“In wretched little lives like that, someone must intervene. Or at least mark their sad comings and goings. Mark and if possible permanently record so they'll be remembered. For a better day, later on, when people will understand.”

“It is very sad to me that some people are so intent on leaving their mark on the world that they don’t care if that mark is a scar.”

“Hearts are like stones on an ocean beach...And people are like the tides that leave permanent marks on them.”

“This wasn’t the time or place for it, so I hid it away in a little drawer in the back of my mind,marked DEAL WITH LATER.”

“Love with someone else, an actual person, was another matter. People got hurt doing that. People cried and wrapped their arms around themselves and rocked with loss. Loving words got turned to fierce, sharp, whip-cracks of anger that lefft permanent marks. At the least, it disappointed you. At most, it damaged you.”

“One mark of a good officer, he remembered, was the ability to make quick decisions. If they happen to be right, so much the better”