“It’s useful work, Matty.” She voiced her thoughts suddenly. “What we’re doing here can be important. These are busy people, but they are often lonely people, too. They are making a long, hard trip, and many have no idea what to expect at the end of it. We can leave them with a bright, happy memory, and we can give them a friendly welcome when they come.”
“’Tis my thought exactly, mum. Travelers are either lonely folk all by themselves, like, or they are herded about like cattle, and a kind word is remembered long after.”
“We must have a word for each one if we can, Matty, and we must remember those who come again, as some will. It is flattering to be remembered and called by name.”
“Aye.” – Exchange between Mary Breydon and Matty Maginnis in The Cherokee Trail by Louis L’Amour
Thoughts on the Edge of Forever 