“I'm totally committed to the cause of individuality. That's the only thing I stand by: independence.”

“I don't buy a lot when I travel, but when I do, I like to send gifts from wherever I am. It's fun to find the local post office.”

“I don't think I'm romantic at all. I have a lot of faith in the right thing happening. I don't really hope for a lot of particulars, I just have faith that the right thing will happen most of the t...”

“If you want to achieve things in life, you've just got to do them, and if you're talented and smart, you'll succeed.”

“From the beginning, I've always had a knack for catchy melodies. But I went through a period when I was trying to be rock n' roll and have a rock n' roll attitude. I was fighting my nature by tryin...”

“I'm able to see humor in a lot of things.”

“I cannot express how lordly and transfigured I felt at that moment. I was a prince of that harbor, a porpoise king - slim among the buoys and the water traffic.”

“This [sand-dollar hunting] had become one of our rituals together, and though she would search for other varieties of shells when I was out of town or unable to see her, she would wait until I appe...”

“Over the drop, a luminous pond lay below them like a pale magic lantern. It was as if the moon had plummeted into the water and smashed open. Engulfed in darkness, with only a scatter of stars abov...”

“But youre out of another world old kid You ought to live on top of the Woolworth Building in an apartment made of cutglass and cherry blossoms.”

“[Poem: Slates of Grey]Sullen faces like slates of greyWhat Id seen on a walk today.Bodies rushing bodies boltingTime for life a disregarding.Money to make and to grow oldWhat about the hands to hol...”

“I would describe the distinction between city and landscape like this: cities tend to excite and agitate me; they make me feel big or small, self-confident, proud, curious, excited, tense, annoyed....”

“Once I saw a chimpanzee gaze at a particularly beautiful sunset for a full 15 minutes, watching the changing colors [and then] retire to the forest without picking a pawpaw for supper.”

“In an era of globalization, we recognize that we are part of a global society, but we have no idea how to make such a society work. So far, no unified vision or leadership has emerged to guide us i...”

“It is with eight lengthy legs we use to catch food, balance and knit a beautiful silk bed,but as babies we had lost our bones and skin, and hence our legs we had shed.”