MEMPHIS: That ain’t how it went. Lutz told him if he painted his fence he’d give him a chicken. Told him if he do a good job he’d give him a ham. He think he did a good job and Lutz didn’t. That’s where he went wrong—letting Lutz decide what to pay him for his work. If you leave it like that, quite naturally he gonna say it ain’t worth the higher price.

HAMBONE: He gonna give me my ham. He gonna give me my ham. I want my ham.

MEMPHIS (to HAMBONE): Alright! I told you . . .  that’s enough of that!

HAMBONE (to himself): He gonna give me my ham. He gonna give me my ham.

HOLLOWAY: All he got to do is go see Aunt Ester. Aunt Ester could straighten him out. Don’t care whatever your problem. She can straighten it out.

STERLING: You think she can help me find a job? I wanna open me up a nightclub.

HOLLOWAY: Whatever your problem is. It don’t make no difference to Aunt Ester. She can help you with anything.

STERLING: Where she live at? What’s that address again?

HOLLOWAY: Eighteen thirty-nine Wylie. In the back. Knock on the red door. You can’t miss it. Don’t care who answer. Just say you come to see Aunt Ester. You ain’t got to tell them what you want to see her about. Just say, “I come to see Aunt Ester.” You got to pay her, though. She won’t take no money herself. She tell you to go down and throw it into the river. Say it’ll come to her. She must be telling the truth, cause she don’t want for nothing. She got some people there to take care of her and they don’t want for nothing either.

MEMPHIS: Ask her how old she is while you up there.

HOLLOWAY: She’ll tell you. She don’t try to hide it. And she don’t care if you believe or not. She three hundred and twenty-two years old. She’ll tell you.

MEMPHIS: How the hell somebody gonna live to be three hundred and twenty-two years old, nigger? You talk like a fool.

STERLING: They lived that long in the Bible. I ain’t surprised to hear that. Do she look like she come out the Bible?

HOLLOWAY: You got to go see what she look like for yourself. I’m just telling you she three hundred and twenty-two years old. Go on up there and see her. I go up to see her every once in a while. Get my soul washed. She don’t do nothing but lay her hands on your head. But it’s a feeling like you ain’t never had before. Then everything in your life get real calm and peaceful.

MEMPHIS: I’d rather believe if I rubbed Prophet Samuel’s head I’d get rich. That make more sense to me than to talk about somebody being three hundred and twenty-two years old.