“
Even Ignatius Loyola wavered. That dark night of the soul, man. No one’s immune. It would all be meaningless if you didn’t wonder and doubt. That’s what makes it real. That’s what makes us people. God could have sent angels to flutter around like fairies, delivering rum punch and manna all day on a cosmic cruise ship. But what would that avail us?
”
”
Luis Alberto Urrea (The House of Broken Angels)
“
When George Washington ran for election to Virginia's local assembly, the House of Burgesses, in 1758, his campaign team handed out twenty-eight gallons of rum, fifty gallons of rum punch, thirty-four of wine, forty-six of beer, and two of cider—in a county with only 391 voters.
”
”
Tom Standage (A History of the World in 6 Glasses)
“
Grinch Punch: peach schnapps, Sprite, rum, blue curaçao, and orange juice.
”
”
Julie Murphy (A Merry Little Meet Cute)
“
Lorraine insisted on cooking us something to eat, so while she got on with that we found an old cement bucket and made a big bowl of punch.
Blackbeard the pirate used to drink rum and gunpowder, as did most of his men, so we figured a little bit of cement in the punch wouldn’t hurt us. Probably take some of the sweetness away.
”
”
Karl Wiggins (Wrong Planet - Searching for your Tribe)
“
He sat in the living room in the dark, an expert at waiting, a nineteen-year veteran of it, waiting for people who failed to appear, missed court dates because they forgot or didn't care, and took off. Nineteen years of losers, repeat offenders in and out of the system. Another one, that's all Louis was, slipping back into the life.
”
”
Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch (Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara #2))
“
They ordered punch. They drank it. It was hot rum punch. The pen falters when it attempts to treat of the excellence thereof; the sober vocabulary, the sparse epithet of this narrative, are inadequate to the task; and pompous term, jewelled, exotic phrases rise to the excited fancy. It warmed the blood and cleared the head; it filled the soul with well-being; it disposed the mind at once to utter wit, and to appreciate the wit of others; it had the vagueness of music and the precision of mathematics. Only one of its qualities was comparable to anything else; it had the warmth of a good heart; but its taste, its smell, its feel, were not to be described in words.
”
”
W. Somerset Maugham
“
Come on up to Riv’era Beach and say those things, you be dead.
”
”
Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch (Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara #2))
“
You look back,’ Max said, ‘you can’t believe that much time went by. You look ahead and you think, shit, if it goes that fast I better do something with it
”
”
Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch (Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara #2))
“
That’s right, you got a divorce. You remarried— what about your present husband?” “He died last year.” “You go through ’em,” Nicolet said. “What kind of work did he do?” “He drank,” Jackie said.
”
”
Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch (Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara #2))
“
What is it with you and Nazis?” “They fun to watch,” Ordell said. “Look at the flag they got, with the boogied-up lightning flash on it. You can’t tell if it’s suppose to be SS or Captain Marvel.
”
”
Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch (Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara #2))
“
Louis shook his head. “I don’t know.” “What’s that?” “About going with you.” “You don’t think you will or you know it?” Louis shrugged and drew on his cigarette. “I said before I ain’t talking you into anything. But just answer me this, Louis. What does a three-time loser have to lose?” He started to back out of the drive and stopped. He said, “Louis? You only think you’re a good guy. You’re just like me, only you turned out white.
”
”
Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch (Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara #2))
“
were spilt on his bib, Jane and Michael could tell that the substance in the spoon this time was milk. Then Barbara had her share, and she gurgled and licked the spoon twice. Mary Poppins then poured out another dose and solemnly took it herself. “Rum punch,” she said, smacking her lips and corking the bottle. Jane’s eyes and Michael’s popped with astonishment, but they were not given much time to wonder, for Mary Poppins, having put the miraculous bottle on the mantelpiece, turned to them. “Now,” she said, “spit-spot into bed.” And she began to undress them. They noticed that whereas buttons and hooks had needed all sorts of coaxing from Katie Nanna, for Mary Poppins they flew apart almost at a look. In less than a minute they found themselves in bed and watching, by the dim light from the night-light, the rest of Mary Poppins’s unpacking being performed. From the carpet bag she took out seven flannel nightgowns, four cotton ones, a pair of boots, a
”
”
P.L. Travers (Mary Poppins)
“
Pleased as punch. That's an odd-sounding turn of phrase, isn't it? How can a punch be pleased? It's punch. Rum and lemons and such. And if it's the other sort of punch they mean, a punch in the face- well that doesn't sound very pleasing at all, does it?
