Gravel and Grit – Excerpt
“Strong women worked side by side with their husbands and begot sons and daughters who would save the world from tyranny.”
“To him, lashing seas leaped everywhere about him. He always felt like Jacob of old when he said, ‘All things are against me.’”
“Most of the boys had the same kind of life–lived on either a one-mule or two-horse farm, grew their on food, killed hogs and hunted for meat, but the happier times were swimming in creek holes or in stealing watermelons.”
“Thomas helped Dad do a little farming, and it was there one day while hoeing cotton that he received his induction papers to go and fight in World War II. He took his hoe to the house and started preparing for war.”
“But the thing I remember the most was that every day at a certain time, the German prisoners marched on the other side of the fence in our back yard.”
“To this scheming Jezebel, we had no socially redeeming value.”
“Just one flaw, though, our hamartia, ingrained into our psyche and character by a narrow, prejudiced, and corrupted culture on this one trait–to cast it aside, was all that was/is needed to become that model.”
“That afternoon, I secretly called the nearest FBI office and reported the inaction of the mayor, police and sheriff to protect us.”
“I had been ‘woke,’ a moral and spiritual journey in which my eyes and ears were finally opened and transformed.”
Ethereal
“For me, there are times when I live life on the ethereal plane.” (page 29)
“Don’t you threaten me, you uppity piece of white trash, and get out of my store.” (page 41)
“All right, we’ve got to ‘decide now whether we’re going to be fearless men or scared boys.’” (page 71)
Aeamon Lee responded, “I believe that ‘life is not a matter of holding good cards but playing a poor hand well.’” (page 81)
“As he confidently headed toward that end of the field, the tall, imposing figure, covered with the dirt, sweat and grime of battle, gave the mirage-like image of a ghostly warrior marching on glistening, wavy waters of glory.” (page 223)
“We will prevail because we will ‘pierce the heart of the enemy as you would a fellow that spit in your face, knocked down your girlfriend or wife, burned down your house and called your dog a skunk.’”(page 242)
“The scene came to him in the vision of his mind. It was Jo-Nathan’s voice in the hollow below the house at Goshen Wells, ‘When the breaks are going against you and your back is against the wall, remember to run like the animals.’” (page 248)
