Karen

“The red splotches on Danny’s face increased. “Seriously?” Artie just looked at him. “Okay, well, thanks, Mr. Dam.” “You’re entirely welcome.” As they stood up Artie said, “Have a good Christmas,” and Danny said, “Yeah, I’ll try.” Artie tapped his own forehead. “Remember to keep all the fuck yous right up here. Think them if you need to, but keep them up here.” “Yeah, yeah, okay, I will.” Danny gave a small laugh, and then he said, “Hey, you do that too,” and Artie laughed loudly and said, “Okay, we have a deal.” As Danny left the room he turned around and said to Artie, “You have a good Christmas as well.” Artie said, “I’ll try.” And for those few seconds as they stood looking at each other—to Artie’s way of thinking—there was a real sense of communion between them.”
― Elizabeth Strout, The Things We Never Say

“My instinct is to fight, and initially I found myself rather compiling a case, disputing your accusations, thinking of all the proof I have that you’re wrong. And yet I waited. I continued to sit with it. Surprising even myself, I’ve let the tide go out with my self-defense, but I do want to tell you a story about me.”
― Virginia Evans, The Correspondent

“To my surprise, I find the most relevant commentary on a marriage that continues into the sunset years comes from the radical German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who, in an atypically practical frame of mind, wrote, 'When marrying, ask yourself this question: Do you believe that you will be able to converse well with this person into your old age? Everthing else in marriage is transitory.”
― Daniel Klein, Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life

“Contrary to the idea that post-war Britain was full of hope, optimism and idealism, adult murmurs wouldn’t have encouraged kids to believe that things were going to change soon. The 1950s were much more a time of austerity and struggle than of the renewal and vigour that the legend of the Blitz spirit suggests.”
― Deborah Orr, Motherwell: A Girlhood