"As we left town I thought about the end of the season. #Baseball began in the spring, when we planted and when hopes were high. It sustained us through the summer, often our only diversion from the drudgery of the fields." #BlackOak
"The Lord didn't intend for His people to worry, Gran always said, especially when we were in His house. This forever struck me as odd, because she worried almost as much as Pappy." #BlackOak
"The #Methodists thought they were slightly superior, but as Baptists, they were knew we had the inside track to God." #BlackOak
"We agreed we would indeed do nothing. If we were confronted, we would lie. And if we lied, we would say an extra prayer." #BlackOak
"I had watched a man get killed. Suddenly, I felt the urge to sneak back into the sanctuary and start praying. I knew I was guilty of something." #BlackOak
"Little boys who keep secrets from their parents get into big trouble. You can always tell us." Ruth Chandler #BlackOak
"I ain't afraid of nobody, son. And don't sass me." Pappy #BlackOak
"He might have been a little off in the head, but right then he was the smartest of all the Spruills." #BlackOak
"Time stopped when we were picking cotton. The days dragged on, each yielding every so slowly to the next." #BlackOak
"I tried to think of new ways to hate the Spruills, but I was soon overwhelmed by the sheer volume of their misdeeds. At some point in the early evening, I grew too still, and fell asleep on the floor." #BlackOak
"They could banish me from town, they could force me into the fields, but they couldn't make me work hard. I think there were a lot of naps that Saturday afternoon." #BlackOak
"I'm not swearin'. I'm just repeatin'." Luke Chandler #BlackOak
"I wasn't exactly sure how we would die - blown away by the wind or seared by a lightning bolt or swept away by the water - but it was obvious to me that either end had come. My father slept through most of it , though,band his difference was a great comfort." #BlackOak
"You'd like that, wouldn't you? You wanna see me again, don't you?" Tally Spruill #BlackOak
"I was hurting, too. How could she have done such a terrible thing? She was my friend. She treated me like a confident, and she protected me like a big sister. I loved Tally, and now she had run off with a vicious killer." #BlackOak
"Wait, I kept telling myself. Just wait. The moment will come when I can unload my burdens." #BlackOak
"Stealing the truck of a farmer was only a notch below murder in our code, and Stick kicked into high gear." #BlackOak
"No. Once she gets married, then she's an adult. You can't make a married woman do a damned thing." Eli Chandler #BlackOak
"You saw me, didn't you, Luke?" Tally Spruill #BlackOak
"That's okay. I'm not mad. No. I guess it's only natural, you know, for boys to look at girls." Tally Spruill #BlackOak
"I'd you'll go with me to the creek the next time, and be blny lookout, then you can do it again...Watch me." Tally Spruill #BlackOak
"She held my hand as crossed to the other side, a gentle squeeze, one of affection and not safeguarding." #BlackOak
"We keep our secrets, remember?" Tally Spruill #BlackOak
"She was humming, just a pretty girl bathing in a creek, enjoying the cool water. She wasn't looking around in fear; she trusts me." #BlackOak
"Hank was staring at the blade, which seemed to grow. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Cowboy had used it before, knew how to use it well, and would happily behead Hank if he took another step closer." #BlackOak
