“You were in Sweden?" Boomer asked."No," I said. "The trip got called off at the last minute. Because of political the unrest""In Sweden?" Priya seemed skeptical."Yeah-isn't it strange how the Times isn't covering it? Half the country's on strike because of that thing the crown prince said about Pippi Longstocking Which means no meatballs for Christmas, if you know what I mean.""That's so sad!" Boomer said.”

“Why are there so many people out here?' Boomer asked as we bobbed and weaved roughly forward.'Christmas shopping.' I explained.'Already? Isn't it early to returning things?'I really had no sense of how his mind worked.”

“In the South you are ashamed of being a virgin. Boys. Men. They lie about it. Because it means less to women, Father said. He said it was men invented virginity not women. Father said it's like death: only a state in which the others are left and I said, But to believe it doesn't matter and he said, That's what's so sad about anything: not only virginity and I said, Why couldn't it have been me and not her who is unvirgin and he said, That's why that's sad too; nothing is even worth the changing of it...”

“The children came to a perfume shop. In the show window was a large jar of freckle salve, and beside the jar was a sign, which read: DO YOU SUFFER FROM FRECKLES?'What does the sign say?' ask Pippi. She couldn’t read very well because she didn’t want to go to school as other children did.'It says, "Do you suffer from freckles?"' said Annika.'Does it indeed?' said Pippi thoughtfully. 'Well, a civil question deserves a civil answer. Let’s go in.'She opened the door and entered the shop, closely followed by Tommy and Annika. An elderly lady stood back of the counter. Pippi went right up to her. 'No!' she said decidedly.'What is it you want?' asked the lady.'No,' said Pippi once more.'I don’t understand what you mean,' said the lady.'No, I don’t suffer from freckles,' said Pippi.Then the lady understood, but she took one look at Pippi and burst out, 'But, my dear child, your whole face is covered with freckles!''I know it,' said Pippi, 'but I don’t suffer from them. I love them. Good morning.'She turned to leave, but when she got to the door she looked back and cried, 'But if you should happen to get in any salve that gives people more freckles, then you can send me seven or eight jars.”

“A skeptic once said to me, 'I don't believe the Bible because it has miracles.' I said, 'Name one.' He said, 'Turning water into wine. Do you believe that?' I said, 'Yeah, it happens all the time.' He said, 'What do you mean?' I said, 'Well, rain goes through the grapevine up into the grape, and the grape turns into wine. All Jesus did was speed it up a little bit.”

“You didn't see us," she said to Anna..."I was... lost in thought," Anna replied."What were you thinking about?""You," Anna said. "Isn't that strange? I was thinking of you two so hard that I didn't see you.”