Forever Odd

If one's friends do not openly laugh at him, they are not in fact his friends.

The heart is an artist that paints over what profoundly disturbs it, leaving on the canvas a less dark, less sharp version of the truth.

Every life is complicated, every mind a kingdom of unmapped mysteries.

This world, which has the potential to be Eden, is instead the hell before Hell. In our arrogance, we have made it so.

The things we worry about the most are never the things that bite us. The sharpest teeth always take their nip of us when we are looking the other way.

I'll sit in the park and feed the pigeons for a while.' We don't have pigeons.' Then I'll feed the pterodactyls.

The broom wasn't as comforting as a flamethrower would have been, but it was better than a mop and certainly more threatening than a feather duster.

What really holds their marriage together are mutual respect of an awesome depth, a shared sense of humor, faith that they were brought together by a force greater than themselves, and a love so unwavering and pure that it is sacred.

What sucks the worst is . . . this world was a gift to us, and we broke it, and part of the deal is that if we want things right, we have to fix it ourselves. But we can't. We try, but we can't.

The mockery of friends is affectionate, and inoculates against foolishness.

After once having made the mistake of watching television news, I had worried for a while about an asteroid hitting the earth and wiping out human civilization. The anchorwoman had said it was not merely possible but probable. At the end of the report, she smiled.

If you're still, and if you don't hope too much, peace will come to you. It's a grace. But you have to choose happiness.

I was looking forward to having a halo. It would make such a convenient reading lamp.

I survive by finding the sweet spot between reason and unreason, between the rational and irrational.

She might have been born this way, without an empathy gene and other essentials. In that case, she would interpret any kindness as weakness. Among predatory beasts, any display of weakness is an invitation to attack.

Beauty that steals the heart is often imperfect, suggests grace and kindness, and inspires tenderness more than it incites lust.

Get out of here while you can. She's crazier than a syphilitic suicide bomber with mad-cow disease.

This time I would choose to err on the side of illogic. I had to trust intuition, and plunge as I had never plunged before, with blind faith.

...if one's friends do not openly laugh at him, they are not in fact his friends. How else would one learn to avoid saying those things that would elicit laughter from strangers? The mockery of friends is affectionate, and inoculates against foolishness.

Unreason is an essential medicine as long as you do not overdose.

I do not permit blasphemy, the F-word, or obscenities such as soy milk at my table. Consider yourself chastised.

A flipped fork flicked my forehead.

We must have our goals, our dreams, and we must strive for them. We are not gods, however; we do not have the power to shape every aspect of the future. And the road the world makes for us is one that teaches humility if we are willing to learn.

I remembered reading that the sweat and breath of certifiable psychopaths have a subtle but distinctive chemical odor because of certain physiological conditions accompanying that mental disorder. Maybe her breath smelled of craziness.

Grief is a healthy emotion, and it’s healthy to embrace it. By accepting loss, we clarify our values and the meaning of our lives.

You're a poster boy for sincerity. You have all the guile of a lamb.

As for self-deceit, most people find it as essential for survival as air. You rarely indulge in it.