The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store Quotes
"The last of the Jews round here. That fella was a wizard. He was something. He could dance, too . . . Lord . . . That man was magic . . ."
"You can’t ride in all directions at once."
"But once Chick Webb’s band struck up, the silent, reticent Negroes of Pottstown transformed: they became a leaping mass of wild, dancing humanity."
"Charity of mind! Without charity of mind, what is life?"
"He read the Word now to keep her alive, and in doing so, a part of him came alive as well."
"The Negroes of Chicken Hill loved Chona."
"This kind of talk chafed against his growing belief that more money made for an easier life."
"They were fellow escapees who, having endured the landing at Ellis Island and escaped the grinding sweatshops and vicious crime of the vermin-infested Lower East Side, had arrived by hook or crook in the land of opportunity that was Pennsylvania."
"Life in America was hard, but it was free, and if you worked hard, you might gain some opportunity."
"Our ways give comfort rather than cause sorrow. They bring joy rather than pain."
"She knew, even from the beginning, that the dream was not meant to last."
"He was voted president of the school debating team, and despite having what girls called a walnut nose—it protruded from his face like a bumpy walnut—he discovered that girls liked guys who were clever."
"For had that arm not been there, he would have fallen off altogether, as his legs gave way at that moment and he became overwhelmed with the same feeling he’d had when he was kneeling before the stove..."
"A knowledge, a wisdom, passed between them that no one outside of them could possess—a knowledge that they were boys among men, with remarkable minds trapped inside bodies that would not allow one-thousandth of any of the thoughts and feelings they possessed to emerge."
"This town, he thought grimly, is too damn small."
"Differing weights mean differing measures. The Lord knows ’em both."
"He was too softhearted. He would do anything for anyone. That was his problem."
"If you forget 'em and go on living, it’s almost as good as forgiving."
"There was something about a starving child that pulled every string in Fioria Carissimi."
"It was as if a caterpillar had cracked loose from its cocoon and an evil butterfly was emerging."
"The closing of the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store was not something that Moshe ever imagined doing."
"He was the only one in the world who would remember that first moment."
"It must be a terrible burden to pretend you know everything."
"The patients at Pennhurst love me when they see me, for I understands 'em. They're like everybody else. They want to live. They want to be happy."
"Eggs got everything to do with tunnels. Everything got everything to do with everything."
"A cone of silence worked its way into the room."
"Religion and politics. Not good for business."
"Kindness. Love. Principle. It runs the world."
"No is not a no. It’s just the beginning of a negotiation."
"I made a mistake, Monkey Pants. That’s why I’m here."
"Miggy didn't put a spell on you now, did she, Titus? C'mon... har up!"
"You could go to jail for breaking somebody out a state hospital."
"You ain't sending me no place, ya ragged little skunk! You got no respect, talking to an elder like you is."
"It ain't your fault," Nate said to Son of Man.
"What if the guy really did come to his house? His wife! His kids!"
"Blue coat, red coat, who cares? It's just a damn parade. What difference does it make?"
"Here's to America's fire engines and wild horses."