The Rooster Bar Quotes

“These are mistakes, not regrets. Regrets are over and done with and a waste of time to rehash. Mistakes, though, are bad moves in the past that might affect the future.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“Regrets are over and done with and a waste of time to rehash.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“and she really didn’t like the taste of any of it anyway, she was more receptive to other temptations, primarily fashion and sex. She was almost six feet tall and was often told how great she looked in tight jeans. Her first boyfriend happily taught her all about sex. Her second introduced her to recreational drugs. By the end of her junior year she silently and defiantly considered herself”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“Mark Twain decía que movía estados y ciudades completos para que encajaran en su narración. Esa es la licencia que se les da a los novelistas o que ellos se toman por su cuenta.”
― John Grisham, La gran estafa

“Creía que no te arrepentías nunca de nada —comentó Mark. —Esto son errores, no arrepentimientos. Se acabaron los arrepentimientos, y es una pérdida de tiempo flagelarse por ellos. Pero los errores son movimientos en falso del pasado que pueden afectar al futuro. Con suerte, los errores pueden contenerse o incluso corregir.”
― John Grisham, La gran estafa

“The more bodies they have, the more money they make. Homeland Security, which ICE answers to, has a quota, one mandated by Congress. No other law enforcement agency operates on a quota system.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“carry-on bag with some clothing and a toothbrush. The room was a wreck and he was sick of it. After spending nine nights there he saw no need to check out at the front desk. The room charges were covered for two more days. So he walked away, leaving behind dirty clothing that belonged to both him and Todd, stacks of paperwork, none of which was incriminating, some magazines, discarded toiletries, and the rented printer, from which he had removed the memory chip. He walked a few blocks, hailed a cab, and rode to JFK, where he paid $650 cash for a round-trip ticket to Bridgetown, Barbados. The guard”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“We’re violating too many laws. Unauthorized practice. Tax evasion. And I suppose some code section on labor laws. If we join the class action against Swift, we can add that to our list.” “Are you having second thoughts?” Todd asked. “No. You?” “No, but I do worry about Zola. At times I feel like we’ve dragged her into it. She’s awfully fragile right now, and frightened.” Mark opened his eyes and stretched his legs. “True, but at least she feels safe now. She has a good hiding spot”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“Half the fee. That’s how the big tort lawyers operate, by referrals. Grunts like us go out and find the cases, then hand ’em over to the guys who know what they’re doing, and then sit back and wait on the money.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“Go where?” Todd asked, rubbing his eyes. “To jail, ass face. Let’s go.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“tossed in a prison to wait on deportation. Now this. Now we’re supposed to somehow push it all aside and hustle back to law school for our last semester, which will be followed by two months in hell studying for the bar exam, so we can do something to make a little money and start repayment, which, actually, is far more impossible than it seems, and it seems awfully damned impossible at the moment. Yes, Zola dear, I’m tired. Aren’t you?” “I’m beyond exhausted,” she said. “That makes three of us,” Todd added. They slowed and passed through the small town of Boyce. When it was behind them, Mark asked, “Are you guys really going to class on Monday? I’m not.” “That’s either the second or the third time you’ve said that,” Zola said. “If you don’t go to class, then what are your plans?” “I have no plans. My status will be day to day.” “Okay, but what are you going to do when the law school starts calling?” Todd asked. “I won’t take their calls.” “Okay, so they’ll put you on inactive status and notify your loan sharks and they’ll be out for blood.” “What if they can’t find me? What if I change phone numbers and move to another apartment? It would be easy to get lost in a city of two million people.” “I’m listening,” Todd said. “So, you start hiding. What about work and income and those little challenges?” “I’ve been thinking about that,” Mark said and took a long swig. “Maybe I’ll get a job tending bar, for cash, of course. Maybe wait tables. Or maybe I’ll become a DUI specialist like that sleazeball we met last Friday at the city jail. What was his name?” “Darrell Cromley,” Zola said. “I’ll bet Darrell nets a hundred grand a year hustling DUIs. All cash.” “But you don’t have a license,” Zola said. “Did we ask Darrell to show us his license? Of course not. He said he was a lawyer.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“The Bardtown Federal Detention Facility was in a secluded valley three miles off Interstate 99 and twenty miles south of Altoona. If there was a town nearby, it wasn’t visible.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“...with the damage meter still clicking away.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“Washington, D.C., to see her family one last time before they are deported back to Senegal. Now we’re told she can’t see them because of paperwork.” The ICE boys looked at the three clerks. The first one said, “You know the rules. No visitors until they have been processed.” Gibson looked back at Mark and said, “Well, there you have it. Rules are rules.” “Can I see the supervisor?” Mark demanded. “You can stop yelling, that’s what you can do.” He took a step closer, eager for a physical confrontation. Two more agents ventured over to back up their buddies. “Just let me talk to the supervisor,” Mark said. “I don’t like your attitude,” Gibson said. “And I don’t like yours. Why is attitude important here? What’s wrong with allowing my client to see her family? Hell, they’re being deported. She may never see them again.” “If they’re being deported it’s because a judge said so.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“Holding his hiking boots, he stood by the door and listened. He knew they were in the den, waiting for him to make a move. He gently opened the bedroom door and listened. He took a step into the den, saw their silhouettes on the sofa and in the chair, heard their heavy breathing, and silently walked to the door. At the end of the hallway, he put on his boots and left the building. At the first hint of sunlight, Zola awoke and sat up. Seeing the bedroom door open she jumped to her feet, turned on the lights, and realized Gordy had managed to escape. “He’s not here!” she yelled at Todd. “He’s gone!” Todd scrambled out of the chair and walked past her to the bedroom, a small square space where hiding would be impossible. He poked through the closet, looked in the bathroom, and yelled, “Shit! What happened?” “He got up and left,” she said. They stared at each other in disbelief, then walked over to break the news to Mark. The three hurried down the stairs and along the first-floor hallway to the building’s rear door. There were a dozen cars in the parking lot but none of them belonged”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“The taxpayers are getting screwed by Congress and the Department of Education.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“He’d finished college with $60,000 in loans, and no job.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“Because of their sacrifice, she had been given the gift of citizenship, a permanent status she had done nothing to earn. They had worked like dogs in a country they were proud of, with the dream of one day belonging. How, exactly, would their removal benefit this great nation of immigrants? It made no sense and seemed unjustly cruel.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“I read a story once about a guy who killed himself. Some shrink was going on about the futility of trying to understand it. It’s impossible, makes no sense at all. Once a person reaches that point, he’s in another world, one that his survivors will never understand.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“regardless of their LSAT scores,”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“He’s such a good boy.” Maybe. Louie had flirted around the edges of the drug scene throughout high school. There were plenty of red flags but his parents had always chosen to ignore them. At every sign of trouble, they had rushed in to defend him and believe his lies. They had enabled Louie, and now the bill was due.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“I read an article in the September 2014 edition of The Atlantic titled “The Law School Scam.” It’s a fine investigative piece by Paul Campos.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“A major flaw in this defective system is that no LSAT score is too low to be admitted. These dipshit law schools will take anybody who can borrow the federal money, and, as stated, anybody can borrow the federal money.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“She fell for the scam that easy federal money could make law school possible for everyone, and took the first bold steps that would lead to Foggy Bottom.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“And now, with one semester to go, Mark was staring miserably at the reality of graduating with a combined total, undergrad and law school, principal and interest, of $266,000 in debt.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“being nothing more than a prison. As Todd slowed the car, he said, “It looks like one of those”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

