How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Stanza)
Quote #7
The cause of death was / dust pneumonia, / but I think / she couldn't go on without Hayden. / When Ma died, / I didn't want to go on either. / I don't know. I don't feel the same now, / not exactly. / Now that I see that one day / comes after another / and you get through them / one measure at a time. (78.2-3)
Billie Jo's story also reveals not just death's far-reaching impact, but what it does to the loved ones left behind. She speculates here that Hayden's death reduced his wife's will to live, and in her old age, she just gave up. Ugh.
Quote #8
My father thinks awhile, / rubbing that spot on his neck. / He looks out the window, / out across the field, / toward the knoll where Ma and the baby lie. / "It's best to let the dead rest," he says. / And we stay home. (95.5)
Billie Jo wants to go see the unearthing of the dinosaur bones that have been discovered, but Daddy doesn't think it's a good idea. We're not sure why, but it might be because there are already so many reminders of death surrounding the family, including the skin cancer Daddy won't take care of and the graves of his wife and child.
Quote #9
My father's digging his own grave, / he calls it a pond, / but I know what he's up to. / He is rotting away, / like his father, / ready to leave me behind in the dust. (97.4-5)
While Daddy's pond eventually brings the life to the farm that Ma predicted it would, its true purpose is still ambiguous at this point. We know from Billie Jo's initial description of the project that the pond is "six feet deep" (42.1), which is a giant red flag because of how closely associated with death that number is. In Billie Jo's mind, the pond right now is associated with the impending fate her father faces.