“Some people come by the name of genius in the same way that certain insects come by the name of centipede -- not because they have a hundred feet, but because most people can't count above 14.”

“. . .There are certain people who come into your life, and leave a mark. . . Their place in your heart is tender; a bruise of longing, a pulse of unfinished business. Just hearing their names pushes and pulls at you in a hundred ways, and when you try to define those hundred ways, describe them even to yourself, words are useless.”

“I was given the name Prospect because people have high hopes for me.”

“She thinks my name is Freddie, you know, but of course it ain't. Ialways tell these people some name like that, because if they got ontoyour right name they might use it sometime. Understand?”

“I believe that many people are unhappy because they have not learned to be grateful. Some carry the burden of bitterness and resentfulness for many years. Some pass their days as though suffering a deep sadness they cannot name. Others are unhappy because life didn’t turn out the way they thought it would.”

“I became a firefighter because I wanted to save people. But I should have been more specific. I should have named names.”