I didn't want anyone getting close to me. I pushed people away. Built a wall around my heart to keep them out. I let one person take down the bricks, and I suppose it was a good idea, but, sometimes, he hurts me too. And it hurts so much worse then any other hurt I've felt because he is one of the very few that matter anymore.

By 1899, we had learned to tame the darkness but not the Texas heat.

But my mother's life was a never-ending round of maintenance. Not one single thing did she ever achieve but that it had to be done all over again, one day or one week or one season later. Oh, the monotony.

I had never seen a real live dead person.

It means that we should celebrate today's failure because it is a clear sign that our voyage of discovery is not yet over.

It's amazing what you can see when you just sit quietly and look.

We had been so close to missing each other, he and I. He had turned out to be the greatest gift of all.