There is one thing that has disappeared, not just from the U.S. but from the entire world, is the idea of ever being embarrassed by anything.

Patrick and I were about as different as two people could possibly be. Nothing embarrasses Patrick very much, and everything embarrasses me. Just being alive embarrasses me.

Your responsibility as a parent is not as great as you might imagine. You need not supply the world with the next conqueror of disease or major motion-picture star. If your child simply grows up to be someone who does not use the word ''collectible'' as a noun, you can consider yourself an unqualified success.

This is an embarrassment to our department, and especially to all our personnel who went to Louisiana and served honorably in helping the citizens of that state to recover from the clutches of disasters.

It devolves upon the United States to help to motorize the world.

When you leave New York, you are astonished at how clean the rest of the world is. Clean is not enough.