“I think they worried that my grandfather would infect me with some incurable dreaminess from which I’d never recover – that these fantasies were somehow inoculating me against more practical ambitions”

“Anyway, my writer gang: they kind of did their comedy apprenticeship with me and, during that period, when they were young and impressionable, I think I infected them with my pun virus. They grew to enjoy puns, think puns, just as much as me. The problem is people don't really like puns any more, so I worry I've rendered the poor fuckers virtually unemployable.”

“There were moments when I felt seriously unhinged; when I was convinced that I would never, ever recover from what had happened, when it was absolutely clear to me that life from this point on would be constant agony ...”

“You were once my one companion,You were all that mattered.You were once a friend and father,Then my world was shattered. Wishing you were somehow here again,Wishing you were somehow near.Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed,Somehow you would be here.Wishing I could hear your voice again,Knowing that I never would Dreaming of you won’t help me to doAll that you dreamed I couldPassing bells and sculpted angelsCold and monumentalSeem for you the wrong companions You were warm and gentleToo many years fighting back tearsWhy cant the past just dieWishing you were somehow here againKnowing we must say goodbyeTry to forgiveTeach me to liveGive me the strength to tryNo more memories No more silent tearsNo more gazing across the wasted years Help me say goodbyeHelp me say goodbye”

“I’d been raised to be practical and keep myemotions in check, but I loved cars. That was one of the fewlegacies I’d picked up from my mom. She was a mechanic,and some of my best childhood memories were of workingin the garage with her.”

“Our faces were overly close, and in that moment something more passed between us. I’d never felt this kind of thing with a guy – such a connection. I knew, in my head, that we were practically strangers; but this thing – whatever it was – made me feel known. Seen. Acknowledged and appreciated and admired.”