McCaid Paul > Quotes

“The river speaks a language, something one isn’t born knowing but has to learn. I learned it from my dad. Some of it is wisdom, some of it skill. Some of it is the quirks and tendencies of a natural beast—the ebb and flow, the up and down, the flood draining down to a trickle. It’s all part of the river’s story, which it’s always willing to tell.”
― McCaid Paul, Dead River

“Worryin’ is like sitting in a rockin’ chair. It don’t get you no further down the road.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“Change is a part of life, son,” says Grandpa. “But
you want to know two things that never change?”
“Death and taxes?” Grandma asks.
“No,” Grandpa says. “Sweet tea and snap peas.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“It’s nearly nightfall, the vast evening sky as resplendent and intricate as that quilt hanging from the wooden knob on the side of Grandma’s dresser. This sky is like the work of a seamstress, sown tangerine-orange, raspberry-pink, and dappled with cream-white clouds for an extra touch, the finished product so lush and vibrant that I could gape at it for hours.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“It’s Sunday—my grandparent’s favorite day of the week. To them, Sundays are good for three things: church, rest, and fried chicken from Piggly Wiggly.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“Whenever I get so lonesome that my chest starts to ache, I open a book and read. I’ve found that reading cures nearly everything: boredom, loneliness, even anger. What’s great about books is that they’re reliable; they’re safe. Life changes, but the words in the books stay the same.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“Some secrets are dangerous, and should remain forgotten.”
― McCaid Paul, The Forgotten Headline

“I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
“For making you sad.”
With a weak smile, he says, “You make my heart too full to be sad.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“the river was a place of mystery and myth, of freedom and solitude, where one couldn’t help but feel like an orphan in a different world, belonging to everything and nothing all at once.”
― McCaid Paul, Dead River

“I wish I had more time,” Grandpa says finally, the words a whisper. “Seventy years sounds like forever when you’re young, doesn’t it? But it’s not. It’s just a blink. Really no time at all.” He pauses. “But I can’t think of any better way to spend the last of it than with you.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“People don’t see you when you’re older. People like me and Ella…it’s like we’re
invisible. That’s how I feel…invisible.”
I looked at him for a moment, looked at the wrinkles on his face, the creases under his eyes, the faint white stubble along his jaw, the ruddiness of his nose, his cheeks. I loved his wrinkles, loved the lines of wisdom
on his brow, his forehead. Loved his calloused hands, the healthy red of his skin, the hairs on his head resembling pale-gray toothbrush bristles. “I can’t imagine not seeing you, Grandpa.” A tear slid down his cheek, catching in the corner of his mouth. “You’ll never be invisible to me.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“Dead River—the center of some story Grandpa used to tell around the campfire, back when I was foolish enough to believe anything. A tale of a whirlpool, snatching a man under while fishing in the middle of the current, snagging him on a root or treetop, never to be found again. It was the first time I knew the river to be murderous.
As we grow closer, the landscape of clay and muddy water fades to a sandy-white shoreline and waters the color of
black coffee, due to the influence of tannic acid from the leaves. Spanish moss hangs from nearly every branch, casting long, thick shadows across the sand.
The breeze calms to a mere breath of wind, the only movement some water bugs that resemble spiders, darting across the river’s surface. Gone are the splashes of the gar, and the occasional squawk of water fowl.
True to its name, the place is sinister. Dead.”
― McCaid Paul, Dead River

“I wish I felt more like a person, not like some ghost seeing everyone, hearing everything, without anyone noticing it.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“Getting older is realizing that who you love most will one day be gone.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“Billie smiled to herself. This case might turn out to be fun after all! But she was wrong. If Billie knew what danger this case involved, she might have stopped Mick or told him he could do it himself. Neither of them knew what they were getting themselves into.”
― McCaid Paul, The Forgotten Headline

“Less than a mile away, through the dense river jungle of oaks, palmetto, and cypress, lies the Choctawhatchee, a source of comfort and a glimpse of home." (pg. 17)”
― McCaid Paul, Dead River

“Everyone has at least one thing that makes them unique and special.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“He loved her...isn't that what he said?
Love.
The only thing he loved was seeing her die.”
― McCaid Paul, The Forgotten Headline

“Now, I imagine how the place must look to someone like Ms. Judy, the landscape barren and bleak after sixty-five summers without her, trees stunted in growth due to the numerous hurricanes, floods, droughts, and tornadoes over the years. As a result, the overhead limbs now bear the shape of the wind, the bank eroded and boggy, with multiple man-made items caught in the snags along the shore—fishing line, a board or two from an old dock, a piece of rope, an empty beer bottle.
But there’s also something serene about it all, to the fingers of fog sneaking through the leafy foliage, hovering like damp breath; the sweet and spicy smell of milkweed and traces of pollen coating the calm surface, each breath of wind shedding yellow dust.
We tie off along a clump of cypress knees, our lines swishing over the rusty-brown surface. Ms. Judy doesn’t even ask for help, flicking her wrist back and aiming for a narrow spot in between two fallen limbs, the movement like muscle-memory after all this time.”
― McCaid Paul, Dead River

“My grandparents mostly fuss, drink sweet tea, and shell peas. They like to tell stories, too. They tell the best stories when they’re shelling peas.”
“Peas? What kind of peas?”
“Mostly purple-knuckle hulls with snaps. They love snaps.”
“What are snaps?”
“They’re the ones that are too small to shell. They look like little green beans. Typically, no one wants them since they’re hard to shell and they don’t look like much. But my grandparents mix them in with the rest of the peas. They don’t like wasting anything, so they just use them instead of throwing them away.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“It’s hotter’n a blister bug in a pea
patch.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“A few days ago, the river was my bubble from the outside world, edging out everything painful and dark. Now, I realize how foolish I was for believing the river could shield me from danger. I’m nowhere near as safe out here as I thought.”
― McCaid Paul, Dead River

“Right now, I only have one goal, and that's to stop him." Scarlett looks up from her sandals. "I'm going to kill that son of a bitch.”
― McCaid Paul, Dead River

“white egrets swarm overhead, pounding up in a whirlwind of wings.”
― McCaid Paul, Dead River

“The television is now playing a commercial for car insurance.
"What's that? An ostrich?" asks Grandma.
I shake my head. "I think it's an emu."
Grandpa scratches his scalp, the hairs on his head resembling pale-gray toothbrush bristles. "You know, Ella, it looks just like your second cousin.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“I never felt so safe and loved as when I was being read to.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“She's clearly only got one oar in the water.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“She raised me on sweet tea and snap peas, and for that, I'll forever be grateful.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“Amen, pastor!" Myrtle chimes in again. "Praise the Lord!"
To me, the church people are like a bunch of chickens--when one clucks, another one starts up, until eventually they're all clucking.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas

“But I guess that's the cruel reality of change, how quickly it can wrap its fingers around your life and snatch away everything safe and familiar.”
― McCaid Paul, Sweet Tea & Snap Peas