Have I been gone all that long?

Very long. Nearly a minute. And very far away. Nearly beyond my reach.

..a concern for persons wounded in their collisions with reality

Shibumi, p. 163

“Ah, well at your young age affections ebb and flow.  When you get older, you will discover that you cling to some with desperation.”

Shibumi, p. 137

It was not their irritating assumption of equality that annoyed Nicholai so much as their cultural confusions.  The Americans seemed to confuse standard of living with quality of life, equal opportunity with institutionalized mediocrity, bravery with courage, machismo with manhood, liberty with freedom, wordiness with articulation, fun with pelasure – in short, all of the misconceptions common to those who assume that justice implies equality for all, rather than equality for equals.