JoDee Neathery > JoDee's Quotes

“I suspect the most we can hope for, and it's no small hope, is that we never give up, that we never stop giving ourselves permission to try to love and receive love.”
― Elizabeth Strout, Abide with Me

“You couldn't make yourself stop feeling a certain way, no matter what the other person did. You had to just wait. Eventually the feeling went away because others came along. Or sometimes it didn't go away but got squeezed into something tiny, and hung like a piece of tinsel in the back of your mind.”
― Elizabeth Strout, Olive Kitteridge

“It interests me how we find ways to feel superior to another person, another group of people. It happens everywhere, and all the time. Whatever we call it, I think it’s the lowest part of who we are, this need to find someone else to put down.”
― Elizabeth Strout, My Name Is Lucy Barton

“Gabriel Mackie had just celebrated his fourth birthday the first time he visited the whisper room, a windowless enclave with lavender walls brimming with daydreams, obscured from reality. All he knew for certain was that his older brother, Griff, nicknamed Boo, was gone. His bedroom at the end of the long hallway had been transformed into a guest room with ecru lace duvets instead of the blue and white pinstriped spreads covering the twin beds. Vanished were his toy box and New York Yankee American League pennants that had plastered the walls, replaced by paintings of water lilies and wheat fields. A stray tear trickled down Gabe’s cheek when he remembered Boo’s curly blonde hair and how he snorted when he laughed. Silence is deafening and the Mackie household screamed heartbreak.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Dreams that last hold secrets from the past.
Out of reach. Impossible to breach.
Fragile to clutch. Fleeting to touch.
Like stars and snowflakes and visions all aglow.
Time is endless in our youth. Our dreams are rustproof.
Our time to chase is aloof.
From the horizon of hope comes the challenge to dare.
Our time to dream has changed in midair.
Dreams that last hold secrets from the past—
 uniquely ours to share if we so care.
Starla Jordan's therapy - writing song lyrics or poetry.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“I remember not belonging. I was always Summer’s older sister—the plain one with the red hair and a gap between her front teeth. The first boy I had a crush on said my teeth looked like piano keys. My smile hid behind by hand until one day the captain of the hockey team said I looked like Madonna. It was like instant validation. Mine wasn’t a flaw, it was a feature . . . my unique trademark. I knew then I didn’t want to be perfect nor was my self-esteem tied to any clique.
Starla reassuring teenage Willa of the correct perspective on self esteem and self-worth.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“That’s a medley of promise, fairy tales, and magic bullets all welded together in a chorus of a cloud nine song.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Again, I’m Irish . . . I speak in essays . . . but I’ll give it my best shot.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“A wise man, my father, always said, a bitter root bears bitter fruit and then he’d point to the crucifix on the mantel adding . . . he’s the only one who had the right to be bitter and wasn’t.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“It’s Gabe. My God, he’s so young and has the vision of a John Rockefeller. I’m not sure what you call it . . . but some people have strength of mind . . . his is of the soul.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Lovey stepped in to add another layer to her husband’s story. “He gets teased constantly about having a Bible in one hand and a joke book in the other. When he’d act up his Mama would say, ‘How do you expect to get into heaven, young man?’ Of course, he had an answer . . . he said he’d just run in and out slamming doors until someone says, ‘Oh for heaven’s sake, either come in or stay out’ . . . then he’d go in.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“My CB handle is Flaming Chick, but name’s Melba—dry and crisp like the toast. Meet my co-pilot, Spark Pug,” she snorted, “Most people walk their dogs, but he’s so old I take him out for a stand . . . it takes all he’s got to lift his leg.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“quotation from the poet Horace. “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.”
― JoDee Neathery, Life in a Box

