Stacey Lee Quotes

Maybe what matters is not so much the path as who walks beside you.

The tricky thing about giving opinions is that sometimes they cost you more than you wanted to spend.

Princesa came to rancho one day after her owner no want her. Says too much horse for him, too wild. But he's wrong. She's not wild, she's spirited. 'Wild' means 'I no care about what I do.' But 'spirited' means, 'I love what I do.' Big difference.

no one ever injured an eye by looking at the bright side.

What is the job of a parent, but to teach a child she has worth so that one day she can transform herself into whatever she wants.

Maybe life just tastes sweeter after you’ve licked death.

We can run the race as well as any man. We only need the opportunity.

West looks up. 'This is the best time to hunt, when the animals are out looking for their suppers. 'Course, with a painted sky, light's not always good.' I never heard someone call the sky painted before, but it's the perfect word. Clouds outlined in gold streak across the firmament, casting uneven shadows over the landscape.

Somewhere between right and wrong lies a garden surrounded by thorns, and I have met you there.

Fly you crows. My father was not a spectacle. He was the greatest man I ever knew. He was my everything.

You miss being a girl? I ask her. Not as much as I thought I would. Just feels like when I'm being a boy, I can cut a wider path.

I pat my mule's neck and find comfort in the silky tufts of her mane. Father told me not to brood when people judged me for my wrapper, not my filling, or I would spend my whole life in the steamer.

Your head’s like a room and when you’s forced to stay in it, you gotta deal with all the trash that’s left in there.

We carry around the light of our loved ones who have passed. It is they who light the path for us.

Just like life.” “What?” “The clouds. They never hold still. Sometimes you think you’re seeing one thing, and a second later, the whole picture changes.

You’re growing like a rumor, aren’t you?

Standing in another's shoes is good for our own postures.

We are all like candles, and whether we are single or joined with another does not affect how brightly we can burn.

Sometimes, things must get harder before they can change.

The two words that will change your life are "thank you". Like a candle that can light a thousand more without shortening its own life, appreciation is a gift that, when given, can set the whole world aglow.

Maybe sorrow and its opposite, happiness, are like dark and light. One can’t exist without the other. And those moments of overlap are like when the moon and the sun share the same sky. A

Justice and fairness are for other people, umbrellas that open only for certain heads. The Chinese just try to stay out of the rain, and if we are caught in a downpour, we make do, knowing that the rain will not last forever.

There are some people, when you meet them, you feel as if you've known them all your life. And then there are people who live under your nose all your life, yet you don't know them at all.

There's a Chinese principle called yuanfen, which means your fate with someone else [...] Two people with strong yuanfen have a greater chance of meeting in their lifetimes, and can become as close as family.

I scold the worries away. As Ma likes to say, you cannot control the wind, but you can control your sails.

It is like the moon. We can see it differently by climbing a mountain, but we cannot outrun it. As it should be.

We are all ike candles, and whether we are single or joined with another does not affect how brightly we can burn. Respectfully submitted, Miss Sweetie

I don’t understand the constant need to prove one’s manhood, as if it is always on the verge of slipping away. We never need to prove our womanhood.

Dignity can only be surrendered, and when it is gone, we are like the snail who has lost its shell.

Even if I did climb to the top of that mountain one day, people will never stop seeing my color first, before me.

Some parents bring their children up and, I suppose, others let them down.

Breathing is underrated.

What good's a black face if it means I'm just someone else's property? Why give me these arms and legs just to carry someone else's load, not my own?

Old Gin always says if there are troubles on the ground, then look up. The changing sky reminds us that our troubles are not here to stay.

Smells like homeless man's crotch. Not that I've ever been up close and personal with a homeless man's crotch, but...

Caroline spends her grief by the dollar, until her purse empties and she's down to nickel hiccups and penny whimpers.

I squeeze my feelings into something small, like a walnut, and chuck it behind me for some other silly squirrel to find.

One should never confuse cost with value.

Sometimes things fall apart so better things can come together.

