“I talk about talking like I listen to listening—in a room with mirrored walls that makes me appreciate the infinity that is God.”

“Nobody listens anymore. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me, I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough it'll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read.”

“I like to listen, and I like to talk. Heavens, girl, can't you see I like to talk?”

“If I could talk it like Dahoum, you would never be tired of listening to me.”

“People love to talk but hate to listen. Listening is not merely not talking, though even that is beyond most of our powers; it means taking a vigorous, human interest in what is being told us. You can listen like a blank wall or like a splendid auditorium where every sound comes back fuller and richer.”

“We talked for hours. He talked and I listened. It was like wind and sunlight. It blew all the cobwebs away.”