“My mother watched the skies at evening for a portent of the morrow. A ...” — Bobbie Ann Mason Quote

“My mother watched the skies at evening for a portent of the morrow. A cloud that went over and then turned around and came back was an especially bad sign.”

“The way I see it, a clever cat prowls but calls home occasionally.”

“I have heard from many readers since 'The Girl in the Blue Beret' came out. The story of my airline pilot, former B-17 bomber pilot Marshall Stone, on his search to find the people who helped him during World War II has struck a chord.”

“I used my NEA fellowship to write my novel, 'In Country,' which was published by Harper & Row in 1985.”

“You have to realize that, when it comes to the South, we carry around a lot of baggage. The South lost the war, and I spent years denying my culture.”

“My father had all these great names for our cows. Bossy and Daisy and Petunia and Turnip. One of my jobs was to round up the cows before milking. I'd go out back with the dog and bring them in.”

“I was quite shy when I was younger, but I'm not one of those people who can complain of a bad childhood or any trauma. There was none in my life. I had a wonderfully happy childhood.”

“Bad leaders believe that they have to project control at all times.”

“I've been through all the bad parts of the streets.”

“There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.”

“That's how tennis is sometimes: You can have good days, you can have bad days, your opponents can play really well.”

“You know, I don't like when people talk about generous unemployment benefits because unemployment benefits are there to help people in very difficult, bad times.”