“The techniques of opening conversation are universal. I knew long ago and rediscovered that the best way to attract attention, help, and conversation is to be lost. A man who seeing his mother starving to death on a path kicks her in the stomach to clear the way, will cheerfully devote several hours of his time giving wrong directions to a total stranger who claims to be lost.”
More from John Steinbeck
“If it is right, it happens — the main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away”
“A man so painfully in love is capable of self-torture beyond belief.”
“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.”
“There’s a responsibility in being a person. It’s more than just taking up space where air…”