"Is your electricity out?"

—You have batteries, right?

"The air was good." [You just turned off the air-conditioner and opened the window]

—It's an indication.

"Is there a law against having the air-conditioning on in the city?"

—Are you sure you wanted to say that?

"Will you turn it back on then?"

—Certainly.

"Hi. How are things going?" [From an incessantly intrusive manager]

—There's more ... There's lots of things ... It's really good to be around people who see certain things ... All these things are happening because you're not dead.

"u dick."

—That's good enough for me.

"The unemployed need not apply." [For any work]

—That's a selling point ... Fugitives from justice ... That's the nice half of the family ... Conserve your strength ... That's right on top! ... The devil never sleeps ... (Without looking ... which you buy into) ... I don't make mistakes ... The mushroom style of management: Stay in the dark and pile on the shit.

"How have you been, sir? – So far, so good?"

—People either get along or they don't – and it's really nice.

"Hey, man, how are you doing?"

—Playing with danger.

"That's the right answer."

—Just thoughtless.

"Richard! How're you doing, guy?"

—Laughing at pain.

"That's scary the way you said that."

—Everyone can use someone who's good! .. Pre-Code Hollywood ... We can always use more ... Why you need some help... That is a scream!

"How are you doing, Sir?"

—Not that they have to, but they do.

"That website [taxi1010] is frightening. i don't know what to make of it. at first it was funny, but then i realized (thought i realized) that they are dead, dead serious. and it creeps me out but i can't stop looking at me. please help."

—Did you ever have a Slinky®?

"Are you having trouble hearing what I'm saying?"

—They don't try really hard to kill anyone.

"Your American soccer is rubbish!"

—You don't mean that.

"What made him snap?"

—That's a loaded question!

"Wednesday."

—You just don't know.

"How well do you really know someone?"

—I will no longer use my pet's name as a password!

"Do you have someone?"

—I don't really have to have one.

[Any incomprehensible or inexplicable question]

—Search me? ... God is too big to fit inside one religion.

"Where are the most shops?"

—Don't criticize things or expect anything.

"How was your day?"

—A nice life is what you allow into it ... Another terrible job is making violin strings.

"I haven't see you in a long time – Where've you been?"

—One foot in heaven.

"How ya' doin'?" [Total stranger suddenly appearing in front of you]

—Wait, I want to hang onto my wallet!

"I asked you how you are."

—You know, you never know ... Really intense.

"How much is it, if you don't mind my asking?"

—One boring interlude after another.

"Starts at $3.10?"

—For a long time.

"Has anyone famous ridden in your cab?"

—Way up! ... Did you ever see the play, The Man Who Didn't Come to Dinner? ... Only the wealthy know ... The fifth world.

"There is always something more interesting on Twitter than whatever you happen to be working on." (–David Carr, "Why Twitter Will Endure," The New York Times, 3 January 2010)

—Endless focus groups.

"The world does not revolve around you."

—Anything you can do?

"Mom, you're a goldfish!"

—Eyes open! ... You do the best you can.

"Staying dry?" [You're wearing a poncho; you're far from home; it's really raining]

—Shows promise ... You see the magic of the packaging? ... Or smuggling!

"Getting wet?" [You're wearing a poncho; you're close to home; it's really raining]

—I don't believe in change ... A painting of a vase within the flowers ... Really fantastic ... It's just fantastic ... Bad hair day ... Perhaps I was jesting!

"Are you headed for University Avenue?"

—Now look, don't be an opportunist! ... Plan! ... Don't just do what comes up ... Well, I'm sorry – My art comes first ... I have my own life ... You have to do what's best for you ... I'm trying to set up a life for myself ... Just because you do it, doesn't mean you have to ... No one can tell you what to do with your life ... Instead of worrying, save your money ... You like the web, but you don't like getting wrapped up in the strands.

"I'm not your private secretary, you know?"

—Peel off!

"Doesn't confirmed bachelor mean gay?"

—Is a rake "a long-handled implement to gather leaves," or "a libertine?"

"Did you catch Tickton?"

—I'll never take YOU for a mystery ride.

"You're fat and ugly, and always will be."

—What good is running if you're on the wrong road?

"Which way are we going?"

—The authentic way – We're trying to save trouble.

"Don't take the long way!"

—It's hardly worth it.

"I kind of like the way you did that."

—We're used to that.

"HOW ARE YOU DOING, SIR? I AM YOUR HOST." [Busboy in a cafeteria, surprising you]

—Have mercy!

"He just gets angry when someone else does it."

—What does that have to do with anything?

«How to stop feeling unloved from the inside»

—It's not that bad now – Okay, but don't hurt me!

"Hey! Airport moving?"

—HEY, YOURSELF! ... WHO SAYS? ... Search me?

"Airport people are fun to work with."

—Where is all the treasure buried?

