“I associate the truest spirit of Christmas with certain years when I h...” — Padgett Powell Quote

“I associate the truest spirit of Christmas with certain years when I had to spend it at my parents' house as an adult who had, presumably, escaped.”

“All this is rather pretentious and fey to even talk about, but Flannery O'Connor sat down to write stories. The rest of us, some of us, don't have that kind of wit and genius. We don't do that. We sit down and have some accidents.”

“If I slip up and receive a good gift, I will not have given a good gift. This is probably a natural law that affects us all and needs a name. The Gift Reciprocal Law.”

“God is being siphoned out of the public arena. People don't even say God bless you when you sneeze anymore. I want to be able to lay a Merry Christmas on someone without its feeling like a political statement.”

“But Tammy Faye calls me, and Ron Jeremy calls me, Erik Estrada sends me a Christmas card every year.”

“Pets, like their owners, tend to expand a little over the Christmas period.”