.

And here's a short story by me, and about me punctuated with just a smattering of my favorite quotations chosen from Garner's eclectic and voracious reading.

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George is a genial enough guy. 

He was good at many things, but especially at rubbing people the wrong way. Backed into a corner, George might cry,

George consoled himself with his usual solipsistic pep talk. 'No one's perfect,' he'd mumble to himself. 'Besides, 

So, George trudged ahead. Never resting. Like a soldier on a death march. Or a marathoner. Or someone walking to pay his overdue taxes. Trudging. Trudging. Trudging. Never letting up. Over the years, the relentless press, the un-ending effort wore George down. One foot in front of the other. Again and again. Inexorably.

It was small consolation but George said...

but at least I'm alive. It's better to die a washed-up corpse than a fresh corpse.

"That's about the stupidest thing I've ever heard," said Laura, George's wife, as she was watching him type.

"You know," George barked, "your constant imprecations are wearing on me. In fact, they're boring me."

Laura, as feisty as an underfed boxer came back at her husband, saying,

"What's more," she added, 

They ended there. But secretly George hoped that,