Rudolph Delson > Quotes

“It was that time of dusk when there is a—deepening of the interior shadows. It is a melancholy time: all you need do is switch on one lamp and the inside and the outside will separate, held apart by the reflections in the glass, and evening will begin.”
― Rudolph Delson, Maynard and Jennica

“She buys "mixed salad greens" for seven dollars a bag, triple-washed with who knows what. And to get this stuff home, which is only two blocks away from the grocery store, Jennica throws all of it into plastic bags. There is a husk on her corn, corn that Jennica's store sells in April.. there is a rind on her grapefruit, grapefruit that gets flown in from Florida... but still, Jennica puts the corn and the citrus into plastic bags. Her supposedly organic red peppers, which cost six dollars a pound, come in a foam tray under shrink-wrap, but she puts them in a plastic bag. And then the checkout girl puts all of Jennica's little plastic parcels into two or three more big white plastic bags, and then Jennica walks the two blocks home, where she unpacks all the bags and then trows them in the same trash bin where her corn husks and citrus rinds go.”
― Rudolph Delson, Maynard and Jennica

“It used to be I would worry I shouldn't have fun and be happy until I had proven I wasn't a failure. Now I am eager to accept that I am failure, so long as I get to have fun and be happy.”
― Rudolph Delson, Maynard and Jennica

“...dignity demands that we, as rational apes, reject delusions, including comforting delusions, in favor of the truth. And it is a comforting delusion to think that every time a beautiful woman sits down across from you on the subway, destiny is trying to bring you happiness. Destiny does not manifest itself in the form of chance encounters with beautiful women. Destiny manifests itself, always, the the form of hobbyhorses, pet phrases, pet cats, nose-picking, and credit card debt. In other words, your destiny has been riding across from you on the subway for much, much longer than you can ever imagine. Beautiful strangers do not each represent a new form of happiness. Beautiful strangers are like everybody else--dull, demanding, violent, and malodorous. So when a beautiful woman sits across the aisle, dignity condemns action and demands silence. Because--when you fail to say hello to a beautiful stranger on the subway, you have triumphantly avoided yet another form of --human misery.”
― Rudolph Delson, Maynard and Jennica

“He says that fashion happens because people what to define themselves. He says that the desire to define oneself will last forever, not just one year. He says that the easiest way to give a definition to oneself will always be to play a role. He says, "People stop asking themselves whether they are enjoying what they are doing or wearing, and instead ask themselves whether they are supposed to be enjoying what they are doing or wearing. They ask whether they are in role." ...He says, "Think of all the human types. We all play a few dozen types at any time, giving the illusion of originality, but most of us are no more unique than a spread of tarot cards is unique. Most of us are nothing more than a recombination of the same old cards." ...He says, "But people do enjoy the sense that they are playing a role. 'Oh my god, he took me on such an amazing date!' 'Dude--a beer in a chair on the beach.' 'Oh, we just love going to the Met.'" He says, "And that's how you achieve immortality. You achieve immortality by being a cliche. Because if you are a cliche, then even though you may die, you have lived on.”
― Rudolph Delson, Maynard and Jennica

“I've been unhappy...and I've wanted to preserve you from that. But I don't want to anymore. And not because I want you to accept what's unacceptable about who your son is, but because I want, as your son, to simply--be good, do well, cast off delusions, live without affection, make money, pay taxes, have friends, contribute charitably, mail Christmas cards, subscribe to the Met, and be loved and spread joy!”
― Rudolph Delson, Maynard and Jennica