“I turned to the clarinets. They were a resourceful lot.”

“Waiter, this is not the policeman I ordered. I wanted one with a lot less sauce.”

“But first I had to get through the ironing. It took a lot of patience. I had none. It took forever, and then I had to press the whole shirt again to get out the creases I’d pressed into it.”

“Her dad turned to me. "You. Follow Me.""Woof," I said.”

“Your lot in life? A lot is something you draw, like straws. It's chance. You didn't get this life by chance. You chose it on purpose. If you're dissatisfied from it, you can change it.”

“My knee radiated heat. As I watched him pull himself from the car and walk casually across the brightly lit parking lot, I thought dumb things. I will never wash my knee again. I will never wash these jeans again. I will cut the knee out of these jeans and sew a pillow to sleep on every night, just to have a molecule of him in my bed with me.”

“Talking about your feelings helps you let go of your anger. And it takes a lot of energy to be angry all the time.”