“In most cases, it is more satisfying to get a friend's answering machine and leave a cheery, tangible trace of your sincere commitment to the friendship than it is to engage in actual conversation.”

“At any given time, most relationships are uneven-one person is more in need of support than another. A real friendship is mutually satisfying over the long haul.”

“Bein' a friend is a heavy commitment. In a way, even more than a husband or wife.... Friendship to me means more than just somebody to talk to, or run with, or hang with.Bein' friends is like being soldiers in the army. You live together; you fight together; you die together.”

“Don't flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become. Except in cases of necessity, which are rare, leave your friend to learn unpleasant things from his enemies; they are ready enough to tell them.”

“...the older I get, the more I believe that if love is to be judged by most of its visible effects, it looks more like hatred than friendship.”

“Neither question nor answer was meant as anything more than a polite preamble to conversation.”