”
”
Gail Dayton (Heart's Blood (Blood Magic, #2))
“
That goddamn Louis, you see what he done? Put his cigarette butt in here. I’m gonna punch him right in his smokin’ mouth.” Max turned back to the form, glades mutual casualty printed across the top. He said, “I know how you feel. But when you hit an ex-con who’s done three falls, they say you better kill him.
”
”
Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch (Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara #2))
“
Somewhere out of sight a punching-bag was rat-tat-tatting on a board. I stepped through a doorless aperture opposite the door I'd come in by, and found myself in the main hall. It was comparatively small, with seats for maybe a thousand rising on four sides to the girders that held up the roof. An ingot of lead-gray light from a skylight fell through the moted air onto the empty roped square on the central platform. Still no people, but you could tell that people had been there. The same air had hung for months in the windowless building, absorbing the smells of human sweat and breath, roasted peanuts and beer, white and brown cigarettes, Ben Hur perfume and bay rum and hair oil and tired feet. A social researcher with a good nose could have written a Ph.D. thesis about that air.
”
”
Ross Macdonald
“
The last meal aboard the Titanic was remarkable. It was a celebration of cuisine that would have impressed the most jaded palate.
There were ten courses in all, beginning with oysters and a choice of Consommé Olga, a beef and port wine broth served with glazed vegetables and julienned gherkins, or Cream of Barley Soup. Then there were plate after plate of main courses- Poached Salmon and Cucumbers with Mousseline Sauce, a hollandaise enriched with whipped cream; Filet Mignon Lili, steaks fried in butter, hen topped with an artichoke bottom, foie gras and truffle and served with a Périgueux sauce, a sauté of Chicken Lyonnaise; Lamb with Mint Sauce; Roast Duckling with Apple Sauce; Roast Squash with Cress and Sirloin Beef.
There were also a garden's worth of vegetables, prepared both hot and cold. And several potatoes- Château Potatoes, cut to the shape of olives and cooked gently in clarified butter until golden and Parmentier Potatoes, a pureed potato mash garnished with crouton and chervil. And, of course, pâté de foie gras.
To cleanse the palate, there was a sixth course of Punch à la Romaine, dry champagne, simple sugar syrup, the juice of two oranges and two lemons, and a bit of their zest. The mixture was steeped, strained, fortified with rum, frozen, topped with a sweet meringue and served like a sorbet. For dessert there was a choice of Waldorf Pudding, Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly, Chocolate and Vanilla Èclairs and French ice cream.
”
”
N.M. Kelby (White Truffles in Winter)
“
I want you to look at somebody here’s come to visit you.” Jackie watched the young guy scowl as Nicolet shook him again and his eyes opened.
”
”
Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch (Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara #2))
“
After a week in Boston, Lafayette went to Providence for more parades, salutes, and receptions and a visit with Nathanael Greene. At a banquet with members of the General Assembly, he toasted unity among the states: "May these rising states unite in every measure, as they have united in their struggles." Fortunately, he gave his toast early; by the end of the evening, the sixty assemblymen and their guests had absorbed fifty-one bottles of Madeira, thirty-two bottles of claret, nine bottles of punch, and thirty-two bowls of rum punch-an average of a bottle and one-half (then five pints) of wine and a half-bottle of rum each. p200
”
”
Harlow Giles Unger (Lafayette)
“
That dark night of the soul, man. No one’s immune. It would all be meaningless if you didn’t wonder and doubt. That’s what makes it real. That’s what makes us people. God could have sent angels to flutter around like fairies, delivering rum punch and manna all day on a cosmic cruise ship. But what would that avail us?
”
”
Luis Alberto Urrea (The House of Broken Angels)
“
Honestly, Sis, I don't know what to make of you. Every year you dive into depression as if it's a punch bowl laced with rum. It's as if someone killed your cat, swiped your favourite heels and posted your fat baby pictures on Facebook all in one day.
”
”
Diane Lynn McGyver (Twistmas - The Season for Love)
“
Well, shoot,” Sarah added. “In that case, there’s only one thing left to do. Let’s go to book group and drink rum punch.” “Rum punch?” Nic asked. “Hey, it might be the middle of winter here, but that novel you picked took me to a lush Caribbean paradise. With a shirtless stud. What else would we drink?” Nic laughed and followed her friends out into the cold winter night. Later that night she went to sleep and dreamed about Caribbean beaches. And a shirtless hero with scars on his skin … and on his soul.
”
”
Emily March (Angel's Rest (Eternity Springs, #1))
“
Right, I totally forgot. I can’t wait to taste the flummery.”
“I’m not sure if I want to know what that is,” Manning said.
