'Maybe Nina wouldn't have died if I hadn't moved in with them and drawn Sheener after me, but I can't feel guilty about that. I tried hard to be a good foster daughter to them, and they were happy with me. What happened was that life dropped a big custard pie on us, and that's not my fault; you can never see the custard pies coming. It's not good slapstick if you see the pie coming.' 'Custard pie?' he asked, perplexed. 'You see life as a slapstick comedy? Like the Three Stooges?' 'Partly.' 'Life is just a joke then?' 'No. Life is serious and a joke at the same time.' 'But how can that be?' 'If you don't know,' she said, 'maybe I should be the one asking the questions here.'

In a crunch a man's reputation never counts for as much as it ought to. Most people are good-hearted and willing to give a man the benefit of the doubt, but th…

'But there are two things that different kinds of people believe that are the worst, most dangerous, wrongest of all. Some people believe that the best way to …

I thought of you as my guardian, Einstein: you taught me that I'm your guardian, too, that I'm Travis's guardian, and he is my guardian and yours. We have a re…

Your veal cutlet gets up off the plate, It walks down to end of the counter and beat the shit out of my cup of coffee. I guess the coffee just wasn't strong en…

Life is a jest; and all things show it. I thought so once; and now I know it.

I mean, you trust them with your life! They could have their fingers in your nostrils, one foot on the back of your underpants, and they're pushing your spine …