The knowledge that the person to whom I am writing is also writing just one floor above me makes my shadow sit up straighter, and if shadows had smiles, I might see one reflected there.

While I might not have received a full St. Clare’s education, somehow I picked up something better. Friends who care enough to knock on your pumpkin and make sure you haven’t gone mushy inside.

There’s always been sadness hidden at the core of Hitch, but it’s never been big enough to taste. Occasionally, I’d get a whiff of it, salty on the wind, but it never pressed in between us like it does now, threatening to drown us both.

I shall be fine. Please tell your mother I shall be back in an hour to help her roast the chicken.” “I look forward to that.” “Roast chicken?” “No. You being back.

I never said you didn't have a heart. But it would be nice if it beat every now and then.

People are like boats, always coming and going. Sometimes never returning. Now that his boat has sailed, the sea is empty for me.

When a law isn't just, I believe it's okay to disobey it. In fact, I believe we are morally obliged to disobey it.

How easily life can end on a misunderstanding. How fragile we all are, like spider silk on a branch of thorns. I

You ever think about the noose?' 'I been thinking about the noose since I was born.

The farther away you stand from someone, the harder it is to like them.

We’re people who knew older versions of each other too well to ever see the new person standing in front of us.

I kiss him good-bye in my head, bidding farewell to the one I have loved in silence.

Coincidence is just destiny unfolding.

God wouldn't have given us feet if He didn't want us to walk. By the same token, why give us a brain if He didn't want us to have thoughts?

Troubles are like weeds, and the longer you avoid them, the bigger they grow.

Horses are like people. Some work better under pressure.

Dear Miss Sweetie, My sisters and I wonder, why must women suffer a few days each month? Sincerely, Bloated, Crampy, and Spotty Dear Bloated, Cramp, and Spotty, Because the alternative is worse, although they do get to vote. Sincrely, Miss Sweetie

Their deaths might leave a hole in our hearts as deep as the ocean, but it is only because we are as deep as the ocean, and our capacity to love is as high as the sky. The earthquake took much from us. But there is much we can take from it as well

You expect certain things to always be there, like the bakery on the corner, or the boy you grew up with. But when the very ground can eat you alive without warning, what's to say the ocean won't dry up? Or the stars won't suddenly shut off? Nothing is forever.

A blessing loves a good surprise.

A community is like that shawl, and once you are a part of it, you tie your fate to the threads closest to you.

Grudges are like heavy skirts—they’re just extra weight. I design my clothes to be fluid and easy to move in, so that when life takes unexpected turns, you won’t get stuck.

Life is a balancing act, and the better you get at juggling, the better you get at living.

An anxious mind makes lions of tumble weeds.

The sooner you let people be who they want to be, the better for all.

Most people don't know that heartache smells like blueberries.

The poor man, whose intentions were so quickly imagined for him because of the way the light hits his skin.

We have the same dirt under our shoes as they do.

I never backed down from a challenge before, and I don't intend to start today.

Do not linger in the garden of memories, for there are many traps.

It amazes me that even when the world is going to hell in a handcart, there’s still beauty in the fringes. Francesca

My showmanship only comes out when I hold the violin—with Lady Tin-Yin in my arms, I don’t care who watches. A peace comes over me, something I call my violin calm.

I bet those boys bit their way out of the womb,” Andy whispers.

Great souls have wills, while feeble souls, only wishes.

Life is a chessboard, and if you’ve played it right, your best pieces will be standing in the right squares when you need them most.

It is better to look out a window than into a glass; otherwise all you see is yourself and what's behind you.

As long as you have a home, you have a place to plan and dream.

Our basement has grown smaller over the years, the brick shrunken and faded, the ceiling lower than I remember. Or perhaps the realities of my life have grown too big and unwieldy for the walls to contain.

