“I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on arch...” — Jennifer Egan Quote

“I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! I actually wrote to a number of archeology departments and offered up my services.”

“I love how close New York is to Europe; I love the seasons, and I don't think I could live without them. They're the way I track the passage of time.”

“One futuristic novel that had a huge impact on me was Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein,' which is kind of science fiction plus Gothic.”

“A lot of small towns in Texas have only volunteer fire departments. And even though they're called volunteer fire departments, they are usually very professional and have great training and usually have good equipment.”

“I now know what to do; I know how decisions can be made. I know how you can drive ministers and their departments to actually make decisions and bring results.”

“We can't do much about ensuring that the homeland is safe if our local police and sheriffs' departments don't have the personnel they need to keep our streets and neighborhoods secure.”