If a man's character is to be abused, say what you will, there's nobody like a relative to do the business.

She had it all going for her. She was very popular, she was a great student from a great family, and she was a very athletic girl headed to college. This just interrupted everything. Her grades fell, and eventually she dropped out of school. It was absolutely devastating to her.

Family: a foundation! Family: a ‘cloth’ that keeps the ‘body’!

You don’t choose these people and in the not choosing you learn tolerance. You learn to forgive.

There are family mysteries I cannot solve. There are family mysteries I am unwilling to solve.

So that’s your sister?” asks Dee in a quiet voice.
“Yeah.”
“The one you risked your life for?”
“Yeah.”
The twins nod politely in that automatic way that people do when they don’t want to say something insulting.
“Your family any better?” I ask.
Dee and Dum look at each other, assessing.
“Nah,” says Dee.
“Not really,” says Dum at the same time.