People Need People

People need people.  Laurie was about three when she requested my aid in getting undressed.  I was downstairs and she was upstairs at that time.  "You know how to undress yourself," I reminded her.

"Yes," she explained, "but sometimes people need people anyway, even if they know how to do things for themselves."

As I slowly lowered the newspaper, a strong feeling came over me, a mixture of delight, anger, and pride; delight in the realization that what I had just heard had crystallized many stray thoughts on interpersonal behavior; anger because Laurie stated so effortlessly what I had been struggling with for months; and pride because, after all, she is my daughter.

- William C. Schutz, quoted by Roy B. Zuck in The Speaker's Quote Book (Christian Literature Crusade, 1997)