Carmen Hinkey

“There was a tugboat not too far from us pushing an enormous barge and I took a moment to revel in the physics.”
― Ann Patchett

“Fluffy always said there was no greater luxury for a woman than to have a window over the sink.”
― Ann Patchett, The Dutch House

“Making a mistake is not giving the floorboards enough time to settle before you seal them. Abandoning your children to go help the poor of India means you’re a narcissist who wants the adoration of strangers. I look at Kevin and May and I think, who would do that to them? What kind of person leaves their kids?” I felt like I’d been holding those words in my mouth since the moment I walked into the waiting room of the coronary care unit and saw our mother there. “Men!” Maeve said, nearly shouting. “Men leave their children all the time and the world celebrates them for it. The Buddha left and Odysseus left and no one gave a shit about their sons. They set out on their noble journeys to do whatever the hell they wanted to do and thousands of years later we’re still singing about it. Our mother left and she came back and we’re fine. We didn’t like it but we survived it. I don’t care if you don’t love her or if you don’t like her, but you have to be decent to her, if for no other reason than I want you to. You owe me that.”
― Ann Patchett

“Marcus said, “I’ve never been a white boy before.” “What do you mean?” she asked. “I’ve never really thought of myself as white. I’ve just been me.” “That’s the essence of white privilege right there.”
― Derek B. Miller, American by Day