"I'm aware it's how most people do things." Dan does his best not to sound defensive. It's not that he cares that much if people know he can't read, or if they think he's stupid, but it does sting to think that people think he's just being lazy and making others do his work for him. "My life would be a thousand times easier if I could read."

He knows that the reason he gets treated so kindly wherever he goes is because it's difficult to meet such stubborn pleasantness and affability with meanness. The way he gets treated by someone isn't indicative of how they treat everybody. "I'm sorry she treated you that way. She ain't been anything but amiable when I've talked to her."