“According to the Post, Immigration and Customs Enforcement maintains fifteen detention centers around the country and on any given day there are 35,000 people in custody. Last year ICE detained over 400,000 undocumented workers and deported about the same number, at a cost of over $20,000 per deportee. The entire detention system eats over $2 billion a year. It’s the largest immigrant detention system in the world. In addition to the fifteen ICE facilities, the Feds contract with hundreds of county jails, juvenile detention centers, and state prisons to house their detainees, at a cost of about 150 bucks a day per person, 350 for a family. Two-thirds of all facilities are run by private companies. The more bodies they have, the more money they make. Homeland Security, which ICE answers to, has a quota, one mandated by Congress. No other law enforcement agency operates on a quota system.” “And conditions are deplorable,” Zola said, as if she knew more than Mark. “Indeed they are. Since there is no independent oversight, the detainees are often subjected to abuse, including long-term solitary confinement and inadequate medical care and bad food. They are vulnerable to assault, even rape. Last year, 150 died in custody. Detainees are often housed with violent criminals. In many cases, legal representation is nonexistent. On paper, ICE has standards for the facilities, but these are not legally enforceable. There is almost no accountability for how the federal funds are spent. The truth is, no one is looking and no one cares, except for the detainees and their families. They are forgotten people.”
― John Grisham, The Rooster Bar