Grand. There's a word I really hate. It's a phony. I could puke every time I hear it.
J. D. SalingerIt's funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they'll do practically anything you want them to.
J. D. SalingerYou don't know how to talk to people you don't like. Don't love, really. You can't live in the world with such strong likes and dislikes.
J. D. SalingerSex is something I really don't understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away. Last year I made a rule that I was going to quit horsing around with girls that, deep down, gave me a pain in the ass. I broke it, though, the same week I made it - the same night, as a matter of fact.
J. D. SalingerDid you ever get fed up?' I said. 'I mean did you ever get scared that everything was going to go lousy unless you did something?
J. D. SalingerAmong other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from themโif you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry.
J. D. Salinger