All paradises, all utopias are designed by who is not there, by the people who are not allowed in.

Anger... it's a paralyzing emotion... you can't get anything done.

Usually I try to be there by six. Everything has been taken off the walls so that there's nothing to arrest my sight. On the bed I have Roget's Thesaurus, a dictionary, a Bible, and a deck of playing cards.

Listen up. Let me tell you something. A man ain’t a goddamn ax. Chopping, hacking, busting every goddamn minute of the day. Things get to him. Things he can’t chop down because they’re inside.

Hospitality is gold in this City; you have to be clever to figure out how to be welcoming and defensive at the same time. When to love something and when to quit. If you don't know how, you can end up out of control or controlled by some outside thing like that hard case last winter.

The screams of a hurt woman were indistinguishable from everyday traffic.

Deep, deep trouble. Can't rival the dead for love. Lose every time.