“‘But . . . what about academic freedom? . . . what about my arguments? . . . what about the truth?’
‘What did you get your doctorate in? Idealism? On hobbits dancing in meadows?’”
Ecochondriacs, p. 80
Not to Mention the Second Battle of Ai
“Trevor had taken the line that the Hebrew midwives were onto a good thing in lying to Pharaoh, that Rahab had done right by sending the pursuers galloping off in exactly the wrong direction, and that David was not offending against charity by pretending to be insane, much to the exasperation of Achish”
Ecochondriacs, p. 73
He Who Says A May Predict B
“Once you learn the discipline of worldview thinking, Trevor had concluded, other people think you are psychic”
Ecochondriacs, p. 72
Unlike Other People
“Professors like to talk about themselves, and so the key was to ask them to talk about themselves”
Ecochondriacs, p. 71
The Space That Beans Take Up
“When they had moved from Choctaw Valley, Trevor had settled into his studies easily, and found that full-time load, given his energy levels, was really only about half time, and because his was a personality that was full of beans, with scarcely room left for one more bean, he saw right away that he would have to find some edifying way to fill up the remainder of his time”
Ecochondriacs, p. 69
A Respectable Outlet
“Jill was an avid baseball fan, and was there at the stadium using up her season tickets as often as her schedule permitted. ‘It gives me an opportunity to yell at people without incurring any societal disapproval,’ she said. ‘That’s an argument,’ Larry said”
Ecochondriacs, p. 62
Which Is the Usual Tell
“Larry jumped to his feet to follow her, and Eve noticed how quick and cat-like he was. Big cat. But when he disappeared from her line of sight, she cocked an ear for a moment. There was no indication, faint or loud, of anything like fee fi fo fum”
Ecochondriacs, pp. 59-60
When a Fat Face is Called For
“‘Oh, deadly serious. No God, above us, only sky. It seems that boinking nubile young dopes would be just the ticket. If morality is just a social construct, one has to admire that kind of clear-headed behavior. And in a Christian school, too.’ Marcie just stared. Jill looked back at her with her very best fat face. And, as fat faces go, it was a pretty good one”
Ecochondriacs, p. 59
Missed Opportunity
“Of the three women, the one who was out in front and apparently the spokesman for them all could have been attractive if she had wanted to be, or she used to be attractive, or something of that nature. The other two were in a different category entirely. They looked like nothing on earth”
Ecochondriacs, p. 57
That Sort of Pother
“And at just that moment, there was a clatter and a rustle and pother of self-importance at the door of the office, and three women, of the protesting variety, came in.”
Ecochondriacs, p. 57