East of Eden

"Our creator would never have made such lovely days

and have given us the deep hearts to enjoy them,

about and beyond all thought,

unless we were meant to be immortal."

Nathaniel Hawthorne

d

East of Eden

"(Liza) looked forward to Heaven as a place where clothes did not get dirty and where food did not have to be cooked and dishes washed. Privately there were some things in Heaven of which she did not quite approve. There was too much singing, and she didn't see how even the Elect could survive for very long the celestial laziness which was promised. She could find something to do in Heaven. There must be something to take up one's time--some clouds to darn, some weary wings to rub with liniment. Maybe the collars of the robes needed turning now and then, and when you come right down to it, she couldn't believe that even in Heaven there would not be cobwebs in some corner to be knocked down with a cloth-covered broom." -- John Steinbeck