Happy Birthday

"'Merely to live, merely to exist--what sense is there to it? A fly also lives.'" -The Chosen, Chaim Potok

"Oh, well, I can't describe him. Maybe you can never explain what it is about one certain person that makes you feel there are a lot of little strings attached between you and him, all pulling." -Greensleeves, Eloise Jarvis McGraw

"I did not press her to explain. I was too grateful for that one word that allowed me at last to leave the island and begin to build myself as a soul, separate from the long, long shadow of my twin." -Jacob Have I Loved, Katherine Paterson

"In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved. Indeed, most of their vices are attempted short cuts to love." -East of Eden, John Steinbeck

I'd add something from Franny and Zooey, by Salinger, but I don't own a copy.