“All my life I've been lonely. I've been lonely at crowded parties. I've been lonely in the middle of kissing a girl and I've been lonely at camp with hundreds of fellows around. But now I'm not lonely any more.”

“Then I've been drunk, too," admitted Francie."On beer?""No. Last spring, in McCarren's Park, I saw a tulip for the first time in my life.”

“From that moment on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again. ”

“She always camouflaged herself as a crowd. I've never been lonely, she said, but sometimes it's hard to think above the noise.”

“Have you ever been lonely? No, neither have I. Solitary, yes. Alone, certainly. But lonely means minding about being on your own. I've never minded about it.”

“She had become accustomed to being lonely. She was used to walking alone and to being considered 'different.' She did not suffer too much.”

“Shouldn't I stay? Soldier through it? Maybe if I'd had some practice, maybe if I'd had more devastation in my life, I would be more prepared to go on. It's not that my life has been perfect. I've had disappointments and I've been lonely and frustrated and angry and all the crappy stuff everyone feels.”