Nancy

“As book collectors know all too well: We only regret our economies, never our extravagances.”
― Michael Dirda

“And it occurred to me then that
you would not escape, that
there were awful men
who’d laid plans for you,
and I could not stop them.
Prince Jones was the
superlative of all my fears.And if he, good Christian,
scion of a striving class,
patron saint of the twice as
good, could be forever
bound, who then could
not? And the plunder was
not just of Prince alone.
Think of all the love
poured into him. Think of
the tuitions for Montessori
and music lessons. Think
of the gasoline expended,
the treads worn carting
him to football games,
basketball tournaments,
and Little League. Think of
the time spent regulating
sleepovers. Think of the
surprise birthday parties,
the daycare, and the
reference checks on
babysitters. Think of
World Book and
Childcraft. Think of checks
written for family photos.
Think of credit cards
charged for vacations.
Think of soccer balls,
science kits, chemistry
sets, racetracks, and model
trains. Think of all the
embraces, all the private
jokes, customs, greetings,
names, dreams, all the
shared knowledge and
capacity of a black family
injected into that vessel of
flesh and bone. And think
of how that vessel was
taken, shattered on the
concrete, and all its holy
contents, all that had gone
into him, sent flowing back
to the earth.”
― Ta-Nehisi Coates

“We eat the year away. We eat the spring and the summer and the fall. We wait for something to grow and then we eat it.”
― Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle

“She once said her songs were "mostly about myths, spirits, that kind of thing. Not fairies, stronger than that." Not fairies. Stronger than that: there's a fine phrase to bear in mind. Her lyrics are about the things that drive, or repulse, or empower the human spirit. Not escapism, in fact, but its exact opposite.”
― Graeme Thomson, Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush