“There were pieces missing yet but they would fall into place and then maybe the whole of it would make sense.”

“I hate nature. I really do. Nature is composed entirely of sticks, dirt, fall-down places, biting and stinging things, and savageries too numerous to list. And I'm not the only one who feels this way. Man has been building cities since the year oughty-ought, just to get away from this stuff.”

“Missing someone is a vague, unpleasant sensation, like gnawing anxiety. It isn't as concrete as grief, but it's just as pervasive and there's no escaping it.”

“Built into bad news is that sense of profound disbelief. The mind struggles to absorb the bare facts, defending itself against the larger implications.”

“I figure guys are like Whitman's Samplers. I like to take a little bite out of each and then move on before the whole box gets stale.”

“It's disconcerting to realize how little you have to say to someone who once occupied such a prominent place in your bed.”

“A lot of people were mistaken about a lot of things.”