carl and his mystery girl would come over sometimes to talk about life and comedy and divine inspiration. drinks and all that as all of us were invariably stuck in situations we ultimately would never understand. when his girlfriend left the room, carl had this to say to me-

"george,
you've got to write me into her life. please? i miss her, i really really miss her and i don't care who she's been with all this time, i just want to be happy again, and i've done all this crazy bullshit, i've tried to live life and i can't. my mind is wrecked. i'm listless and dying and everything you have me do never makes me feel fulfilled at all."

to which i replied,
"she's in love. you're just going to have to find someone else. she looks like a sweet girl you know. besides, all you did when you were with her was sleep."

carl laughed wildly and pressed his face down into a pillow and began to punch himself in the back of the head.