The keys that unlock the heart are made of funny materials: a disarming phrase that comes out of the blue, nowhere, a certain sexy walk that sends you reeling, the way someone hums when she is alone. My father said it was the way my mother danced with him.

Why do people always gesture with their hands when they talk on the phone?

It's always fun to walk down the street with or behind a really beautiful woman, for no reason other than to see how the world reacts to them.

Buying a pair of shoes is one of the most optimistic acts I know, next to falling in love. I like nothing better than to see an old man wearing a brand new pair of brogues or cap-toed oxfords, preferably jaunty orange-brown, unscuffed, heels unworn. We want to be here tomorrow, but buying new shoes, like falling in love, says I plan on being here tomorrow.

Salzburg... is a mountain town with a rushing river running right through the center, everything in the rain various shades of green and brown.

Far more disturbing than any spook house at an amusement park is a ride through the old hometown if you've been away for years.

Kids own nothing. Everything is either promised, borrowed, longed for or exaggerated.