“The pain was a river I rode; I could not plant my feet in it or it would knock me down”

“Run while you have the light of life, that the darkness of death may overtake you not." (Rule of St. Benedict))”

“Failure to plan is planning to fail”

“A little baby girl trying to soothe her girl of a mother”

“At Bramasole, the first secret spot that draws me outside is a stump and board bench on a high terrace overlooking the lake and valley. Before I sit down, I must bang the board against a tree to knock off all the ants. Then I'm happy. With a stunted oak tree for shelter and a never-ending view, I am hidden. No one knows where I am. The nine-year-old's thrill of the hideout under the hydrangea comes back: My mother is calling me and I am not answering.”

“I got all my limbs," Mosca answered quickly. "I been knocked and scraped and chased about but my heart’s still beating inside my hide.”

“I would not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.”