Old Korean adage, “Even jade has flaws.” Or, in other words: Nothing in life is ever perfect.

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

Authoritarian, paralyzing, circular, occasionally elliptical stock phrases, also jocularly referred to as nuggets of wisdom, are a malignant plague, one of the very worst ever to ravage the earth.

We don’t need less kids, just more middle managers…

Finally, we entered Chetaube County, my imaginary birthplace, where the names of the little winding roads and minuscule mountain communities never failed to inspire me: Yardscrabble, Big Log, Upper, Middle and Lower Pigsty, Chicken Scratch,...