“They cried. Yes, yes, they cried. Cried more tears than the Mississippi could hold, but those tears never washed away their faith…”

“Samuel finally understood the sound of the wind after all these years: The winds were a chorus of the prairie’s ever-present heartaches.”

“Do good and be a good person because that’s just what the Lord expects. There just ain’t nothing special about being and doing good. It’s what the Lord expects…”

“As the Mississippi snaked and their old home slipped further away, perhaps Samuel had finally left the curse behind.”

“Be careful how close you get to someone... It just ends up hurting more than not having no one to love to begin with.”

“…when you lonely is the best time to pray, to speak to the Lord, and most important, to listen to the Lord…”

“We gonna be a family again in Heaven. It takes some strong patience, but the Lord will come through. And as long as we here, we can get on living by never forgetting. Never forgetting and always remembering.”

“He says that we must protect our families no matter what. No matter what we got to do to protect them.”

“Do whatever you must do to protect your children and wife.”

“Papas should be loving their children so much that they cry when they gone. That’s what papas is supposed to do.”

“No child should ever be too sad to play.”