"Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric."
— Bertrand Russell

"I am not eccentric. It's just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel set in a pond of goldfish."
— Edith Sitwell

"Longevity-and sanity. Eccentric old ladies on Harleys I can deal with."
— Alison Larkin (The English American: A Novel)

"Insist on your cup of stars; once they have trapped you into being like everyone else you will never see your cup of stars again.
"
— -Shirley Jackson

"About the South:

"[About Mr. Fruit, an eccentric man, out of touch with reality who directed traffic at his own whim, ignoring the lights in downtown Colleton. The town just went along with it.]

"There was a time when a new deputy tried to teach Mr. Fruit about the difference between a red and a green light, but Mr. Fruit had resisted all efforts to reorder what he had been doing perfectly well for many years. He had not only monitored the comings and goings of the town, his presence softened the ingrained evil that flourished along the invisible margins of the town’s consciousness. Any community can be judged in its humanity or corruption by how it manages to accommodate the Mr. Fruits of the world. Colleton simply adjusted itself to Mr. Fruit’s harmonies and ordinations. He did whatever he felt was needed and he did it with style. “That’s the Southern way” my grandmother said. “That’s the nice way.”"

"
— - Pat Conroy Excerpt from Prince of Tides "
— Pat Conroy (The Prince of Tides)

"[About Mr. Fruit, an eccentric man, out of touch with reality who directed traffic at his own whim, ignoring the lights in downtown Colleton. The town just went along with it.]

"There was a time when a new deputy tried to teach Mr. Fruit about the difference between a red and a green light, but Mr. Fruit had resisted all efforts to reorder what he had been doing perfectly well for many years. He had not only monitored the comings and goings of the town, his presence softened the ingrained evil that flourished along the invisible margins of the town’s consciousness. Any community can be judged in its humanity or corruption by how it manages to accommodate the Mr. Fruits of the world. Colleton simply adjusted itself to Mr. Fruit’s harmonies and ordinations. He did whatever he felt was needed and he did it with style. “That’s the Southern way” my grandmother said. “That’s the nice way.”"

"
— - Pat Conroy Excerpt from Prince of Tides