"April 7th. All the animals come out at night—whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies, sick, venal. Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets."

"You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talkin' to? You talkin' to me? Well, I'm the only one here. Who the fuck do you think you're talkin' to? Oh yeah? Okay."

"Loneliness has followed me my whole life, everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely man."

"You must think I'm pretty sick or something. You know, you must think I'm pretty sick? Right? You must think I'm pretty sick? Huh? Right? I bet you really think I'm sick, right? You think I'm sick? You think I'm sick? You don't have to answer that. I'm paying for the ride. You don't have to answer that."

"Listen, you fuckers, you screwheads. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. Here is a man who stood up."

"Yo, cabbie, you see that light up there? The window? The light, the window up there on the second floor. The one that's closest—that's closest to the edge of the building. The light, up in the window, the second story. What, are you blind? Do you—do you see the light?"

"You see the woman in the window? Do you—do you see the woman in the window? You see the woman. Good. I want you to see that woman 'cause that's my wife. But that's not my apartment. It's not my apartment. You know who lives there? Huh? A nigger lives there. How do you like that? And I'm gonna—I'm gonna kill her. There's nothing else. I'm just gonna kill her."

"Did you ever see what it can do to a woman's pussy? Now, that you should see! That you should see what a .44 Magnum's gonna do to a woman's pussy. You should see."

"I don't believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention. I believe that one should become a person like other people."

"The days go on and on… they don't end. All my life needed was a sense of someplace to go."

"I'm the only one here."

"One of these days I'm gonna get organizized."

"You're a beautiful woman, Betsy. You really are. I don't know how to say it, but I think I do know how to say it."

"I don't know, I just saw you, you know? And I, uh... you know, like... like somebody'd... you know... I've never met anybody like you."

"Well, I'm in love with you. You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know."

"You know what you should do? You should stop wasting your time down here with all these creeps. You're too good for this place."

"What do you do for a living, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I'm a cab driver. I drive nights. I got tired of the daylight, I guess."

"A cab driver. You must meet all kinds of people."

"Oh yeah, all kinds."

"What's your name?"

"Travis."

"I'm Betsy."

"Betsy. That's a nice name."

"Thank you."

"You know, you really should get some rest. You look tired."

"I don't sleep very well. It's the heat, I guess. And the noise."

"Have you tried pills?"

"I don't need pills. I just need a good night's sleep."

"Thank you for the coffee."

"You're welcome. Take care of yourself, Travis."

"Hello Betsy. Hi, it's Travis. How ya doin'? Listen, uh, I'm, I'm sorry about the, the other night. I didn't know that was the way you felt about it."

"What film did you say you were taking me to see?"

"It's a... it's a film about a woman and... and her two lovers. It's very artistic. It's got a great cast."

"I don't think I want to see this film, Travis."

"What's the matter? Don't you like this kind of film? I thought everyone liked this kind of film."

"You are a walking contradiction, Travis. You really are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't really know, I'm not sure. I just know I don't want to see you anymore. Please don't call me. Goodbye, Travis."

"She's just like the rest of them. Cold and distant."

"I realize now how twisted I am. It's a hard truth to face."

"Now I see it clearly. My whole life is pointed in one direction. I see that now. There never has been any choice for me."

"You don't look so bad. Here, fifty cents. Get yourself some coffee."

"Thanks, mister. You got a light?"

"I don't smoke."

"So what's your name?"

"Travis."

"Travis? Hey, hey, Travis, you ever had a twelve-year-old? Oh, that's the best, man. That's the best. They can't even walk right after. Ha ha ha!"

"You ever seen what a .44 Magnum can do to a woman's pussy? You should see that."

"Hey man, I'm working here. You gotta pay, you know what I'm saying? You gotta pay."

"How much?"

"Twenty for the hour. No rough stuff."

"No rough stuff."

"What's a sweet girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"What do you care? You want to go or not? Twenty dollars. Come on."

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to talk to you."

"Talk? What do you want to talk about? You're weird, man. Really weird."

"I just want to talk to you. I think you should go home. Go back home to your parents. They must be worried about you."

"I can't go home. I hate my father. He's a creep. My mother's okay but my father's a real creep."

"What about your mother? She must want you home."

"She don't care. She lets him do anything he wants. I hate him."

"I got a letter from you. I don't even know you. What is this? You want me to go home? What for? To watch TV? To go to school? I hate school."

"You don't have to go to school. You don't have to go home. You could go live with some people. You could go live in a nice place with nice people. You could go live in a commune. They got communes now. In Vermont."

"Vermont? What's in Vermont?"

"Trees. Clean air. Nice people. You could grow things."

"I don't know, man. Sport, he takes care of me. He's gonna get me in the movies."

"He's gonna get you in a coffin. He's a animal. He's a dog. He's the worst kind—he's a pimp."

"I don't know. You're a funny guy."

"I think you should take the money and go to Vermont. It's a clean start."

"I never been to Vermont."

"I can get you the money."

"You? You ain't got no money. Look at you. You're a cabbie. You're worse off than me."

"I can get it. You just wait. Don't go anywhere."

"You know, this country is in a bad way. We got a sick society here. Very sick, sick people."

"You got a bad attitude, my friend. You ain't got no regular ideas. You know what I mean? You don't fit in."

"What do you mean, I don't fit in?"

"You got no regular ideas. You know what I mean? You just don't fit in."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"A man takes a job, you know? And that job—that becomes what he is. You do a thing and that's what you are. I've seen it a hundred times."

"You gotta have a job, you know? A man without a job is nothing. A man without a job, he's a bum."

"I'm a cabbie. That's what I am."

"There you go. Now you're talking. That's a regular idea."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are met today at a crossroads, Columbus Circle. This is no ordinary place. It is a place where many roads and many lives intersect. It is appropriate that we meet here today, because these are not ordinary times."

"We meet at a crossroads in history. For far too long, the wrong roads have been taken. The wrong roads have led us into war, into poverty, into unemployment and inflation."

"Today I say to you, we have reached the turning point. No longer will we, the people, suffer for the few."

"Now, I would lie to you if I told you the new roads would be easy. They will not be easy. Nothing that is right and good has ever been easy. We, the people, know that."

"And we, the people, know the right roads and the good. Today I say to you, we are the people, you and I. And it is time to let the people rule!"

"I'm gonna kill the President of the United States. I'm gonna kill him."

"You can't kill the President. They got the Secret Service. They got all kinds of security."

"I can kill him. I can get close. I can get real close."

"These are Smith & Wesson. They don't come any better. Four hundred dollars for the set. No rough stuff, right?"

"No rough stuff."

"I don't know how it works with you fellas, but me, I got a .22. It's small, but it gets the job done. You put it right up to the head, you know? Pop."

"Yeah, pop."

"The smell of the blood and the shot and the smoke—it's like, I don't know, it's like perfume."

"Now I can see it. I see the whole thing. The whole sick city. I can see it all."

"My whole life was pointed in one direction. I see that now. There never was any choice."

"Suck on this, you motherfucker!"

"You fuckin' bastard! You fuckin' bastard!"

"I think I'm finally onto something. I'm onto something real. I'm onto something that matters. I'm gonna be just like you people. I'm gonna be just like you."