"Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did." (Part 1, p. 3).

"Mom worried about things like her daughters catching the right husband. She was concerned with what she called 'priorities.'" (Part 1, p. 10).

"I wondered if Dad thought God had dealt him a bad hand, but I didn't feel it was my place to ask." (Part 1, p. 15).

"Dad relished the notion of being a big landowner but not the headaches that came with it." (Part 2, p. 35).

"I sat there, ignoring Dad's prattle about harebrained schemes." (Part 2, p. 44).

"I was a mite concerned about Helen, seeing as how she was not the most self-reliant creature in the world, but Mom, to my surprise, had encouraged her to go to Los Angeles, insisting that with that pretty face and those delicate hands, she was sure to be discovered, and if not, she could find a rich Hollywood husband." (Part...