“The timbre of Willa’s voice fluctuated from scarcely audible to maniacal while expressing her displeasure of being part of the family outing to begin with. “This was all Mom’s idea and it’s her fault we got hurt.”
            Why on earth would you say that?”
She was all happy again and we were supposed to just get over how she blamed me for Griff’s death. We had to look at the pretty flowers and that stupid waterfall from the cliff.” Willa grabbed her headphones. Discussion over.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“It’s Gabe. He might look at an iceberg floating on the sea and wonder what was under it where I would only be interested in how cold the water must be to keep it solid. He’s pointing at the moon and I’m looking at his finger.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“I guess it’s too much to ask for you to understand what I’m going through, Matt. What part of my daughter killing our son don’t you get?”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Summer Mackie didn’t fall. She was pushed. I hollered . . . then poof, gone.”
"By whom?” asked Conner.
            "There were only three of them on the ledge. I gotta go. . . .”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Gabe, sugar, can I come in?” He turned toward her, his tiny face incurably somber, his eyes misty and wounded.
Aunt Starla. Did you bring Mommy?” he asked with a slight hitch in his voice.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“In a perfect world we shouldn’t settle for a relationship that won’t let us be ourselves.”
            Is that from a book or a shrink?”
            Can we table the sarcasm?”
I’m sorry . . . I just wish it was as simple as the Kraft Mayonnaise-Miracle Whip controversy we never resolved.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“I’m pretty sure she’s got an angel job now where she plucks a large handful of flowers and carries them up to God where they will bloom even brighter than on earth.”
 
Can we ask God to bring her back home?”
You know what, she’s already home.” Starla patted her chest. “She’ll always be right here in our hearts.”
But I can’t give her a hug.”
 
Yes, you can . . . if you hug yourself or me or Willa or Daddy or Big Pop or GoGo you’re hugging her because she’s a part of us.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Sally could not dismiss the feeling that she and the strange man on the bus shared the same baggage, both losing their footing—both with fists clenched against the world.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“How can an innocent child effortlessly carry such burdens on his shoulders? It’s almost like he’s having a chat with the ancient sages about universal truths. I’ll go on record that he’ll be an incredible sculptor if that’s what he wants to be. Creative types with that kind of vision see their spirits with crystal clearness,” offered Starla.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Gabriel Edward Mackie, born with soulful maturity and an intrinsic sense of empathy, gazed at life through a poetic contemplative lens relishing the plangent sounds of the wind dancing through the trees during a thunderstorm, inhaling the nutty scent of roasted peanuts at the ballpark, and firmly believing that if he stretched his arms high enough, he could touch his dreams. Driven by his keen curiosity, ability to find a silver lining in the darkest cloud, and vision, he spent boundless energy revering nature’s rarities like the spidery veins in between rose petals and a heron’s powder down feathers.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Hope you’re not prone to nose bleeds. The course sits at the highest elevation in Texas. It’s flat as a pancake, but one day a guy in the group ahead of us had his superglued toupee ripped right off his head. Rumor was it rode the Rio Grande River all the way into Mexico,” Patrick said with a wink and a nod.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Through the open drapes behind the nightstand, moonlight pouring through shadowy leaves fell haphazardly on the plastic bag full of shattered memories of his wife. He sat down on the bed, a dark silent gaze spreading over his face. Opening the bag released the flowery scent of licorice and violets—Summer’s signature perfume, Lolita Lempicka. He remembered she always said the aroma reminded her of childhood lullabies, fairies, and magic kingdoms. Matt buried his face in the tattered polo shirt she was wearing that day inhaling the faint trail of his lost love.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Cheers . . . here’s to the City of Buffalo often coined as a drinking city with a sports problem.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Margo tilted her head toward her husband asking, “What is it about beach volleyball that captures your attention?”
More than anything I’m amazed how they’re able to keep everything in the proper place when spiking the ball. Makes me want to invest in spandex . . . and of course, their fitness is enviable,” he said, his face broadening into a playful smile.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Well, well, well, look who’s here riding solo.”
Victor would make Al Pacino seem gigantic,” said Conner.
You two can look eye to eye my friend.”
God only lets things grow until they’re perfect—some of us didn’t take as long as others. The ladies call us fun-sized.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush

“Starla and Conner ambled to his car, knowing each deliberate footstep meant the road to parting was nearer. He leaned his back against the door pulling her within inches of his face, their personal space evaporating like dew steeped in the warmth of the morning sun. She tilted her head sideways, searching his eyes with hers. Straightening the collar of his shirt she said, “If I’m too bold forgive me, but you fill a void in my life . . . you’re like finding that stray earring I’ve been trying to find for ages and now that I have, it scares me.”
― JoDee Neathery, A Kind of Hush