“But they were all tricks.They were very dull. There were pages and pages of words that didn't say anything.Or if they did say something they took too long to say it and by the time they said it you already were too tired to have it matter at all.you al re ady we re”

“I didn't feel that way about it. I had been playing with death for some time. I can't say we were the best of friends but we were well acquainted.”

“Where did all the women come from? The supply was endless. Each one of them was individual, different. Their pussies were different, their kisses were different, their breasts were different, but no man could drink them all, there were too many of them, crossing their legs, driving men mad. What a feast!”

“It was a joy! Words weren't dull, words were things that could make your mind hum. If you read them and let yourself feel the magic, you could live without pain, with hope, no matter what happened to you.”

“Now, I thought, pushing my cart along, I have this job. Is this to be it? No wonder men robbedbanks. There were too many demeaning jobs. Why the hell wasn't I a superior court judge or aconcert pianist? Because it took training and training cost money. But I didn't want to be anythinganyhow. And I was certainly succeeding”

“Few beautiful women were willing to indicate in public that they belonged to someone. I had known enough women to realize this. I accepted them for what they were and love came hard and very seldom. When it did it was usually for the wrong reasons. One simply became tired of holding back love and let it go because it needed some place to go. Then, usually, there was trouble.”

“The place trembled with sound. I didn't need to do anything. They would do it all. But you had to be careful. Drunk as they were they could immediately detect any false gesture, any false word. You could never underestimate an audience. They had paid to get in; they had paid for drinks; they intended to get something and if you didn't give it to them they'd run you right into the ocean.”