Bud Quotes

“There comes a time when you’re losing a fight that it just doesn’t make sense to keep on fighting. It’s not that you’re being a quitter, it’s just that you’ve got the sense to know when enough is enough.”

“Then Momma’d look hard in my face, grab a holt of my arms real tight and say, ‘And Bud, I want you to always remember, no matter how bad things look to you, no matter how dark the night, when one door closes, don’t worry because another door opens.‘”

“All of a sudden I knew that of all of the places in the world that I’d ever been in this was the one. That of all the people I’d ever met these were the ones. This was where I was supposed to be.”

“I could tell those were the squeaks and squawks of one door closing and another one opening.”

“A bud is a flower-to-be. A flower-in-waiting. Waiting for just the right warmth and care to open up. It’s a little fist of love waiting to unfold and be seen by the world. And that’s you.”

“I said, ‘My mother said the same thing, that families should be there for each other all the time. She always used to tell me that no matter where I went or what I did that she’d be there for me, even if she wasn’t somewhere that I could see her…‘”

“I took in a deep, deep breath and it felt like I was sleeping with my own blanket wrapped around my head. I took in a couple more deep breaths and I could hear Momma starting to read another story to me.”

“I did what I do every night before I go to sleep, I checked to make sure everything was there. The way there are more and more kids coming into the Home every day, I had to make sure no one had run off with any of my things.”

“Most folks think you start to be a real adult when you’re fifteen or sixteen years old, but that’s not true, it really starts when you’re around six. It’s at six that grown folks don’t think you’re a cute little kid anymore, they talk to you and expect that you understand everything they mean.”

“I’m not bragging when I say that I’m one of the best liars in the world but I got to tell you, Todd was pretty doggone good. It seemed like he knew some of the things I know, the things I think of all the time and try to remember so I don’t make the same mistake more than seven or eight times.”

“Just like there’s a time that a smart person know enough is enough, there’s a time when you know you’ve got to fight”

″‘But I guess you’re different, aren’t you, Bud? I guess you sort of carry your family around inside of you, huh?’ ‘I guess I do. Inside my suitcase, too.‘”

“When she was walking me to the door, the librarian stopped at her desk and said, ‘Now I know that knowledge is a food, but I couldn’t help noticing you never went to eat. You must be very hungry.’ She handed me a paper bag and gave me another smile. ”

“It’s funny how ideas are, in a lot of ways they’re just like seeds. Both of them start real, real small and then woop, zoop, sloop…before you can say Jack Robinson they’ve gone and grown a lot bigger than you ever thought they could.”

“I said, ‘I’d trade you in a minute. The worst thing that’s going to happen to you is that they’re going to make you play house a lot … I tickled Jerry under his chin and said, “Ga-ga, goo-goo, baby-waby.’ Jerry couldn’t help but smile. I said, ‘You’re going to be great.’ Jerry looked like he wasn’t so scared anymore so I went over to my bed and started getting ready.”

“Going back to the Home was out … It’s not like it was when I first got there, shucks, half the folks that run it don’t even tell you their name and don’t remember yours unless you’re in trouble all the time or getting ready to move out. ”

“The woman said…‘I know you don’t understand what it means, but there’s a depression going on all over this country. People can’t find jobs and these are very, very difficult times for everybody. We’ve been lucky enough to find two wonderful families who’ve opened their doors for you.‘”

“And there were more people sitting around than I first thought too … They were all the colors you could think of, black, white and brown, but the fire made them look like they were different shades of orange. There were dark orange folks sitting next to medium orange folks sitting next to light orange folks.”