Adult Dean: Ah, the sweet, sweet smell of plastic model glue. I liked the smell so much, I only remember half the models I built with it. What was I saying?

Adult Dean: In philosophy class in college, I studied the Prisoner's Dilemma. But growing up with siblings, I already knew the best strategy was to sing like a canary.

Adult Dean: Of course, to get to summer, you had to get through the last week of school. But everyone knew that was just a formality. There were no tests, no homework, no attempts at discipline. [Michael yawns] Even the bullies were phoning it in. The high point of the last week was getting and signing our yearbooks.
Norman: Guys, there's one of all of us.
Adult Dean: We were the first Black kids in the school. Clearly the photographer hadn't figured out how to light Black skin yet. And guess what... he never did.

Adult Dean: One thing about being 12 that hasn't changed over the decades is that it's around 12 where you figure out what your place is in the world. But being in my family made that hard. I'd never be as popular as my sister or as athletic as my brother, as smart as my mom or as bad as my dad. That's the problem with being the youngest. By the time you're born, all the good parts have been handed out. [sighs] Stupid play. I mean, Sheep #3? Really? But 12 was the age I was gonna figure out what my bag was.

Brad: [whispers to Dean] Hey, he's not prejudiced.
Adult Dean: Well, if he wasn't, then the ball was.

Adult Dean: Going to church was also a part of growing up that's different now. The Black church is one of the most important institutions in American history. It's been a home that kept Black people unified during hard times, a social and political center that sparked historic movements, and a training ground for a generation of leaders and entertainers. So much of what makes Black culture unique comes from its roots in the Black church. And I grew up in a time when it was just a given that you went to church every Sunday. All three boring hours of it.

Lillian: You know what? I think it'd be a great idea for me to chaperone.
Dean: Wait. Why would you do that?
Lillian: Because in this house, we lead by example, and it's been a really long time since I taught at Sunday school or even found myself on a committee at church, and if I'm gonna ask you to get involved, then I have to as well. Besides, it'll be something fun we can do together.
Adult Dean: Yes, Mama was engaging in a very specific type of blocking here.
Dean: Yeah. Fun.

Cory: I call dibs on Linda. Wait. Or maybe Tracy.
Hampton: Yeah. Tracy looks like marriage material.
Dean: I can take Keisa off the table.
Cory: Linda's taller. But Tracy has braces, too.
Norman: Metal on metal? That could be a bad scene.
Adult Dean: By the way, this is how Facebook starts in 40 years.

Adult Dean: Thanks to my dad's quick thinking and a $5 bill he slipped to the maître d', that was the night we all got our Music Appreciation badges.
Coach Long: Who's ready for another round?
All: Me!
Adult Dean: It was also the night we ordered our first drinks from a bar.
[Hampton's head drops to the table]
Adult Dean: There's no alcohol in a Roy Rogers, but we didn't know that. We were convinced we were wasted. Maybe it was all that cigarette smoke. [cheers and applause] Or maybe it was because none of us had BM'd in two days.

Adult Dean: One thing that all species have in common is that at some point, offspring have to leave the protection of their parents and venture out on their own. The process of gaining independence can go smoothly, or not smoothly at all.
Dean: Um... I was wondering, can I go to the mall with some kids from my school?
Adult Dean: [as Bill and Lillian talk] "Who's gonna be there?" "What are their parents' names?" "Why do you want to go there anyway?" "We got popcorn at the house." "Do you have mall money?" Unfortunately, my parents were not the kind to just let their kids hang out at the mall, even after it was desegregated. When I was a kid, the Nordale Mall was like Mecca, the Promised Land, and the Forbidden City all in one. It had delicious food, sharp clothes, and a pet store full of puppies. But most of all, it had teenagers having the time of their lives totally unsupervised. I couldn't wait to hang out at the mall without having my parents dragging me around. But I wasn't the only one in the family struggling to gain independence.