Estrella Carolina

“He reached for one of her fidgeting hands, grasping hold. Her eyes met his then faltered, lowered and grazed over his damaged skin. Her gaze burning nearly as deep as the wounds.”
― Lotchie Burton, Gabriel's Fire

“Patient endurance and self-discipline mean we submit to the present moment as it is, not as we would like it to be.”
― Amos Smith, Holistic Mysticism: The Integrated Spiritual Path of the Quakers

“I knew Dad was concerned about my past associations. I was from the Trash Alley. It was my community. I hung out with thugs from the Frog Bottom, the Burns Bottoms, the Red Line, the S-Curve, the Sandfield, the Morning Side, and a bunch of other places that shall remain nameless. I knew all of the “Legends of the Hood”: Sin Man, Swap, Boo Boo, Emp-Man, Cookie Man, Shank, Polar Bear, Bae Willy, Bae Bruh, Skullhead Ned, Pimp, Crunch, and Goat Turd (just to name a few). I thought maybe Dad had summoned me as a “show and tell” for the kids in his neighborhood—the hardliner to scare those wayward suburban brats back into reality.”
― Harold Phifer, Surviving Chaos: How I Found Peace at A Beach Bar

“If you want to be great, you have to be a leader. You’ve got to listen to me, son. That’s what we brought you here to do, to be a leader. And you can do it.”
― Vernon Davis, Playing Ball: Life Lessons from My Journey to the Super Bowl and Beyond