“If you tiptoe into cold water, you're missing out on the rush of plunging in headfirst.”

“He was not going to be dragged into other people´s business. He was going to plunge in headfirst.”

“I imagine runningto the creek and diving in headfirst, the creek so shallow that my hands scrape against the rocks, and my bodyslides into the cold water, the shock of the cold giving way to numbness, and I would stay there, float down withthat water first to the Cahaba River, then to the Alabama River, then to Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.”

“It was strange to be naked in front of anybody. It was like that cold water out there in the bay: scary, you didn’t think you could stand it, but then you plunged in and pretty soon you got used to it. There was enough hiding in life. Sometimes you just wanted to show somebody your tits.”

“I miss the sound of your voiceAnd I miss the rush of your skinAnd I miss the still of the silenceAs you breathe out and I breathe in”

“Unfortunately...I missed out on the California Gold Rush a century before...I'll be dammed if I miss out on this one.”