A good relationship comes down to conversation and sex and good manners, I suppose. And if you can continue your conversation and your bawdiness and your good manners for more than ten years, then you're doing awfully well. Conversation is the truest barometer in a relationship, and when you're not moved to open your heart to your lover, something's wrong that needs fixing. We all know that. And yet it's a fabulous gift, true conversation. The world is full of cant and rote and reflexive chatter; good talk is pure gold, and it's what lovers need from each other.

—Garrison Keillor

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