Quote of the Day (Edward Albee, on Democracy)

“In a democracy, we can have anything we want. In a democracy, we always end up with exactly what we deserve.''—Playwright Edward Albee, address to Rollins College, quoted in Elizabeth Maupin, “Winter Park—Playwright Edward Albee Thanked,” Orlando Sentinel, Feb. 19, 2000

Quote of the Day (Frank Deford, on Athletes Leaving on Top)

“Those of us in the grandstand seats want our athletes – the ones who are our age – to quit while they’re still on top. That way they won’t embarrass us. We then want our heroes to instantly disappear so that we can always remember them (and ourselves) as magnificent and forever green. For it is when our athletes start to go downhill that we are first forced to come to grips with the possibility of our own mortality.” —Frank Deford, Over Time: My Life as a Sportswriter (2012)

The latest example is, of course, Peyton Manning (pictured). The NFL quarterback leaves with all kinds of records and a second Super Bowl trophy. By sticking around, he would have gained nothing, and risked everything important. Not just the legacy that Deford has in mind, or even Manning’s health—but his reputation.

It is possible, despite the lawsuit that Manning has filed, that we will never be able to know for sure, as Al Jazeera America claimed, whether he used performance-enhancing drugs a few years ago. Given the two decades since, it is also possible that we’ll never know if the quarterback sexually harassed a female trainer while he was attending the University of Tennessee.

Achievements on the field may well be products of strength, speed and skill. Purity? Perhaps less often than we hope.

TV Quote of the Day (‘Gilmore Girls,’ on Manicures vs. ‘Hobo Hands’)

[SUV pulling up]

Lorelai Gilmore [played by Lauren Graham]: [Sighs] “Okay, mom, what's next?”

Emily [played by Kelly Bishop]: “You don't have to say it like that.”

Lorelai: “I just spent the last hour and a half watching you get a manicure.”

Emily: “It's my standing appointment, Lorelai.”

Lorelai: “Yes, except I was the one standing 'cause there weren't enough seats.”

Emily: “Well, if I'd missed that appointment, it would be a week before I could get another and I'd be walking around with hobo hands.”— Gilmore Girls, Season 6, Episode 21, “Driving Miss Gilmore,” original airdate May 2, 2006, teleplay by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, directed by Jamie Babbit

Quote of the Day (Molly Ivins, on Democracy and Confusion)

“The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion.”— Molly Ivins, You Got to Dance With Them What Brung You (1998)

A relish for confusion? This year, a cast-iron stomach is required for it!

Quote of the Day (St. Thomas Aquinas, on Faith)

“Faith is a certain foretaste of that knowledge which is to make us happy in the life to come.” —St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Compendium Theologiae (“Compendium of Theology”), translated by Cyril Vollert, S.J. (1947)