Wind at My Back

Grace Bailey:
[about imagining telling May what she considers a crazy idea] I can just hear my mother.

Del Sutton:
Just because you can hear her doesn't mean you have to listen to her.

May Bailey:
I feel fine.

Juanita Bascombe:
I'd expect you to say that if you were being hit by a train.

May Bailey:
Don't be ridiculous.

Juanita Bascombe:
And it'd be the train I'd be worried about.

Honey Bailey:
Go wash your face.

Henry 'Fat' Bailey:
Aw Mom, do I have to?

Honey Bailey:
Just because we're poor, doesn't mean we have to look poor.

Countess Ava von Winderblumen:
Is she dead?

Detective Mike Malone:
She's in for the long snooze.

[Doris is introducing her friends to her family]

Henry 'Fat' Bailey:
Hi. I'm Fat.

Frankie Bloore:
Don't be so hard on yourself, little boy.

Doris Bailey:
No, Fat's his name.

[Violet has just met Juanita, the first Negro she's ever seen]

Violet Bailey:
Mommy, why is the lady's face all dirty?

Honey Sutton:
[exasperated] Violet!

Juanita Bascombe:
[calmly] And what would a little girl think if she's never seen colored folk before. You haven't, have you?

[Violet shakes her head no]

Juanita Bascombe:
It's not dirt, honey. It's me. See?

[Juanita takes Violet hand to her face]

Juanita Bascombe:
That's how I've been made.

Juanita Bascombe:
I'm taking Mrs. Bailey for a little stroll in the sun. Would you like to come along?

Maisey McGinty:
No, I've got to finish my report.

Juanita Bascombe:
Ah, what's it about?

[Juanita looks over Maisey's shoulder to her report]

Juanita Bascombe:
"What It's Like to Be a Negro". Well, I certainly know a lot about that.

Maisey McGinty:
I'm sure you would.

Juanita Bascombe:
It's wonderful.

Maisey McGinty:
What is?

Juanita Bascombe:
Being a Negro, as surely as being Caucasian is wonderful. We have the same fears, the same loves and hates as everyone. And we experience the same pain and joy. If we're allowed to be ourselves, we're just like you.

Maisey McGinty:
But people made you slaves.

Juanita Bascombe:
That was the slave owner's burden, Maisey. If we're different, it's only because of how we're considered, as outsiders. But it's not a difference that God devised. Inside, God made us all the same.

Maisey McGinty:
Outsiders. I know what that feels like.

Juanita Bascombe:
It isn't a comfort, is it.

Maisey McGinty:
No.

Juanita Bascombe:
From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you'd be a difficult case, Mrs. Bailey. I can see the lion hiding in the trees, and you got the lion in you. Now for me, that's good, and that's bad. It's bad, 'cause the lion always gives you trouble - oh Lord, the trouble. Strong, demanding, stubborn. It's good, because the lion always battles until it wins. You see, battles until it wins. It makes my job a little easier.

Old Roolie:
Pain. What is it? Nothing! Lets you know you're alive. Then it goes away. Then where are ya, eh?

Grace Bailey:
Better?

Old Roolie:
Dead! Pain goes away, you're dead.

Archie Attenborough:
We had a teacher named Dr. Turtle, but we always used to call him Dr. Tortoise. Ask me why.

Max Sutton:
Why?

Archie Attenborough:
Because he *tortoise* all he knew.

Toppy Bailey:
[to Honey about her own and Bob's marriage] Our minister says there are no problems a marriage cannot endure when there are two loving hearts. Well, I'm dead certain we've got at least one.

[Grace is excited by the romantic gestures shown to her on her date with Luc]

Grace Bailey:
I feel all tingly. Oh, I hope it's not a rash.

Luc Gerrard:
You let me dream this whole thing up.

Hugo Gerrard:
Dreams are for boys. It's time to grow up, son.