Laura Malone Elliott > Quotes

“I inched my face right next to his. "It'll be just like flying south, Doc. You can't make the trip walking. You have to let go now and fly." I felt him shudder a tiny bit. I took another deep breath to steady myself. "Don't be afraid, Doc. God will be so glad to have such a fine gardener. I just know it." Doc blinked, then closed his eyes, and left me. The light from the window flickered with the shadows of all those birds suddenly taking off. I turned to watch and hoped they'd show him the way.”
― Laura Malone Elliott, Flying South

“The one thing that hasn't changed around our house is our having a groundhog. Strange how he stayed on after Doc died since Mama and I have up growing vegetables. He just lives off grass these days, which makes me wonder why he had to bedevil poor Doc so much over his corn and tomatoes. I guess Doc's garden was just too tempting, like dangling a candy bar in front of a child. Of course, I don't know for sure that it's Big Tom, the GD groundhog himself, or just one of his children. But this groundhog sure is big and bodacious. And, you know, he does the funniest thing at twilight. He waddles out to the rose garden and lies down there, almost like he's looking for Doc. Maybe his is. I guess groundhogs don't know about flying south.”
― Laura Malone Elliott, Flying South