“Until then, you can do what everyone else your age does. Listen to music. Watch the television. Just keep your nose away from those books.”

“There are worse things than finding your wife and child dead. You can watch the world do it. You can watch your wife get old and bored. You can watch your kids discover everything in the world you've tried to save them from. Drugs, divorce, conformity, disease. All the nice clean books, music, television. Distraction.”

“It’s obvious you kids are smart-school and good teachers will do that for you-but wisdom is something altogether different. Wisdom can be gathered in your downtime. Wisdom that can change the very course of your life will come from the people you are around, the books you read, and the things you listen to or watch on radio or television.”

“When someone rips your heart out, there's nothing you can do to change how you feel about them. You just have to keep feeling that way until it goes away. Until it never does.”

“I don't know who I am. But do you know who you are? Does anyone really? What makes a decent person? Does being the same as everyone else mean being better than people or does it just make it easier to look down your nose at them?”

“Why do I always listen to your insane plans? Why aren't we at home watching TV like everyone else? What possible difference will any of this make?”