Quotation

You know one thing that Mr. Powell taught me? He taught me that sometimes, art can make you forget everything else all around you. That’s what art can do. And I guess that’s what happened to Mr. Barber, who forgot that his left foot was behind the back leg of my chair. Who took a step without remembering to take his foot away from the back of my chair. Who tripped, but caught himself. But who couldn’t the coffee that flew out of his cup, swirled around in the air for a second, and finally splashed down all over my Geography: The Story of the World and started to soak into the pages as fast as it could. I won’t tell you the sound that Mr. Barber made. It was something like the shriek an insane woman who has been locked in an attic for a great many years would make. (p. 344)