“If a rooster crows while you're thinking about a man," the fortuneteller had once told Maria, "then he's the one you'll marry.”

“I would have been glad if it had been the Lord's will to let one of my children live.”

“If decorum allowed, she would take tea at the hotel. Once inside, she might run into a rich northern gentleman who had ridden in this very coach. If only she could touch something colored blue for luck before entering the building! "Touch blue and your wish will come true." That, along with the rabbit's foot she always carried in her pocket, would almost ensure such a meeting.”

“First month honey. . .Next month pie. . .Third month. . .Get out here and work, you damn bitch, same as I.”

“Biscuits are rough, potatoes are tough. I pray to God we all get enough.”

“Child, there's a sayin' every fishmonger has. When you buy land, you buy stones. When you buy fish, you buy bones.”

“She reached out her arms to Blackie. The beautiful siren was calling her weary sailor safely to port.”