“I'm learning that you have to make time for what's important. You have to fight to carve little pieces of happiness out of your life, or the everyday emergencies will eat up everything.”

“A condition of youth, your own importance. The mark you'd make upon the world. But a man learns sooner or later. You take your little niche and make it your own. You ride out the time as best you can.”

“You make do with what you have. As you age you learn even to be happy with what you have.”

“I believe in life and I’ll fight for it. I believe you have to put up your dukes and fight, even if you don’t know what you’re fighting against.”

“"You try very hard to make up for something that was never your fault. […] You didn't choose this kind of life, and yet you have to work so hard to be good."
"I don't know that I'm making up for anything," he disagreed lightly. "Like everything in life, I just had to decide what to do with what I was given."”

“Conversation is but carving!
Give no more to every guest
Than he's able to digest.
Give him always of the prime,
And but little at a time.
Carve to all but just enough,
Let them neither starve nor stuff,
And that you may have your due,
Let your neighbor carve for you.”

“I'm happy doing what I'm doing, and if you have that kind of attitude then everything else from there on is a bonus.”

“James — it's about your sister
I wonder if you missed her
I'm on my way to see you but I don't know what to bring
Almost gave up the ghost, now you have what she wants most
a little piece of heaven and a lovely song to sing.”

“Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.”

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”