Michael Dorris > Quotes

“Here are two facts that should not both be true:
- There is sufficient food produced in the world every year to feed every human being on the planet.
- Nearly 800 million people literally go hungry every day, with more than a third of the earth's population -- 2 billion men and women -- malnourished one way or another, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.”
― Michael Dorris, Rooms in the House of Stone

“Don't ask so many questions and they will all be answered.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“Fear is a memory of better times. Fear is a dream.”
― Michael Dorris, Rooms in the House of Stone

“Without somebody to watch me, laugh at my jokes, tell me what to do, ask me questions, race me to the river, make me guess the names of birds, or challenge me to count the silvery fish in a school, there was nothing for me to do. Without somebody to be somebody to, it was as though I wasn't somebody myself.”
― Michael Dorris, Sees Behind Trees

“How long does it last?" Said the other customer, a man wearing a tan shirt with little straps that buttoned on top of the shoulders. He looked as if he were comparing all the pros and cons before shelling out $.99. You could see he thought he was pretty shrewd.
"It lasts for as long as you live," the manager said slowly. There was a second of silence while we all thought about that. The man in the tan shirt drew his head back, tucking his chin into his neck. His mind was working like a house on fire
"What about other people?" He asked. "The wife? The kids?"
"They can use your membership as long as you're alive," the manager said, making the distinction clear.
"Then what?" The man asked, louder. He was the type who said things like "you get what you pay for" and "there's one born every minute" and was considering every angle. He didn't want to get taken for a ride by his own death.
"That's all," the manager said, waving his hands, palms down, like a football referee ruling an extra point no good. "Then they'd have to join for themselves or forfeit the privileges."
"Well then, it makes sense," the man said, on top of the situation now, "for the youngest one to join. The one that's likely to live the longest."
"I can't argue with that," said the manager.
The man chewed his lip while he mentally reviewed his family. Who would go first. Who would survive the longest. He cast his eyes around to all the cassettes as if he'd see one that would answer his question. The woman had not gone away. She had brought along her signed agreement, the one that she paid $25 for.
"What is this accident waiver clause?" She asked the manager.
"Look," he said, now exhibiting his hands to show they were empty, nothing up his sleeve, "I live in the real world. I'm a small businessman, right? I have to protect my investment, don't I? What would happen if, and I'm not suggesting you'd do this, all right, but some people might, what would happen if you decided to watch one of my movies in the bathtub and a VCR you rented from me fell into the water?"
The woman retreated a step. This thought had clearly not occurred to her before.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“In the hopelessness of her situation she had found strength, and in her strength there was irresistible pain.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“And she has been there. I know because her senior high school yearbook, the one with no Daytons, is gone from the bureau where i had left it. She's seen my things scattered about. She knows I'm still here. But she didn't wait Part of me doesn't want to give up, and makes excuses. "She'll be back =," it says. "She just didn't want to run into Aunt Ida. Now that she knows you're here..." But she knew it. Where else would I be? I have to face it: I'm not as important as some package she needs from Seattle. My presence won't bring her back.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water - Teacher Guide by Novel Units

“To be known for one's saddest story is not the road to notoriety anyone would willingly choose.”
― Michael Dorris

“These boots were made for dancing"(260)”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“As a man with cut hair, he did not identity the rhythm of three strands, the whispers of coming and going, of twisting and tying and blending, of catching and of letting go, of braiding.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“The World Bank, anxious that the last vestiges of Zimbabwe's former inclination toward socialism be abandoned, successfully urged the imposition of a token tuition charge for all grade levels. Equivalent to one U. S. dollar per year per child, this fee constitutes a burden to the poorest families, who have responded by sending only boys to classes. Too many of the girls . . . have resorted to prostitution in order to eat.”
― Michael Dorris, Rooms in the House of Stone

“Names are strange and special gifts. There are names you give to yourself and names you show to the world, names that stay for a short while and names that remain with you forever, names that come from things you do and names that you receive as presents from other people. If your name is true, it is who you are.”
― Michael Dorris, Morning Girl

“There's something about her that reminds me of Ellen, but then I realize that it's Ellen who's reminded me of Annabelle. Ellen is dim in comparison.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“She'd have the two of them eating out of her shoe. I've watched her in action, but I could never get away with it. And, I console myself, being cute hasn't made her all that happy.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“As a man with cut hair, he did not identify the rhythm of three strands, the whispers of coming and going, of twisting and tying and blending, of catching and of letting go, of braiding.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“That land was so level that the only way you didn't see the stars was if you looked at your feet, and the sky smelled of deep water. I could have jumped off into it and swum wherever I wanted.”
― Michael Dorris

“Annabelle will be impressed if I say yes. I'll be different in her eyes, dumb maybe, but worth knowing.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“Around us she didn't bother with English at all, and in Indian her words poured like thick whiskey that had never seen water, like hootch straight from the barrel.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“I'm not what they expect. About once a year I get discovered, get called a diamond in the rough.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“Something rises in me so hard I think it will lift me off the ground and ram me into the side of the house.”
― Michael Dorris

“If I took my time, sampled every possibility, eventually I'd hit on the perfect combination and come into my own.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“The tires catch, the truck moves off, and for an instant there is a hole of quiet, a pocket of air without any noise, before the call of radios and televisions and bees and wind rushes in to fill my ears.”
― Michael Dorris, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

“Here are two facts that should not both be true:

• There is sufficient food produced every year to feed every human being on the planet.

• Nearly 800 million people literally go hungry every day, with more than a third of the earth's population — 2 billion men and women — malnourished one way or another, according the United nations Food and Agriculture Organization.”
― Michael Dorris, Rooms in the House of Stone