quote · Legacy record
A thousand times today I've started to open my mouth, started to squeak out, "Can you tell me...? But then I'd look into the front seat, at my mother's silent shaking, my father's grim profile, the mournful bags under his eyes, and all the questions I might ask seemed abusive. Assault and battery, a question mark used like a club. My parents are old and fragile. I'd have to heartless to want to hurt them.
A thousand times today I've started to open my mouth, started to squeak out, "Can you tell me...? But then I'd look into the front seat, at my mother's silent shaking, my father's grim profile, the mournful bags under his eyes, and all the questions I might ask seemed abusive. Assault and battery, a question mark used like a club. My parents are old and fragile. I'd have to heartless to want to hurt them.
Approximate author period: c. 1995 AD · modern
Meaning not yet available
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- Author or tradition
- Margaret Peterson Haddix
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1995 AD · modern
Approximate author-period evidence for Margaret Peterson Haddix: documented activity in 1995. Wikidata Q540024, inspected 2026-10-08. Not a quotation composition date or independent verification of attribution. Source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q540024 (accessed 2026-10-08).
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 67038; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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