Black women suffered greatly with the failure of Reconstruction, victims of both racism and sexism. Suffrage leaders who had worked toward the idea of universal suffrage antebellum began turning their backs on their black sisters to court the support of white Southern suffragists, whose interest in restoring white supremacy eclipsed their interest in enfranchising women.

living. But juggling is not an act of holding tight. It’s an act of letting go—of giving the people you love the time and space to find their own orbit. And it’s an act of catching. I’ll always be there for Jamie, just as he’ll always be there for me.

We all must abide by the rules, but some of us must follow more than others...Like Sweet Potato and her twisted leg, we have been born with a defect--the defect of not being white. Only, unlike Sweet Potato's case, there is no correcting it. There is only correcting the vision of those who view it as a defect, though not even a war and Reconstruction have been able to do that.

I point at one of the brighter stars. "What's that big red one?" "The White Tiger to the Chinese. Westerners call it the Bull." Isn't that like life? Two people look at the same object but see two different things. I look at shoveling coal and see a job. He sees a calling.

Somehow, Old Gin and I have managed to fit ourselves into a society that, like a newspaper, rarely comes in colors other than black and white.

Being nice is like leaving your door wide-open. Eventually, someone's going to mosey in and steal your best hat.

With the proper training and advantages, I think any horse can be great. Family name is a burden unique to humans

The tricky thing about giving opinions is that sometimes they cost you more than you wanted to spend

Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one. Lost trust takes time to rebuild. But with consistency and humility, the diamond can be unearthed again.

In her last letter to her love, Percy, before she died, Hyacinth wrote, Somewhere between right and wrong lies a garden surrounded by thorns, and I have met you there.

Living people are a dying breed.

As for Headmistress Crouch, I pegged her as the type who wouldn't have a mate, either because of her exacting standards, or because she ate him for dinner.

Though grammatically perfect, a French accent stretches his English out of shape.

You may no longer be in school, but you must never stop learning. We need to be as smart as the white ghosts.

Don't you get too greedy, Death. You already have taken more than your fair share today. You can't have me yet.

She reeks of insincerity, like dirty bathwater and pond salt.

But when the smell of blueberries mingles with my own, I realize his placid expression is just a front. A lie, like mine, though a hundred times less cruel.

No, the key to wealth was opportunity. And if opportunity didn't come knocking than Mrs. Lowry says you must build your own door.

You miss being a girl?" I ask her. "Not as much as I thought I would. Just feels like when I'm being a boy, I can cut a wider path."-Under A Painted Sky

I don’t understand the constant need to prove one’s manhood, as if it is always on the verge of slipping away. We never need to prove our womanhood. “You

We carry around the light of our loved ones who have passed. It is they who light the path for us.” “Passed?

My eye roll is so intense, my head gets involved.

We all must abide by the rules, but some of us must follow more than others

The biggest threats are the ones we fail to acknowledge

What is the job of a parent but to teach a child that she has worth so that one day she can transform herself into whatever she wants.

They don't want to be men, only to be allowed to have a say. God wouldn't have given us feet if He didn't want us to walk. By the same token, why give us a brain if He didn't want us to have thoughts?

I misjudge and our teeth collide, but he gently corrects course instead of pulling away. When he kisses me back, all the hurt inside me floats to the surface and somehow drains away. It makes me want to laugh.

A part of me understands the need to keep order, but another part worries that we are being led to fear the wrong things. It's just like Chinatown and all the laws passed to contain us. We were never the enemy. The enemy was our country's own fear.

MOST PEOPLE DON’T know that heartache smells like blueberries. It’s not the only scent, but it’s the main one, and if someone comes to us smelling like blueberry pie, Mother and I turn them away. The heartbroken need time to heal before we can work our magic.

He walks with the ease of someone with places to go but time to get there. I'm entranced by the fluidity of his movement, like the way he bites on his finger then flicks it skyward to make a point, to test the wind, to show he's thinking. How he plucks a stem of grass and places it between his teeth.

