Lesbianism has always seemed to me an extremely inventive response to a shortage of men, but otherwise not worth the trouble. – Nora Ephron, Heartburn, 1983

I have the solution to the “problem” of gays in the military: Soldiers who are not afraid of guns, bombs, capture, torture, or death say they are afraid of homosexuals. Clearly, we should not be used as soldiers; we should be used as weapons. – Robert Patrick, Los Angeles, California, letter to the editor, The Advocate, 199

Resolve to be thyself; and know that he who finds himself, loses his misery. – Matthew Arnold, "Self-Dependence," Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems,