E.M. Forster - "What I Believe"

"I believe in aristocracy, though - if that is the right word, and
if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power, based upon
rank and influence, but an aristocracy of the sensitive, the con-
siderate and the plucky. Its members are to be found in all
nations and classes, and all through the ages, and there is a secret
understanding between them when they meet. They represent
the true human tradition, the one permanent victory of our queer
race over cruelty and chaos. Thousands of them perish in
obscurity, a few are great names. They are sensitive for others
as well as for themselves, they are considerate without being
fussy, their pluck is not swankiness but the power to endure, and
they can take a joke."

Emphasis Mine

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (CNN) — For three days, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is enjoying some private down time on the island of St. Thomas, a source close to the U.S. territory's Government House in the capital of Charlotte Amalie confirmed Monday.
Watch CNN's Exclusive footage of Sen. Obama on vacation.

Signs of Life

I tried to post on this blog earlier in the week, but it didn't recognize me. And so as the fruit bat of time flies haphazardly through the darkness of life, we find that the the ripe apple of opportunity will always be on the tree of persistence.