A
Pulitzer Prize winning play by
William Saroyan.
Set in 1939 in a San Francisco waterfront bar frequented by a
collection of lovable eccentrics, Saroyan's whimsical ode to ordinary
people and the simple values of life has made this enduring and
endearing comedy an American classic.
The following is a quote from the play that has been meaningful to me over many years.
"In the time of your life, live -- so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any
life your life touches. Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding-place and let it
be free and unashamed. Place in matter and in flesh the least of values, for these are the things that hold death
and must pass away. Discover in all things that which shines and is beyond corruption. Encourage virtue in
whatever heart it may have been driven into secrecy and sorrow by the shame and terror of the world. Be the
inferior of no man, nor of any man be the superior. Remember that every man is a variation of yourself. No
man's guilt is not yours, nor is any man's innocence a thing apart. Despise evil and ungodliness, but not men of
ungodliness or evil. These, understand. Have no shame in being kindly and gentle, but if the time comes in the
time of your life to kill, kill and have no regret. In the time of you live, live -- so that in that time wondrous time you
shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it."