Bill: I told you how he was swerving all over the road.
Dean: It was like watching a drunk turtle.
Lillian: Well, it was worse than that. He had a fender-bender. Left the car and walked home. They called a tow truck, but he couldn't remember where he left it.
Bill: [sighs] I guess it's time.
Lillian: Yeah. Everybody's time comes sooner or later. I know it's hard, but you're doing the right thing, and you're doing it because you love him.
Dean: It's okay, Dad. He'll be in a better place, like Buster.
Adult Dean: I didn't exactly know what they were talking about, but it sounded like when my dog Buster had to go to a big farm in the sky.
Bill: What? Boy, we're talking about stopping your granddad from driving, not putting him down.
Dean: Oh!

Brad: Why isn't there a mall in your neighborhood?
Adult Dean: Oh, you just wait, Brad. One day that mall by your house will be the Black mall.
Dean: It's not fair. The mall's lousy with Catholic girls, and we can't get there.
Brad: Well, you guys should just move closer.
Adult Dean: Brad really needed to watch the news sometimes.

Dean: I thought we weren't leaving for two more hours.
Kim: We're not, but Granddaddy didn't want to wait while I shop for my... delicates.
Granddaddy Clisby: Well, now, ladies underwear ain't no place for a grown man to be waiting. Shouldn't even have to be looking at it.
Brad: Kim, I mean, if you need some help, I... [Grandaddy Clisby glares at Brad]

Dean: Hey, everyone. Come over here for a minute. So, this is my granddad, Mr. Williams. He's gonna be hanging out with us for a while.
Granddaddy Clisby: Yeah, now, I got a question. Why would young and healthy children want to hang out in this cold mall rather than play in the sunshine outside? I mean, what's so special about this place?
Dean: Well, there's a food court. [murmuring agreement]
Granddaddy Clisby: Boy, you can eat at home.
Cory: And the movies.
Granddaddy Clisby: Well, I never was one for going to the movies. They used to make us sit up in the balcony and see the same shows that other people got to see from the good seats. But your dad used to beg me and beg me to let him go so he could be free with his friends, but it wasn't safe, him to be going around and about where anything could happen to him.
Adult Dean: I began to see why my dad was so overprotective, and maybe it wasn't overprotective. Maybe it was wise.

Norman: That sure was rated R for a reason.
Granddaddy Clisby: Oh, please. You couldn't even see the baby.
Brad: Then why is it still in my head?
Cory: I just want my mama.
Granddaddy Clisby: Don't tell me this movie scared you kids. You got to toughen up! Listen, when I was 12 years old, I had already killed a platoon full of German soldiers during the Great War. I shot some of them, put the bayonet to the rest of them.
Keisa: How'd the let you in the army if you were still in junior high?
Granddaddy Clisby: Because I had a full beard and a mustache at 11. [laughter]
Dean: You're funny, Granddad. Thanks for the movie.
Adult Dean: Granddad did me such a huge favor that day. My friends thought he was cool, and that made me cool, too.
Granddaddy Clisby: Let's just keep this R-rated movie between the two of us, all right?

Granddaddy Clisby: Well, he certainly can't serve in the army with that hair. So, Bray, were you able to do anything with it?
Bray: Well, I trimmed it up. Now your grandson looks nice and neat, like Wicked Wilson Pickett. [laughter]
Coach Long: See, you just don't like the afro style, Mr. Williams.
Granddaddy Clisby: Okay.
Coach Long: [chuckles] Come on, Mr. Williams. Look, you know they say that, uh, Jesus had hair like wool. [laughter]
Granddaddy Clisby: You see, he's just saying that because his hair look like the back end of a fat sheep's dookey. [laughter] Now, that's wrong. [laughter]

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.

Granddaddy Clisby: Now, these are the boys you came to the mall to see?
Dean: Yes, sir.
Granddaddy Clisby: Well, I know they make you go to school with them, but, uh, you don't have to pretend to like them, you understand?
Dean: But I do like them.
Granddaddy Clisby: Oh, well. I guess we have overcome, then, huh?

Granddaddy Clisby: Oh, Muhammad Ali should have just gone on into the army. He'd be back in the ring by now.
Coach Long: Well, you know what? I'm glad he took a stand. And I wish more pro athletes would, too.
Granddaddy Clisby: Well, see, I ain't studding them rich Negroes. Bring on the 1968 Summer Olympics. Real athletes, no politics.
Coach Long: Okay. So you don't disagree with any of this country's politics?
Granddaddy Clisby: Son, everybody disagrees with this country's politics. You just got to be ready to serve, see? I served, hmm? My son served. My other grandson is in Vietnam right now. You got to be ready to fight and die for America. Ain't that right, Dean?
Dean: [choking] Uh, yes. Yes, sir.
Adult Dean: Die? [chuckles] I hadn't really thought about all that. But that's what the barbershop was good for... making you think, challenging your assumptions, and giving you a good laugh.
Coach Long: Dean won't take a fastball for his little league team. [laughter] How the hell he ready to die for his country? [laughter]

Adult Dean: I learned a lot about my granddad that day and why Black men like him go to the barbershop, even when their hair hasn't changed in years.
Lillian: Where you been? We were so worried!
Bill: Look at the car. Look at the car, Dad. How many times do I have to tell you? I don't know what to tell... Dean, are you okay? Are you okay, Dean? Dad, I don't... [Grandaddy Clisby hands the car keys to Bill]
Adult Dean: Watching my granddad deal with his new situation made me realize that what he was being forced to accept was much harder than the limitations I had as a 12-year-old. I also appreciated how difficult this was for my dad and how difficult it may be for me one day when I have to do the same thing. Nah! I'm gonna love telling him what to do.