“Keeping up the appearance of having all your marbles is hard work, but important.”

“But it wasn't long before the old familiar discontent started creeping up on me. I suppose it was always there, somewhere in the background. All I've done, my whole life, is keep it temporarily at bay.”

“My platitudes don't hold their interest and I can hardly blame them for that. My real stories are all out of date. So what if I can speak firsthand about the Spanish flu, the advent of the automobile, world wars, cold wars, guerrilla wars, and Sputnik — that's all ancient history now. But what else do I have to offer? Nothing happens to me anymore. That's the reality of getting old, and I guess that's really the crux of the matter. I'm not ready to be old yet.”

“I strain to hear, but my old ears, for all their obscene hugeness, pick up nothing but snippets:”

“How hard can it be to find a girl and an elephant for Christ's sake?”

“...if you expect people to try to do things your way, you're going to have to give some hints as to what that way is.”

“I was always searching, always seeking the next big thing, because that was the thing that was going to make everything all right again. And while I was working toward it, it gave me something to think about other than that thing I couldn't put my finger on. But it always came back.”