Quotation: Walker Percy on Hurricanes in Louisiana

”I've noticed in Louisiana in hurricanes — my theory is that people enjoy hurricanes whether they say so or not. Because in hurricanes, terrible things are happening, people are getting killed, you're liable to get killed, there is a certain exhiliration. It comes from a peculiar sense of self, the vividness. As Einstein said, ’Life is dreary as hell. Ordinary life is dreary.’ Somebody asked him why he went into quantum mechanics. ’Well, to get away from the dreariness of ordinary life.’ Louisianans enjoy hurricanes if they're not too bad.”

Walker Percy, American novelist 

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Notes: 

Percy, Walker. "The Modern Prognosis: An Interview with Walker Percy" Reprinted from "The Novelist's Freedom": Walker Percy Talks About Science, Faith, and Fiction. Brent Short. Washinton: Sojourners, N/A May 1990. 27-29.