Ben Greenman > Quotes

“It seemed he was the perfect lover, at least for the moment. He did not live where you lived. He did not see you often enough, or for long enough, for you to grow bored, or to feel afraid that you were not feeling love---or worse, that you were. The perfection had a cost, which is that he was not in any true sense a real person. He was a coat you bought off the rack, an unsuperlative fashion statement.”
― Ben Greenman, What He's Poised to Do: Stories

“I felt lonely, and in full possession of my loneliness. It was the first time I had owned anything of value.”
― Ben Greenman, What He's Poised to Do: Stories

“...as Abe Lincoln said, I was sick from my stovepipe hat to the worn out soles of my shoes.”
― Ben Greenman, Superbad: Stories and Pieces

“the bleakness of life takes many forms, and that none of those forms should be permitted to obscure the central mission, which is to record it honestly, powerfully, and continuously.”
― Ben Greenman, Emotional Rescue: Essays on Love, Loss, and Life—With a Soundtrack

“When I’m with you, I am in the light where I cannot be found.” The year ended. The last year in which Michael Jackson was alive on earth ended. We celebrated the new year. He remained in the light where he could not be found.”
― Ben Greenman, Emotional Rescue: Essays on Love, Loss, and Life—With a Soundtrack

“People, I want to tell you Just how your friend will do They will wait to get your secret And dig a pit for you”
― Ben Greenman, Emotional Rescue: Essays on Love, Loss, and Life—With a Soundtrack

“I learned by trial and error. Are there other ways to learn? If so, someone should have said something. My companions in that trial and error were songs, for the most part.”
― Ben Greenman, Emotional Rescue: Essays on Love, Loss, and Life—With a Soundtrack

“We’re sorry to bother you at a time like this,” Drebin says. “We would have come earlier, but your husband wasn’t dead then.”
― Ben Greenman, Emotional Rescue: Essays on Love, Loss, and Life—With a Soundtrack