"The Dude abides."

The Movie: The Big Lebowski, 1998 (Joel & Ethan Coen, screenwriters; Joel Coen, dir.)
Who says it: Jeff Bridges as Jeff Lebowski, the Dude; Sam Elliott as The Stranger
The context: After solving a mystery, almost getting killed, and losing his rug and one of his best friends, the Dude is back at his favorite bowling alley (the Hollywood Star Lanes, now sadly passed into memory).
How to use it: To calm yourself down.

Yesterday's trip: 626 miles, 1.5 tanks of gas, approximately $20 in tolls ($5.00 just to get in and out of Delaware)
Stops: Portsmouth, N.H.; Newport, R.I.; Thomas Edison rest stop, N.J.; Washington, D.C.
What I learned: Too long a trip for one day.

Maybe it wouldn't have been too long a trip without the detour to Newport. I listened to all of Dubliners on tape, with the last lines of "The Dead" coming just as I crossed into New Jersey. That stretch of highway is grotesque by daylight, but at night all the lights and smokestacks of Newark are weirdly beautiful. If aliens landed there after dark, they wouldn't have the slightest idea of what they were seeing.

Dizzy and I went to the small park at 17th and S this morning. He was very excited to see grass again.