It’s amazing how much funny stuff there is.... [A] river of rich comedic milk is flowing across the land, and as fast as I skim off the cream more cream appears.... I may be doomed to wade around forever in other people’s pith. Not that it’s such a bad life.

Byrne—best known as a compiler and curator of humorous quotations—marvels at the seemingly inexhaustible supply of wit produced by others. The “river of rich comedic milk” metaphor frames comedy as a natural resource: abundant, continuously replenished, and inviting the editor to “skim off the cream,” i.e., select and refine the best lines for readers. The self-deprecating worry about being “doomed” to live in “other people’s pith” acknowledges the derivative nature of anthology work while also defending it as a pleasurable vocation. The closing turn (“Not that it’s such a bad life”) affirms the value of curation as a creative, sustaining literary role.