How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
In that instant, your billboard careened ashore on a wall of water, cracking the back of my head. I reached for balance and touched what I thought was a puppy. Then you grabbed my finger. My God, I thought. It's a baby. I fainted dead away. (20.49)
The Colonel's memories of meeting Mo for the first time are pretty dramatic. Neither of them showed up in Tupelo Landing in a normal way—instead they floated in during a terrible storm.
Quote #8
"I don't know." I hopped down and peeked inside. Newspaper clippings? I scanned the headlines: Slate Found Guilty. Slate Gets Life. Underneath lay a legal pad of notes—all of them in the Colonel's scrawl. My mouth went dry. Why would the Colonel have notes on Slate? (23.64)
What's the deal with all of the Colonel's newspaper clippings about Robert Slate's trial way back in the day? Why would he have all of these details saved? The possibilities make Mo feel nervous.
Quote #9
"Soldier," he said, straightening the clippings. I slipped into the chair beside him and waited. "I will be honest with you, my dear. When Lana told me about these papers, I hoped she was just being dramatic. But after looking at them, I realize I was somehow involved in Slate's robbery," he said, his voice thick with grief. "I can't imagine I'd have these notes if I weren't. Apparently, Slate had at least one accomplice. I hope I'm not that man, but we have to prepare ourselves. I could be." (27.10)
Mo can't even go to the Colonel for reassurance that he wasn't a bank robber because he simply doesn't remember. The Colonel has completely forgotten the earlier parts of his life, and he's as in the dark as anyone else.