“That was how I knew Sister Mukumbo was a real teacher, aside from her welcoming smile and her blackboard penmanship. She asked a teacher's type of question. The kind that says: Join in.”

“If you knew what I knew, seen what I've seen, you wouldn't be so quick to pull the plow.”

“Saying "please" without saying it to someone you don't want to say "please" to in the first place tops the list of hard.”

“I just took the box and nodded, because that's how you treat crazy people. You nod and count down twenty-seven days for crazy to come to an end.”

“mixing comes natural. i just ought to. not am i mixed to perfection, i have aptitude for art and colors.”

“A name is important. It isn't something you drop in the litter basket or on the ground. Your name is now people know you. The very mention of your name makes a picture spring to mind, whether it's a picture of clashing fists or a mighty mountain that can't be knocked down. Your name is who you are and how you're known even when you do something great or something dumb.”

“I had a lot of those memories clicking before me like projector slides in the dark. Lots of pictures, smells and sounds flashing in and out.”