It was only later that I realised that I had experienced extended close contact with another human without feeling uncomfortable. I attributed it to my concentration on correctly executing the dance steps.

When someone sends you an email conveying information, you should reply, even if no reply seems logically necessary.

Whatever behavior modifications you require from me are a trivial price to pay for have you as my partner.

It was odd, paradoxical-crazy-that what Rosie seemed to value most about me, a highly organized person who avoided uncertainty and liked to plan in detail, was that my behavior generated unpredictable consequences. But if that was what she loved, I was not going to argue. What I was going to argue was that she should not abandon something she valued.

You think I can’t catch a ball?’ said Hudson.

One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich laying bricks in Siberia probably generated a higher level of happiness than one day in the life of a retired rock star in a Manhattan penthouse with all the beer he could drink. Work was crucial to sanity. Which was probably why George continued to perform on the cruise ship.

I don’t want him regarding women as some other species.” I pointed out that I had attended a co-educational public school and had ended up regarding the majority of the human race as another species.

I thought you were happy about having a baby.’ I was happy in the way that I would be happy if the captain of an aircraft in which I was travelling announced that he had succeeded in restarting one engine after both had failed. Pleased that I would now probably survive, but shocked that the situation had arisen in the first place, and expecting a thorough investigation into the circumstances.

Rosie and I were on our way to New York, where being weird is acceptable.

It is traditional to encourage questions, but they typically reflect the concerns of one student and are of minimal relevance to the rest of the class.