Blaze Quotes
"You didn’t need your ears to hotwire a car. It was three above zero."
"Blaze took his hands out of his pockets and flexed them twice. The knuckles popped in the cold still air."
"George always said there was no shame in this, but it was a fact and you had to recognize it."
"He hung his head, snorkled back snot. 'I’m a dummy.'"
"If you were a dummy, you had to just do your business and get out."
"Blaze felt panic start. It came up his throat."
"He stood there with sweat running down the sides of his face and freezing on his cheeks."
"But there was so much spaghetti. Battery cables, hoses, spark-plug wires, the gas-line—"
"What about George? Should he go in yonder beer-farm and get him?"
"George had left him to hitchhike in, just meeting him here, then left him again."
"Blaze closed the door, dropped the gear-shift into Drive, and pulled out of the parking space."
"That was the curse of being a dummy. You were always being surprised by grief."
"You didn’t do that for the likes of George. But there was loneliness. And there was fear."
"But now that he was dead, what choice? Blaze was no good by himself."
"The worst they could do would be put you in jail for life."
"When he got up the morning after he stole the Ford, George was sitting in the other room."
"‘Go out and sweep em up.’ ‘Okay.’ He started for the door. ‘Blaze?’ ‘What?’ ‘Put on your fucking pants first, why don’t you?’"
"Blaze had been driving on icy roads since he was a teenager."
"He made himself a couple of hamburgers for his lunch."
"You have to pull a little score. Not a big one. Just a little one."
"Blaze, there’s one more thing. ‘What, George?’ ‘Take the bullets out of the gun, okay?’"
"He never suspected that she had called the police."
"‘The police are on their way,’ she said, ‘but before they get here, I want you to explain yourself.’"
"He turned and ran out the door and across the porch and down the steps to the walk."
"Now, remembering that, Blaze smiled. George was like the fox who couldn’t reach the grapes and told everyone they were sour."
"So here he was, driving back to the miserable shack where he and George had been living since drifting north from Boston, actually planning to go through with it."
"He thought he would be caught, but…two million dollars! You could go someplace and never be cold again."
"And if that happened, you’d still never be cold again."
"‘George, I’m the asshole who wants to get caught.’ ‘No! That ain’t true! That’s a lie, George!’"
"You’re an asshole, Blaze. You know that, right? You’re never gonna bring this off."
"‘I guess I’ll have to. I’m stuck with you now. But Blaze?’ ‘What, George?’ ‘Only ask for a million. Greedies get caught.’"
"He looked at the number on the little sticker. Always check the registration sticker."
"He bought four cans of Skylark Blue auto paint and a spray-gun."
"Blaze looked at it, and something about the shovel brought his hate of the Bowies to completion, finished it off."
"They received a hundred and sixty dollars a month for keeping him and he did their chores."
"He was trying to have a little fun in Boston when he met George Rackley. After he met George, it was better."
"‘He’s a big ’un. Only eleven, you say?’ ‘Twelve next month. He’ll be a good help around your place.’"
"He chopped it and carried it, filling the kitchen woodbox four and five times a day."
"‘You want to get choppin,’ Bowie said again."
"He was up at five to feed the cows and to get breakfast before the yellow SAD 106 bus came to take him to school."
"He never took advantage of his size at keepaway."
"The kids who weren’t afraid of him called him Blaze, and that was how he came to think of himself."
"Blaze had no photo to send his father, but would have written—the music teacher who came on Tuesdays would have helped him."
"The dogs knew Blaze didn’t like them, that he was afraid of them, and every day they grew more aggressive toward him."
"The fleas were already leaving Randy’s cooling body to die in the piss-stained snow."
"OUR GANG HAS THE BABY. IF YOU WANT TO SEE HIM ALIVE AGAIN GET 1MILLION1 MILLION1MILLION IN UNMARKED BILLS."
"PUT MONEY IN BRIEFCASE. BE READY TO GO ON A MOMENT'S NOTICE. SINCERELY YOURS, THE KIDNAPPERS OF JOE GERARD 4."
"This ain’t no place for a kid, Blaze thought. This is the last place in the world for a little kid."
"Blaze, why do you think I picked today to go?"
"If you weren’t a dummy, you had to just do your business and get out."
"When you needed a whore, I got you one of those, too."
"But if you don’t have the guts to say it out loud."
"George, I’m the asshole who wants to get caught."
"No! That ain’t true! That’s a lie, George!"
"Terror seized him. She was going to see him. She couldn’t help but see him. And when she did, she would take his baby away."
"There!" Mrs. Gerard screamed. "There he is, the man who stole my baby! Get him! Catch him! Give me back my baby!"
"Stop him! Stop that man! Stop the baby-thief!"
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! You’re just in time to see Clayton Blaisdell, Jr., the noted babynapper!"
"Get him! Catch him! Kill him! The babynapper!"
"You have to make them drop it from a plane, Blaze. From a plane. Make them drop it from a plane."
"I can’t get out," Blaze moaned. "George, help me to get out."
"They’ve almost got you, Blaze," George said. Then, in a kind of despairing growl: "Dumb shit."
"You can’t think!" George’s voice rose until it was almost a howl. "Do the cops have to come and put a bullet in that stone you carry around on top of your neck before you realize that? You can’t think, Blaze! But I can!"
"He’s asleep now, so he’ll never feel a thing. Get your pillow—it even smells like you, he’ll like that—and put it over his face. Hold it down real tight."
"What’s wrong, Annie?" he asked her. "What’s wrong, dear?"
"It’s all right, don’t cry. I’m here. It’s all right. You’re fine. I’m fine."
"Lord," Bluenote said, "bless these boys and girls. And bless this food to their use. Amen."
"You’re doin good. Keep the tires off the bushes."
"Your name, sir?" "Clayton Blaisdell, Junior," he said at once.
"I seen your wife when I come in," Blaze said. "She’s real pretty."
"The ole lady had a cat. That’s why she came downstairs. She thought I was the cat…that I was…Mikey!"
"Don’t hang up!" Joseph Gerard said. "Is he okay?"
"Got another tooth through. That makes three. Di’per rash is clearing up good."
"Don’t hang up!" Gerard said. "I don’t think I quite understand—" "You’re a smart guy," Blaze said. "I think you do."
"It’s how we roll," Blaze said, and kissed the baby’s bloody forehead.