"You didn't go to the airport?"

—Well, good, let me think about it.

"How was the airport?"

—Go join the Moroccan Air Force!

"How do you keep your mind quiet?"

—I hear a pitter-pat in my head unless I sleep with my mouth open.

"Right, Linda?"

—You have to know what's inside you.

"May all your dreams come true."

—One thing leads to the other.

"How old is he?" [Your two-year-old boy, from a complete stranger]

—I don't think it matters anymore.

"Terrible two's, huh?"

—Why do you just have to be one thing?

["It's how to change the mood if someone is mean or difficult."] "How do you do that?"

—It's not so easy to do.

"How can you explain this?"

—Meaningful effort is more important to me than commanding position.

"Right on time!"

—Just like clockwork, right?

"How are you doing, Richard?"

—Just fine.

"How are you doing, baby?"

—You seem to be doing pretty good.

"Where've you been? Have you been on vacation?"

—Haven't I seen you before?

"So how have you been?"

—You're one in a million!

"How so?"

—I don't know how to put it.

"So, how's it going?"

—Pretty good.

"How goes it?"

—Good enough.

"How are you? – you and the lads?"

—Still the same.
[Also, Haunted, We'll soon find out, Charmed, Thrilled, Delighted, Distracted, Engaged and Satisfied.]

"I'm going on vacation – I'm going to Montana."

—With a beautiful view, I bet.

"How are you?" [After you've been sitting there fifteen minutes]

—I really like this – It has a really deep effect on me.

"How are you today?" [F. Matthias Alexander said, "People do not know how they are; getting them to think about it is a wrong stimulus, very bad for them." (–The Resurrection of the Body)]

—No pain ... It's not so bad so far ... You get used to it.

"Oh, right! So this transfer is from this morning, and you're trying to get a free ride!" [A bus driver speaking Very Loudly, treating you like a thief in front of everyone, for accidentally picking the wrong transfer out of a fistful]

—There's an awful lot of people doing it, huh?

"So how come you don't speak to me? Are you giving me the silent treatment now?"

—Take two Aspirin and die in the morning.

"You imbecile!"

—What are you trying to prove? – that you passed fourth grade?

"Do you want to fight?"

—It's up to you.

"Aaaaa-CHOO!"

—You'll have to change your clothes!

"Aaaaa-CHOO! – Excuse me!"

—Leave it there! – That's the same thing inside everybody.

"You touched my car – I don't like anyone touching my car."

—They're going to make big cars again.

"You want to fight? – I can settle this in two seconds."

—Some people like them.

"So you have a web page." [Implying, "So what?"]

—Do I know what I'm not doing?

[Hooligans trespassing at a girls' summer camp]

—You can bank on it ... Now's the time to go, too ... Or their children, right? ... It's a wonderful thing for a little girl ... Nothing fancy at all ... Don't need evidence ... It's tricky ... Mountaineers use it ... Certain people do ... That's really what does it ... That stops it at the gate ... It says, "Peel off!"

"That's not true."

—More than you think.

"I'm sure that's true."

—Go by what you know, not by what you feel.

"Hey, buddy! Where's Spear Street?"

—I'm not in the in-crowd; I don't know anything.

"There's a great movie on – It's really good."

—There you go, then.

"This is a great movie!"

—Go for it! Go for the gold.

"This is a great movie." [Not sharing with you what it is]

—I'll sell it to you.

"This is a bad movie."

—I'm adjusting.

"It's just a stupid movie."

—The artful dodger.

"I know just how you feel."

—Danger is just around the corner – Let's move the furniture!

"Mr. Salinger's fixation on the difference between 'phoniness,' as Holden Caufield would put it, and authenticity now has a twilight, '50s feeling about it. It's no longer news, and probably never was. ¶ This is the theme, though, that comes increasingly to dominate the Glass chronicles: the unsolvable problem of ego and self-consciousness, of how to lead a spiritual life in a vulgar, material society." (–Charles McGrath, "Still Paging Mr. Salinger," The New York Times, December 31, 2008)

—Don't put too much into the pot ... It's whatever you believe is true ... They believe whatever they say is true ... You are where your attention is.

"I want you to be calm. From today on, Islamic Shariah law will be the rule of this town. If anyone opposes the Shariah, appropriate steps will be taken." (–Sheik Muktar Robow, also known as Abu Monsur, Mogadishu, Somalia, as reported in The New York Times, 28 January 2009)

—That's a little scary ... He's very brutal in a lot of ways ... You can't argue with them ... These are interesting times if you have an imagination; these are not interesting times if you're old-fashioned.

"Hey, dude, that was really rude! If you ever come up to my door, then slam the door in my face, you're going to have a problem."

—Not that you get a chance to express yourself – that you get a chance to understand it.

"You know, you hurt my hand, so don't ever talk to me or come up my stairs again, you little prick."

