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She’d attached zip ties to her bicycle wheels to increase traction in the slush, snow, and ice. One zip tie for every spoke, with connectors on the outside edge to help them grip while turning. It worked, but she’d still rather drive.
Always monitor your surroundings. It’s called situational awareness.”
The light wasn’t a bulb, but a plastic two-liter pop bottle filled with water and a bit of bleach to keep algae from forming inside the bottle. Bishop had sawed a small hole in the roof, stuck the bottle halfway in the hole, and sealed the exposed edges. Sunlight entered through the top of the bottle, refracted in the water, and brightened the entire room. It was a clever contraption.
But a life worth living required risk. Otherwise, you were trapped inside a cage of your own making, like a dog too broken to notice that the crate door was wide open.
“There are two kinds of people. Those who rise to the occasion when tough times come, and those who don’t. Sometimes, people don’t come out the other side stronger. They give in to their fear and weakness and become something else, something worse.”
What you failed to do defined you as much as what you did. “You aren’t beholden to a person like that, honey.”
“Pain is a part of living. Loss is a part of living. Risk—tempered with intelligence and wisdom—is a part of living. I won’t numb myself or shut myself off from the world for the illusion of safety. I will not trade myself for a promise that’s not even real. I will not.”
“Nothing worth having in this life is ever easy—or free.”
“That’s what faith means. To believe in something you can’t see, to trust when the way is difficult. To believe that even on the darkest night, the sun will rise.”
Before the collapse, corrupt and greedy politicians ruled us, taxed us to death, sucked the teat of America dry. No one could do anything about it. Not the little people, anyway. They taught us that voting could change things, fix things, but we’ve just been trading one charlatan for another, through every level of government.