A crow lands on the ground in front of us, and Noemi lunges towards it, growling. The crow flaps away with a squawk, and she continues on her way. 'But each of our personal roads got crows on them. With every crow we meet, we get better at shooing them away, the filthy flying rats. And guess what's at the end of the road?' 'Pearl gates?' She tsks her tongue. 'Not that road, that's on a different map. Vic-to-ry.' She cuts the word into pieces and savors every syllable. 'I wasn't too keen to get on that slick-looking August at first. But now that I know how, I'm riding him to the finish line. Victory. Do you understand me?' 'No. What is this victory?' 'It is knowing your worth no matter what the crows tell you. Victory is waiting for us. We have to be bold enough to snatch it.

Why complicate matters? Of course, that's how courtship works. People never come right out and say what's on their minds, preferring a complicated dance to simply walking across the room.

[Y]ou care too much about what the world says. Listen to those who know you best, and you'll be okay.

[H]e watches the stream in the same steady way he regards the world, absorbing much, giving away little.

Dignity can only be surrendered, and when it is gone, we are like the snail who has lost its shell. All it can do is find the nearest leaf and hope it's not parade day.

A crow lands on the ground in front of us, and Noemi lunges towards it, growling. The crow flaps away with a squawk, and she continues on her way. 'But each of our personal roads got crows on them. With every crow we meet, we get better at shooing them away, the filthy flying rats. And guess what's at the end of the road?' 'Pearly gates?' She tsks her tongue. 'Not that road, that's on a different map. Vic-to-ry.' She cuts the word into pieces and savors every syllable. 'I wasn't too keen to get on that slick-looking August at first. But now that I know how, I'm riding him to the finish line. Victory. Do you understand me?' 'No. What is this victory?' 'It is knowing your worth no matter what the crows tell you. Victory is waiting for us. We have to be bold enough to snatch it.

There are moments to be strong, but there are also moments to be weak. And in those moments of rest, we find strength anew and challenge ourselves to grow bigger than we ever thought possible.

lone woman should not travel by herself at night, but a man can go wherever, whenever. It’s a wonder more women don’t disguise themselves. With

Folks care less about which door Chinese people use nowadays, compared with when the laborers were shipped in to replace the field slaves after the war. Perhaps whites feel the same way about us as they do about ladybugs: A few are fine, but a swarm turns the stomach

I have been blacklisted. Servants are routinely blacklisted when their services come to an end, even when they have done nothing to deserve it, except working their fingers to the breaking point each day, coming in early, leaving late, cleaning up other people's messes,

Troubles are like weeds, and the longer you avoid them, the bigger they grow

When deception is not an issue, words should be taken at face value, or else they are in danger of losing their currency

It strikes me that money can alleviate many of the miseries of common folk, but it opens up other avenues of suffering

The husband business strikes Miss Sweetie as uncannily similar to the scramble that ensues during an Easter egg hunt, where the egg's only hope is to sit as prettily as possible so that the it will be picked up before it spoils

The Fifteenth was supposed to improve our lot, giving our men the vote. But the man started taking it all away. It's like they put a plate of hot biscuits in front of us, but before we get a chance to eat, they say that'll be five dollars. And if you come up with the five dollars, they say no, no, no. You gotta tell us, if you got sixteen hens and thirty-seven rooster, where is Rutherford B. Hayes buried?... It's a trick question. Hayes is still alive. Point is they make it so hard

The lengths the Haves will go in order to deprive the Have Nots boggles the mind.

What is this victory?' 'It is knowing your worth no matter what the crows tell you. Victory is waiting for us. We have to be bold enough to snatch it.

I am reminded of the proverb about the man with a single teacup to fetch water for his plants. In order to keep some alive, he had to let others die or run himself ragged. I have chosen to water this particular plant despite all its thorns, and I must simply hope my relationship with Tom can survive my absence.

