"And — well,
you can imagine the excitement that ah experienced at having found someone
to share the strafes and stripes of public rebuke — a companion to cling to through
the long dark night and through the longer, darker day — someone ah could plough mah
lonely furrow beside — a companion through the laughter and the tears — in short,
a friend
— and ah awaited an opportunity to present myself without him
becoming scared and taking flight."