A Yellow Raft in Blue Water Quotes

“Don't ask so many questions and they will all be answered.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“In the hopelessness of her situation she had found strength, and in her strength there was irresistible pain.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“How long does it last?" Said the other customer, a man wearing a tan shirt with little straps that buttoned on top of the shoulders. He looked as if he were comparing all the pros and cons before shelling out $.99. You could see he thought he was pretty shrewd.
"It lasts for as long as you live," the manager said slowly. There was a second of silence while we all thought about that. The man in the tan shirt drew his head back, tucking his chin into his neck. His mind was working like a house on fire
"What about other people?" He asked. "The wife? The kids?"
"They can use your membership as long as you're alive," the manager said, making the distinction clear.
"Then what?" The man asked, louder. He was the type who said things like "you get what you pay for" and "there's one born every minute" and was considering every angle. He didn't want to get taken for a ride by his own death.
"That's all," the manager said, waving his hands, palms down, like a football referee ruling an extra point no good. "Then they'd have to join for themselves or forfeit the privileges."
"Well then, it makes sense," the man said, on top of the situation now, "for the youngest one to join. The one that's likely to live the longest."
"I can't argue with that," said the manager.
The man chewed his lip while he mentally reviewed his family. Who would go first. Who would survive the longest. He cast his eyes around to all the cassettes as if he'd see one that would answer his question. The woman had not gone away. She had brought along her signed agreement, the one that she paid $25 for.
"What is this accident waiver clause?" She asked the manager.
"Look," he said, now exhibiting his hands to show they were empty, nothing up his sleeve, "I live in the real world. I'm a small businessman, right? I have to protect my investment, don't I? What would happen if, and I'm not suggesting you'd do this, all right, but some people might, what would happen if you decided to watch one of my movies in the bathtub and a VCR you rented from me fell into the water?"
The woman retreated a step. This thought had clearly not occurred to her before.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“As a man with cut hair, he did not identity the rhythm of three strands, the whispers of coming and going, of twisting and tying and blending, of catching and of letting go, of braiding.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“These boots were made for dancing"(260)”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“As a man with cut hair, he did not identify the rhythm of three strands, the whispers of coming and going, of twisting and tying and blending, of catching and of letting go, of braiding.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“If I took my time, sampled every possibility, eventually I'd hit on the perfect combination and come into my own.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“Around us she didn't bother with English at all, and in Indian her words poured like thick whiskey that had never seen water, like hootch straight from the barrel.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“Annabelle will be impressed if I say yes. I'll be different in her eyes, dumb maybe, but worth knowing.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“There's something about her that reminds me of Ellen, but then I realize that it's Ellen who's reminded me of Annabelle. Ellen is dim in comparison.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“The tires catch, the truck moves off, and for an instant there is a hole of quiet, a pocket of air without any noise, before the call of radios and televisions and bees and wind rushes in to fill my ears.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“She'd have the two of them eating out of her shoe. I've watched her in action, but I could never get away with it. And, I console myself, being cute hasn't made her all that happy.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“I'm not what they expect. About once a year I get discovered, get called a diamond in the rough.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water