I bypass car-size lemonade bushes, zingy with a hint of gym socks, toward a patch of lichen flourishing at the base of a eucalyptus. I put my nose right up to the musty scent, even though it smells like raccoon urine. Aromateurs are trained from an early age to view each scent with objectivity. “You

Ryan succeeded in extracting my soul from Charlene’s body, but he didn’t destroy it.” Gray snorted. “He told me to go to the light. I went to Stacey’s body, instead.” Raj’s entire body sagged. “I thought I lost you again.” His voice cracked, making Gray’s heart ache for the pain he’d gone through a second time. She smiled with reassurance. “Nope. This witch ain’t going nowhere.” She uncurled her fingers around the amulet. “I am going to need new initials put on this, however. Think you can get used to calling me Stacey?” Raj’s eyebrows drew together. “What about Lee?” Gray asked. “It’s Stacey’s middle name—sorta fitting really.” Raj

Most people don't know that heartache smells like blueberries.

I am crossing back to the opposite side -- Mercy the Fearsome is not stupid -- but if I let the Italian cow me, I show him and anyone watching that we can be pushed around like the dogs they think us to be.

I may have no notion of what's in the beans for me now, with everything upside down and sideways. But one thing I know is that I belong in this moment.

I've never thought too hard about my convictions and wonder if it's too late now.

Cheeks are a measure of one's authority, and my high cheekbones indicate an assertive, ambitious nature. They were a gift from my mother, and I am proud of them, even though men shy away from women with that attribute.

Many, including my late grandfather, fled the mother country because of economic hardship from the Opium Wars. England coerced China into accepting the black tar in payment for tea and cracked China open like a ginkgo nut. Old injuries still itch.

I'll need to be a tiger if I want to have my own global business.

What I’m saying is, without hope, there could not be disappointment.” The

It’s just like Chinatown and all the laws passed to contain us. We were never the enemy. The enemy was our country’s own fear.

Maybe grief is like a prison, and once you’re there, everything starts looking like a way out, patterns in the stars or the behavior of bovines. Maybe there is no way out, and you just have to serve your time. I

Trouble is, finding a girl is still a tricky situation, like choosing a hat." He flips off his hat and sweeps a finger along the edge of the brim. "Like, maybe you've had your eye on a fine-looking French number, but when it finally falls onto your head, it loses its appeal... Or maybe you've been told all your life that bison felts are the only hats worth wearing. And when something different comes along, say alligator suede, even though it's the most worthy thing you've seen in your life, you might leave it in the window"--he taps his chin--"until you realize no other hat will fit just right.

They say death aims only once and never misses, but I doubt Ty Yorkshire thought it would strike with a scrubbing brush. Now his face wears the mask of surprise that sometimes accompanies death: his eyes bulge, carp-like, and his mouth curves around a profanity. Does killing a man who tried to rape me count as murder? For me, it probably does. The law in Missouri in this year of our Lord 1849 does not sympathize with a Chinaman's daughter.

I mean, sometimes I wonder why God would grant a favor if trouble's just waiting around the corner? It feels disingenuous. If it's fate, then it's written in the stars, and we can't do much to avoid it.

Sometimes, as Miss Sweetie notes, love just stumbles into you, out of the blue.

Perhaps whites feel the same way about us as they do about ladybugs. A few are fine, but a swarm turns the stomach.

I never imagined someone like could could be permitted to write using my name, but perhaps when you live in a basement, you get used to a low ceiling.

We all must abide by the rules, but some of us must follow more than others.

But as Old Gin says, great souls have wills, while feeble souls, only wishes.

When I began my women's cycles, the only thing Old Gin said about it was that all meadows, after an awkward stretch as a thicket, eventually ripen into beautiful forests.

The biggest threats are the ones we fail to acknowledge.

What is the job of a parent but to teach a child that she has worth so that one day she can transform herself into whatever she wants.

The men are not friends, but surely seeing the same person every day for twenty years fies them in your life in some way.

I realize this isn’t much to go on, Agent Lee.’ He thought for a moment. ‘True, but the last time you happened across a murder, the president lost his job. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.

I find the company of a book much more interesting

Mrs. Lowry’s golden rule of negotiation is to never reveal your price tag until you convince the other party he cannot live without your product.

As the expression goes, when there is no tiger in the mountain, the monkey declares himself king.

Women were born with eyes and feet, same as men. Why shouldn’t we see the world if we want to?

