“Let joy be unconfined. Let there be dancing in the streets, drinking in the saloons and necking in the parlor.”

The Movie: A Night at the Opera, 1935 (George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, screenwriters; Sam Wood, dir.)
Who says it: Groucho Marx as Otis B. Driftwood, an opera business manager
The context: Driftwood introduces the opera after the usual series of mishaps.
How to use it: To announce almost any good news.

Mom should be home by now -- I am waiting an hour or two before I call, not only to give her time to reorient herself, but also to give her animals sufficient time for rejoicing.

Rather than stretch this endless farewell out any longer, I'm leaving town on Sunday night, immediately after my bookstore discussion group. Sunday night I'll go as far as Barstow, and then I'll follow the old Route 66: Gallup, NM on Monday night, Oklahoma City on Tuesday, St. Louis on Wednesday. In St. Louis I'll get to see my goddaughter, Siobhan, and her family. From there, I'll pick up I-64 and take it through Kentucky and West Virginia, all the way to Virginia Beach.

Sea to shining sea in five days, God willing.