“I am like the people in the Winslow Homer paintings, sharing the same room with them but not really there. I amlike the fish in the aquarium, thinking in a different language, adapting to a life that’s not my natural habitat. I am the people in the other cars, eachwith his or her own story, but passing too quickly to be noticed or understood.”

“I am like the fish in the aquarium, thinking in a different language, adapting to a life that’s not my natural habitat. I am the people in the other cars, each with his or her own story, but passing too quickly to be noticed or understood.”

“They are so caught up in their happiness that they don't realize I'm not really a part of it. I am wandering along the periphery. I am like the people in the Winslow Homer paintings, sharing the same room with them but not really there. I am like the fish in the aquarium, thinking in a different language, adapting to a life that's not my natural habitat. I am the people in the other cars, each with his or her own story, but passing too quickly to be noticed or understood. . . . There are moments I just sit in my frame, float in my tank, ride in my car and say nothing, think nothing that connects me to anything at all.”

“If you think about it hard enough, if you trace potentialreverberations long enough, every step can be a false step, any move can lead to anunintended consequence.Who am I ignoring that I shouldn’t be ignoring? What am I not saying that I should besaying? What won’t I notice that she would absolutely notice? While I’m out in thepublic hallways, what private languages am I not hearing?”

“This is my life, I think. I am an accumulation of objects.”

“If other people see you differently, you’ll end up seeing them differently, too.”

“There are times when I'm alone and I think, This is it. This is actually the natural state. All I need are my thoughts and my small acts of creation and my ability to go or do whatever I want to go or do. I am myself, and that is the point. Pairing is a social construction. It is by no means necessary for everyone to do it. Maybe I'm better like this. Maybe I could live my life in my own world, and then simply leave it when it's time to go.”