“On the top of my desk there are initials, carved into the wood, and dates...This carving, done with a pencil dug many times into the warn varnish of the desk, has the pathos of all vanished civilizations. It's like a handprint on stone. Whoever made this was once alive.”

“It was a heavy piece, about thirty inches in height, carved of stone. And so ugly that it defied description. Surely only a blind person could have carved it.Maybe carving it was what made the person blind.”

“You’ll never make sense of his notes. You just have to listen to his lecture,” Graham whispered confidentially. “It’s a challenge, but the good news is that he’s been giving the same tests for forty years. The answers are carved right into the tops of the desks. See?”

“Immortality is like trying to carve your initials in a block of ice in the middle of July.”

“A desk, some pads, a pencil, and a large basket -- to hold all of mu mistakes.”

“I did not lose myself all at once. I rubbed out my face over the years washing away my pain, the same way carvings on stone are worn down by water. ”