I wish I had spent more time getting to know her. People so often expressed that sentiment at the graves of deceased, but not until now do I understand how they felt.

Chinese believe that in order to die well, a woman must have experienced the five “blossoms”—marriage, bearing a son, being respected, having a grandson who loves you, and dying in your sleep after a long life.

Our success is determined not by external forces, but how we react to them.

The closer I am to someone’s grief, the closer I feel to my own. And that is a place with no doors and no windows.

Imagine, if everyone picked up a few bricks and put them back where they’re supposed to be, we’d have this city rebuilt in no time.

How fine the line is between hilarity and grief.

In one neighborhood where all are welcome. We all have one feature in common: an outlook. It is forged by the memory of what we went through and shaped by the hope that we will persevere. It is as indelible as a footprint on cement.

Sometimes the only way to move forward is to be pushed by someone who cares

All dictators work by first sowing chaos, then offering a solution.

The kimono eyes me from the wardrobe. She's a saucy miss, asking if I'm woman enough to put her on. I take my time eating a sticky bun and a scone with marmalade, washing them both down with good English tea. Fortified, I slide the kimono off the hanger. It seems to slink right over my shoulders, the little minx, making herself at home around me.

Crying fish balls, I hope she loses that look soon before she gives us away as mischief makers.

Life is a balancing act, and the better you get at juggling, the better you get at living. But juggling is not an act of holding tight. It's an act of letting to - of giving the people you love the time and space to find their own orbit.

If you walk like you know where you're going, you can fool a lot of people, especially in a place with so many distractions.

You want my take, there’s nothing wrong with matching people up according to the stars, because at least someone gave a thought to it. Lots of deuces leap the altar ’cause they like getting sacked, and lots of girls agree ’cause they think they got no choice. Ain’t fair to the human race, and that’s the short of it.

My father said that artists see the world differently than normal people. I see a tree where you mights see a collection of lines, shapes, and shadows.

What's Fascism?" Momma let it go with too much caution. Stacey told them it is when you don't have any rights anymore. They all looked at Stacey in disbelief. "You mean our boys went to kill people they never met for that? Hell, we got that here. No one kills for that here!" Kate pronounced the sentiments of everyone in the room. Stacey hadn't thought about this when studying World War I and World War II, but it was true. The essence of Fascism applied to them all right, except the forced labour part, but the exclusion of Indians from working in the outside world started to look to Stacey like the flip side of the same coin.

I don't understand the constant need to prove one's manhood, as if it is always on the verge of slipping away. We never need to prove our womanhood.

I'll never let the voices in my head talk me out of the desires of my heart.

It is better to look out a window than into a glass; otherwise all you see is yourself and what's behind you.

Monday muscles in like the first rooster in the ring, talons out, ready to draw blood

Once trust is lost, it is a mountain of gravel to reclimb.

It is only in darkness that one finds light.

I can almost see him now, fishing out an eggshell from a bowl of crached eggs with a patient, steady hand, practicing tranquility during the small things so he’d be ready when the bigger things come along.

I think …” I say slowly, “’God makes our bodies want to live, no matter what our minds want to do.

Do not linger in the garden of memories, for there are many traps

We can run the race as well as any man. We only need the opportunity.

nape

Mr. Ismay’s breathing down Captain Smith’s collar from dawn till dusk to up the pace.

twins always come together like ginger and garlic. They can stand by themselves, but they are always meeting in the same dish.

The English love all things Chinese—silk, tea, plates—just not if it comes with a beating heart.

I study a display case of beaded patches and premade bows. Prefabricated adornment is the rage. The modern woman wants a quick and inexpensive way to deck herself out. A daisy made of chicken feathers sells for three cents. Banditry! All it takes is a little glue and a windy day by your local farm.

It strikes me that money can alleviate many of the miseries of common folk. bot it opens up other avenues of suffering.

Being nice is like leaving your door wide-open. Eventually, someone's going to mosey in and steal your best hat. [...] Still, boundaries must be set. Especially boundaries over one's worth.