“No; he could be ruined again and again by hope, but he would never be capable of belief.”

“You would never do anything like that, would you?" my wife asked him. "You would never hurt animals."Our son shook his head, looking offended by the question. He might have been lying, but my knowledge of his belief system, composed of equal parts off-kilter Far Side animal-centrism and a dark Captain Nemoesque contempt for humanity, inclined me to think he was telling the truth. Gigantic fish pulling the limbs from cruel little boys, that might be something you could get him to sign on for.”

“He had already seized this particular day once, but he was prepared, if need be, to go ahead and seize the motherfucker all over again.”

“... he lifted his eyes. The eternal kind went out of his shoulder. He opened his mouth and closed it again, speechless with outrage, joy, and wonder. Then he burst into tears.”

“When he walked outside again, the sky was shining like a nickel and the air was filled with the smell of sugared nuts.”

“He reached up and out with both arms to shoot his cuffs, and for an instant he might have served to illustrate the crucial step in a manual on the seizing of days. He had already seized this particular day once, but he was prepared, if need be, to go ahead and seize the motherfucker all over again.”

“See you in the funny papers," he said. Jaunty, he reminded himself; always jaunty. In my panache is their hope for salvation.”