“It’s a sort of jelly, but made into a mold that is shaped like a castle or a tower or just a”—Debbie Mae wiggled one hand—“big wobbly thing. The ragout of veal will be a hit, I’m sure. And the Roman punch will have to be changed a little bit. It’s usually lemon water and hot syrup with a lot of rum.
”
”
Mary Jane Hathaway (Emma, Mr. Knightley, and Chili-Slaw Dogs (Jane Austen Takes the South, #2))
“
At the moment, walking away from Anne Klein toward the salesclerk at the cashier’s counter, he was changing his life for good.
”
”
Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch (Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara #2))
“
"I MISS"
(From the notebook of Elizabeth Douglas, 1923)
I miss my mother's pastry.
I miss Aunt Lucy's boiled beef and dumplings.
I miss watching my grandfather eating pickled walnuts.
I miss Annie's sticky ginger cake.
I miss my grandmother's potato scones.
I miss my grandfather making rum punch at Christmas.
I miss helping my mother to make a trifle and both running our fingers around the mixing bowls.
”
”
Caroline Scott (Good Taste)
“
You look back,” Max said, “you can’t believe that much time went by. You look ahead and you think, shit, if it goes that fast I better do something with it.
”
”
Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch (Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara #2))
“
She did Gladys Knight.” “With the Pips or without? She does it both ways.” “With the Pips.
”
”
Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch (Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara #2))
“
Someone’s gotta do it. No one’s gonna do it. So I’ll do it. Your honor, I rise in defense of drunken astronauts. You’ve all heard the reports, delivered in scandalized tones on the evening news or as guaranteed punch lines for the late-night comics, that at least two astronauts had alcohol in their systems before flights. A stern and sober NASA has assured an anxious nation that this matter, uncovered by a NASA-commissioned study, will be thoroughly looked into and appropriately dealt with. To which I say: Come off it. I know NASA has to get grim and do the responsible thing, but as counsel for the defense—the only counsel for the defense, as far as I can tell—I place before the jury the following considerations: Have you ever been to the shuttle launchpad? Have you ever seen that beautiful and preposterous thing the astronauts ride? Imagine it’s you sitting on top of a 12-story winged tube bolted to a gigantic canister filled with 2 million liters of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Then picture your own buddies—the “closeout crew”—who met you at the pad, fastened your emergency chute, strapped you into your launch seat, sealed the hatch and waved smiling to you through the window. Having left you lashed to what is the largest bomb on planet Earth, they then proceed 200 feet down the elevator and drive not one, not two, but three miles away to watch as the button is pressed that lights the candle that ignites the fuel that blows you into space. Three miles! That’s how far they calculate they must go to be beyond the radius of incineration should anything go awry on the launchpad on which, I remind you, these insanely brave people are sitting. Would you not want to be a bit soused? Would you be all aflutter if you discovered that a couple of astronauts—out of dozens—were mildly so? I dare say that if the standards of today’s fussy flight surgeons had been applied to pilots showing up for morning duty in the Battle of Britain, the signs in Piccadilly would today be in German. Cut these cowboys some slack. These are not wobbly Northwest Airlines pilots trying to get off the runway and steer through clouds and densely occupied airspace. An ascending space shuttle, I assure you, encounters very little traffic. And for much of liftoff, the astronaut is little more than spam in a can—not pilot but guinea pig. With opposable thumbs, to be sure, yet with only one specific task: to come out alive. And by the time the astronauts get to the part of the journey that requires delicate and skillful maneuvering—docking with the international space station, outdoor plumbing repairs in zero-G—they will long ago have peed the demon rum into their recycling units.
”
”
Charles Krauthammer (Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes, and Politics)
“
Barthold’s response was a snort of disdain and a twitch of his staff. Moncrief departed the hold and returned to the saloon. Schwatzendale stepped from the galley, where he had been testing Wingo’s special Sea Island Punch, a compound of fresh coconut milk*, lime juice, rum and a dash of apricot brandy. At Moncrief’s signal, Schwatzendale crossed the saloon and joined him. “You look morose. What has happened now?” * The coconut palm, native to Old Earth, had been transferred across the Gaean Reach wherever climate and salt water permitted, and now seemed native to the entire universe.
”
”
Jack Vance (Ports of Call (Ports of Call, #1))
“
jug of rum punch if you want one,’ I said. ‘One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong and four of weak. It’s not alchemy, it’s just lime juice, sugar, rum and water.
”
”
T.E. Kinsey (The Fatal Flying Affair (A Lady Hardcastle Mystery, #7))