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“Then something in me heard the stars, the pawpaws, trilliums, the whippoorwills, crawdads swimming in the creeks and cousin Alma all calling. Like the air had shimmered them.”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“There’s no skin in heaven.”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“All of us were drunk on fun. A celebration of Kool-Aid puddle and little-kid noise, cake, cakey fingers, singing and yucky yucks”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“It was odd–talking to the trees, so I made a joke out of it. While sitting by a pawpaw tree, I whispered, “Is this where you grew up? . . . (Yes, and I never left home) . . . I hope to leave home . . . (Wish I could).â€� I laughed so hard at a tree wanting to leave home, I keeled over. Then I cried. I knew why but I couldn’t think about it or I’d cry all day.”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“I enjoyed sitting behind him, watching. God he was handsome. How many times had I admired him? His backside, his shoulders, slim hips, long legs, his oval eyes, fingers, ring finger. I should give him a ring to wear. I’d slip it on his finger. Usually I don’t like a ski-jump nose: I liked his. Can I say love? I was almost beside myself when Miss Sally opened the door at 2 p.m. and said she was leaving for the day.”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“It was amazing how I was able to ignore all his cursing, but he knew airplanes. He showed me how to line up straight on the obscene-curse-word runway and how to use the curse-word throttle and rudder to control the blasphemous-curse-word-plane, how to taxi down the smutty-curse-word runway and, when I got up to top speed, how to add up-elevator and how to maintain a simple-curse-word gradual ascent.”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“We played harmless pranks on each other in high school. Stole liquor one time, got drunk and puked it up. Talked about sex—how it stays hard . . . what you do . . . don’t do . . . dirty names for the girl part.”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“Yes, I knew how to keep a secret since I was a girl and saw my uncle murder Zeke. I had learned to act like nothing had ever happened, how to walk across the crime scene and smile against my fears.”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“I didn’t say Atwater gave me old dresses with rips, and seams coming apart, and leftovers to eat—like it was a tip for doing a real good job for little pay.”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“Now the radio people—that is the ones I liked—finished most every one of their words, clear and succinct. It was crisp talk. It said you were going someplace important â€�”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“When I finished my beautiful day, I walked toward my car. I turned around and Harry was watching me through the window. We waved and I walked on to my car. He was probably still watching me—the slight sway of my hips. My plain ordinary navy blue skirt rippling like a flirt. My long legs. I purposely dropped my keys, so I’d have to bend over to pick them up. He’d enjoy that all evening when he was alone thinking of me. And the way I opened the door wide. And the way I sat in the car, leaving one foot hanging out for a bit, while I dug something out of my old plastic purse, just to be in his view longer.”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“Inside the envelope was a second envelope with two hundred and forty dollars wrapped inside a carbon copy of a bill marked paid and signed by the previous owner’s wife. I counted it thrice to be accurate. Again for the pleasure. Then just to feel joy. Oh my, sweet goddamn. Sweetest goddamn. I sat for a few minutes doing nothing but feeling the money in my hands.”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“Oh my. A naked woman in love. Oh my.”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O

“I never knew a pilot. I never knew there were girl pilots. What does a girl pilot do?â€�
“Flies planes and eats possum.”
― G.M. Monks, Iola O