“It’s funny how you can be all alone and in danger and then a minute later feel totally safe, like you’ve never been lonely before.”

“People never like to talk about their slower relatives. I got a cousin, twice removed, got webs between his toes, ain't said one word his whole life. You never hear about him in the family newsletter that goes around every Christmas. Hell, nobody mentions me, either, if it comes to that. Families is funny about who they advertise.”

“It’s not a good idea to let on about extreme happy feelings. People get ideas.”

“I may never recover. It was like an out-of-body experience. I’m an alien trying on human rituals.”

“It’s important to give people the benefit of the doubt even if they don’t deserve it.”

“Maybe careers aren’t something you can really plan for. They just sort of happen, like brown eyes or flat feet. I took one of those career aptitude tests last year, and it showed that I should be a flight attendant or a seamstress. Not a fashion designer or anything, mind you, but a sweatshop worker. Apparently stewardesses and sweatshop workers and I enjoy a lot of the same interests and activities.”

“I haven’t been that happy since I became conscious for the first time, you know, when I became aware of myself and got so uncomfortable and everything.”