—They're like a newborn baby – They don't know what the fuck is going on – All the big hikers!

"Hey, what kind of coward are you?"

—I don't want to drag it out, because I'm saving it for someone else – Try to understand who's saying these things, or who's saying it now – Because I have a feeling that some of these people don't know what they're doing.

"What kind of coward are you, chicken-shit!"

—You can tell! – There's nothing wrong with letting off steam – With time, it should be replaced with, "I am afraid."

"Don't ever slam the door in my face again, you old fart."

—We all have that in us – This might help: (1.) I have a mechanism in me that anyone can start by attacking me; (2.) When someone attacks, what they're really doing is inflaming their fear; (3.) Don't blame yourself; (4.) Realize there's something in you (a mechanism) that can be set off from outside; (5.) You can't tell people that, because they have all these mechanisms ("I didn't hear it!"); (6.) Their fears of their mother and father have taken them over; (7.) "Don't try to set me off, I'm afraid of you, mom!" (8.) Once you know you're afraid of them, you can dump them! (9.) You are your own mother and father, by default; (10.) Your fear is just a pile of fears based on one fear; (11.) You feel you're being whacked, and if someone around you is yelling at you, you can blame them; (12.) "I don't want this hot potato! Here! You hold it!" (13.) The way you defend it is to understand what's going on; (14.) You turn the fear on yourself, and then, very slowly, you think it's your parents.

"No, legally we can't do that." [Flight attendant refusing to help a woman (weak from a long illness) put her suitcase in an overhead rack]

—You don't wear rubber gloves?

"Dear Richard, Taxi1010.com sounds like a complete winner, although I must admit that I have used some of those tactics in responding to all the invective that has come my way ... ie ... 'What you say may well be true and I am sorry you feel that way.' All of which is a nice way of saying not much, I guess. Thanks so much for taking the time to write. David Carr"

—I didn't get here on a watermelon truck.

"After I remember not to slam the door."

—It's like a palace ... From room to room ... What a house! ... Accordion to what?

"So how are you?"

—Old age ... Everyone knows reporters are paid liars ... You know, the child murderers? ... His bank statement is sent in a box of chocolates ... Search me? ... Are you sure it's not the same thing, over and over? ... Part of it is the people you meet, too ... They're screwballs ... That's deterrent number forty-eight.

"If you were a woman scientist and had two competing offers and you knew that the president of Harvard didn't think that women scientists were as good as men, which one would you take?" (–Mary C. Waters, chairman of Harvard's sociology department, after Harvard president Lawrence H. Summers suggested that innate sex differences may leave women less capable in tenacious pursuit of math and science)

—For anyone ... And the answer is?

"Thoughts can't be changed by nuclear bomb. Today is the day of thought and logic." (–Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad)

—Maybe it is, maybe it isn't ... We want an army in Iraq because it's just like Germany in the '30s ... They're just screwballs ... You just learn ... If you think the will of Allah is the will of your breath, that's one thing ....

"In my opinion, the only plausible reaction to such people – to chronic verbal abusers – is compassion." (–Suzette Haden Elgin)

—What are the alternatives? ... Listen. This isn't 1942. We're not in Germany. I'm not in a Concentration Camp. And you're not Hitler ... Remember that.

"Regarding you, Bush, Dog of the West, we are giving you good news which will displease you. Your worst days are coming with the help of God. You and your soldiers will regret the day when your feet touched the land of Iraq and showered your bravery on shelters of Muslims." [With a lot of people nothing's enough because they were so poisoned in their childhood.]

—It's sad, isn't it? (They're using their pain to hold onto something ... That's what they had in their childhood ... pain.)

"Germany's talking about going to war again."

—Everyone has something they go into a rage over – You're not the only one.

"You know, they kill cab drivers!"

—Let's kill all the gringos!

"Don't do me any favors."

—What am I supposed to do – feel sorry for rats?

"It's because the two Teutonic plagues, Hart and Juda, came together."

—You mean the woman in black who comes to your window?

"YOU HAVE INSUFFICIENT FUNDS."

—There's always hidden stories in the land of heartbreak.

"Yeah, that's right." [Sarcastically]

—You're right, and I'm right.

"That's right – That's right, Leon."

—There's other things, too.

"Do the right thing."

—Don't say anything; don't sign anything; just put it in the bank.

"Straighten up and fly right."

—I'll have to change my diet.

"Just right."

—See you on the Rialto, skylark!

"Am I in your way?"

—That would be serious.

"I'm sorry, am I in your way?"

—It's one of my designs.

"I know I'm in your way."

—I hate to say it – She could be Napoleon's mother.

"I'll get out of your way."

—Thundering herds rounding corners.

"Sorry to block your way again."

—Are you trying to make me feel like a heel?

"No WAY!"

—Everyone knows you have to go slow.