“Often, we may feel a wave of inspiration come over us, but then it passes, sometimes too quickly for us to act on it. Waiting for inspiration is like waiting for a bus that has stopped running on a particular route; you've got to find the new route if you want to catch a bus and get to where you want to go.”

“Hey, you feel like driving today?" he asks. "I don't want to walk to the bus stop. It's too cold.""You feel like dying today?""Sure. I like risking my life. Keeps things in perspective.”

“When you are waiting for the bus and someone asks, "Has the bus come yet?". If the bus came would I be standing here? ”

“Sometimes you have to stop trying to control everything and let life happen the way it's supposed to, Tess. Even if it's not exactly the way you wanted.But what if it's not even a little like you wanted?Then you deal with it and keep going.”

“But I'll tell you something else, too. Something I've learned, the hard way. I guess"—Gram laughed a little—"I'm the kind of person who has to learn things the hard way. You've got to hold on. Hold on to people. They can get away from you. It's not always going to be fun, but if you don't—hold on—then you lose them.”

“What I want is for the two of us to meet somewhere by chance one day, like, passing on the street, or getting on the same bus.”

“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”