“Have some fun while you wait for the will of heaven.”

“That's when you stop being one way and start being another, Ruby said. Not something many people can do, or want to do. In fact, Ruby said, The only people who cross over, cross over because they'r...”

“Books are in the mind, Grandfather Alessandro said. Too many books and you forget your body is in the world.”

“There is nothing more lonely than a true artist.”

“Identity is your role in life, the part you play. Individuality is who you are, and who you are is revealed to you if you can get to complete presence.”

“Every time you hear a car alarm, Ruby said, another New Yorker has gone to hell.”

“There are many different stories to tell. It's never the same. Every day weather blows in and out, alters the surface. Sometimes it is stripped down to a single essential truth, the thing that is a...”

“I'm skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later...”

“All stories are about wolves. All worth repeating, that is. Anything else is sentimental drivel.All of them?Sure, he says. Think about it. There's escaping from the wolves, fighting the wolves, cap...”

“Storytellers are individuals who enjoy creating a holiday for the mind.”

“You know what a storyteller is, don't you? It's a person that has a good memory who hopes other people don't.”

“Good storytellers are always ready for the next question.”