A Quote from Mrs. Wallop, a Novel by Peter Devries

Mrs. Wallop is Randy Rivers' landlady. It is during a train ride to New York with Randy Rivers and Will Gerstenslager, at breakfast. Mrs. Wallop narrates, about Will:

"A night in the cement mixer had taken all the mirth out of him. He and Randy both looked like death warmed over..."

"We're stalled," Will said, when the train ground to a halt in the middle of nowhere.

"Thank God," said Randy, "Give us a chance to recover our chemical balance. My blood is homogenized. Whose idea was this?"

"Eat your prunes," I said. "While they're ice-cold. It's the chilled edge that perks you up. Don't take a person out of context."

When Books at 12:10 will begin again in September, once again I recall the novels of Peter Devries. Mrs. Wallop always was a favorite,