Ritie, don't worry 'cause you ain't pretty. Plenty pretty women I seen digging ditches or worse. You smart. I swear to God, I rather you have a good mind than a cute behind.

A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim.

Never whine. Whining lets a brute know that a victim is in the neighborhood.

He explained when we were smaller that when things were very bad his soul just crawled behind his heart and curled up and went to sleep.

I wasn't a pretty girl. I was six feet tall at 15, you know.

Water isn't shaped like a river or ocean; it mists invisibly against metal and glass.

Make a lot of walks to get healthy and don't read that much but save yourself some until you're grown up.