Good Ol' Hank

"If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise don't even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives, jobs. And maybe your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery, isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance. Of how much you really want to do it. And you'll do it, despite rejection in the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods. And the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is . . ." —Henry Chinaski


This quote is from the last book I read in full called Women by Charles Bukowski. (Highly recommended.)It's been a very Bukowski day for me minus the whiskey and beer and chauvinism. Cheers to you, Hank.

I also recommend the nearly 3-hour documentary I watched on him today called "Born Into This". The following is a clip from said documentary.