“Well, the rain had stopped but the pain was still there.”

“people run from rain butsitin bathtubs full ofwater.”

“he asked, "what makes a man awriter?""well," I said, "it's simple, it's either youget it down on paper or you jump off abridge.writers are desperate people and when they stopbeing desperate they stop beingwriters.""are you desperate?""I don't know...”

“where some god pissed a rain of reason to make things grow only to die,”

“They looked as if nothing had ever touched them--all well-mothered, protected, with a soft sheen of contentment. None of them had ever been in jail, or worked hard with their hands, or even gotten a traffic ticket. Skimmed-milk jollies, the whole bunch.”

“Trouble and pain were what kept a man alive. Or trying to avoid trouble and pain. It was a full time job.”

“writers are desperate people and when they stop being desperate they stop being writers.”