Wesley Banks > Quotes

“There has to be hope. Not because it already exists within you, but because it must exist, period. There is no option to lay down because you're feeling hurt. There is no alternative. It is not live or die. It is live or live. Not because you want it that way, or because you've willed it that way. But because it must be that way.”
― Wesley Banks, Hope in Every Raindrop

“There is hope all around us-in every breath, in every raindrop.”
― Wesley Banks, Hope in Every Raindrop

“In her room at the prow of the house
Where light breaks,
and the windows are tossed with linden,
My daughter is writing a story..”
― Wesley Banks, Hope in Every Raindrop

“There are stories all around you if you only take the time to look.”
― Wesley Banks, Hope in Every Raindrop

“Let the rain add to our tears
Until the day when pain has stopped
And we will say there was hope in every raindrop.”
― Wesley Banks, Hope in Every Raindrop

“Kyle had not paired King with another dog, and he stood alone as a single lead. Single leads in a race like the Yukon Quest were rare because it was an instant handicap to start with one less dog.

Unless that dog was King.”
― Wesley Banks, Faith In Every Footstep

“How do you know which dogs to pair together, though?”

“Well…there’s actually several theories on sled dog pairing. Some mushers want dogs of equal disposition or temperament. Some are more concerned with size or speed. For example, a shorter dog running next to a taller dog may create an uneven gait.”

“What do you look for?”

Kyle hesitated for moment. “I look for dogs who what to be together. You can analyze size, strength, speed, aggression, and so on until you’re blue in the face. But ultimately every dog has a best friend, and those are the dogs I try to pair together.”
― Wesley Banks, Hope in Every Raindrop

“They’re race dogs. But not just any ol’ race dogs. They’re the cream o’ the crop. The cat’s meow. The bee’s knees. The best thing since little apples. You can’t beat ‘em.” He looked up at Katie, who was listening intently, and went on. “Mainly ‘cause they’re part wolf. Got them long lean legs that can out outrun anythin’. But ‘specially ‘cause they’re Carolina dogs.” He said with a prideful grin.”
― Wesley Banks, Hope in Every Raindrop

“Well, I mean the vets know. Because they gotta pay attention to that stuff. Some of the mushers know, because they know dogs. But the other reporters – they don’t know.” Huey went on, “They don’t know about the two-year-old that runs in front of your wheel dogs. The way she moves like water, both smooth like an ocean and swift like a river. Or the three-year-old that runs behind your leader and moves with the effervescent energy of the sun.” Huey looked around the room and then back at Kyle. “They don’t know about King. I’ve seen dogs run, Mr. Walker. And I ain’t ever seen anything like them. It’s subtle, like the touch of a feather on a windy day. But it’s there.”
― Wesley Banks, Faith In Every Footstep

“Then he leaned in and surprised her with a kiss. It wasn’t a long kiss, or a passionate kiss. It was just a kiss from a guy. The right guy.”
― Wesley Banks, Hope in Every Raindrop

“He thought back to dog sledding as a boy. During the day he scouted Doc’s property in wheeled sleds through thousands of acres of switchgrass, dirt, and live oaks. At night he sat with King by a small fire, even in the summer, and read books like the Call of the Wild, Winterdance, and Stone Fox. He read aloud to King the great adventures of Balto and the race to Nome, and stories of the un adulterated wild by John Muir.”
― Wesley Banks, Faith In Every Footstep

“As she sat staring at the dog, she couldn’t help but want to speak. She felt as though he looked at her not only with curiosity, but with some greater knowing, almost as if to say, “I have the answers you seek, but you have not yet earned them.” She felt as though the dog knew everything about her, while she knew nothing about him.”
― Wesley Banks, Hope in Every Raindrop

“The good poets, they’ll look out towards their audience to make eye contact and entwine them in the story. The great poets…they’ll look back at the memory where these words began and forget the audience altogether.”
― Wesley Banks, Hope in Every Raindrop

“The dogs see everything. The way you walk, the lightness or heaviness of a single step. The way you look at things, with curiosity or insecurity. Even the way you breathe. They take the time to notice the details we often take for granted. All their decisions are based on these details.”
― Wesley Banks, Hope in Every Raindrop

“Out of the forest something moved. Swift as a river. Eyes of endless amber. Fur near midnight black. King bounded toward them with a relentless resolve.”
― Wesley Banks, Faith In Every Footstep

“When they reached the top of the hill, he stopped again and turned to face Katie. “The Siberian husky, the Alaskan husky, the Samoyed, the Canadian Eskimo, the Chinook, the Alaskan malamute. They are all incredible dogs. Intelligent, hardworking, fierce. They make great sled dogs and great sled dog team.” Kyle hesitated as he looked directly into Katie’s eyes. “But, they will never match a Carolina Grey.”
― Wesley Banks, Hope in Every Raindrop

“Let the rain add to our tears Until the day when all the pain has stopped And we will say there was hope in every raindrop”
― Wesley Banks, Hope In Every Raindrop