Hunter Murphy Quotes

Why you wanna treat Mama like she ain't got sense?

It was one of those days in August where the road looks like an illusion, melting and changing shapes.

Buddy ran down the road, turned into another street, and vanished as if he had never been there, like another ghost from New Orleans's past.

The only way he could truly stick out in New Orleans was if he were walking down the street on fire.

The morning sun in New Orleans felt like it was trying to make a point, convincing the old world to believe something new.

Toulouse Street ran one way toward the Mississippi River. Jackson looked over [Imogene's] head into one of those famous New Orleans courtyards, full of lush foliage, mossy brick, secrets, and wonder.

The wild notes of tuba and trumpet and trombone rattled and hummed through the trees. In the first group of musicians, there were kids as young as fourteen playing the tuba and one kid who probably couldn't drive banging a bass drum. They stomped together in rhythm to the music. Two ladies had dressed up in what looked like princess outfits. They wore white gloves and socks with tassels.

Even the sidewalks in ‪New Orleans‬ had personality.

Jackson watched in amazement that she had convinced the driver to handle the vehicle in such a way. Tourists began taking pictures of Imogene, standing tall in the seat while the driver guided the horse with the reins. She kept her eye trained on Catfish, describing his every step as if the driver couldn't see the runner for himself … Catfish stopped at the "T" in the road up ahead. He was heaving air, and Imogene said, "We've worn him out, son. Keep on him. He's ours for the catchin'.

Just as the Mediterranean separated France from the country Algiers, so did the Mississippi separate New Orleans proper from Algiers Point. The neighborhood had a strange mix. It looked seedier and more laid-back all at the same time. Many artists lived on the peninsula, with greenery everywhere and the most beautiful and exotic plants. The French influence was heavy in Algiers, as if the air above the water had carried as much ambience as it could across to the little neighborhood. There were more dilapidated buildings in the community, but Jackson and Buddy passed homes with completely manicured properties, too, and wild ferns growing out of baskets on the porches, as if they were a part of the architecture. Many of the buildings had rich, ornamental detail, wood trim hand-carved by craftsmen and artisans years ago. The community almost had the look of an ailing beach town on some forgotten coast.

I've lived in this world a long time, and you can't change what you like, even if you'd want to.

Deader than four o'clock.

He turned around to see the bass drum popping and the horn sections pointing their instruments to the balconies and sending glorious notes to the rooftops.

The carriage could only clop along at about ten miles per hour, which only accentuated Imogene's excitement. She urged it onward: "Fly, horse, fly!

A good crowd had formed along the sidewalk and the concrete ledge that bordered Louis Armstrong Park. The anticipation was dizzying...New Orleans had the big-boy parades and [Jackson & Billy] couldn't wait to attend a second line...