“Grace says, "Are you thirsty?I could go get the hose..."I say, "Thanks. But I'd rather havea swig of some Miracle-Gro.”

“I got something to say to you, big shot.""Say it, then," I said, "while I'm used to the drone of your voice. I'd rather not get acclimated again.”

“I remember the revelation it was to me when I realized I'd rather be smart in the way Elvis Presley was than in the way, say, Ludwig Wittgenstein was. The thing was, you could imagine you could be smart like Wittgenstein by just thinking hard enough, but Elvis just had it. It was almost spiritual. A kind of grace.”

“What I'd like is to meet a man I could take off my hat to and say: "Thank you for having got born, and the longer you live the better.”

“Say something," demanded Fancie. "Why don't you say something?""What can I say?""Say that I'm young-that I'll get over it. Go ahead and say it. Go ahead and lie.""I know that's what people say-you'll get over it. I'd say it too. But I know it's not true. Oh, you'll be happy again, never fear. But you won't forget. Every time you fall in love it will be because something in the man reminds you of him.”

“I'd rather look back at my past and say, "I can't believe I did that!" instead of saying "I wish I did that.”