American Gun

Pastor:
You're going to get through it Martin, believe me. God never gives us more trouble than we can bear.

Martin Tillman:
So uh, if I were a weaker person, my daughter would be alive?

Anne Tillman:
Did you stop believing in God?

Martin Tillman:
No, I still believe there's a God. I just don't know what to make of him.

[first lines]

Young Martin:
[narration] The first gun I ever held belonged to my grandfather. Grandpa said he fought alongside Teddy Roosevelt at San Juan Hill. But we never really believed him. Whatever it was he did there in Cuba, one thing is for sure, he brought home a service revolver. It was the most beautiful thing I ever saw.

Martin Tillman:
[to Mia] Listen, why don't you stay here for a while. Ya know, you could run away again after the holidays.

Martin Tillman:
[in letter to Penny] There are two kinds of reactions to a situation like this. There are those who want to close the book, that's your mother. And there are those who want to study every page, that's me.

Martin Tillman:
[in letter to Penny] Time is a great healer. But how do you heal someone who is already dead?

Martin Tillman:
Oh, but there's nothing like a gun.

Pastor:
Why is that?

Martin Tillman:
Because it's easy. Requires no more effort than the blinking of an eye. And you don't have to look the poor bastard in the face. At least most of the time.

Martin Tillman:
[in letter to Penny] I once thought that everything happened for a reason. But sometimes there is no reason. Just an emotion.

[last lines]

Martin Tillman:
[in letter to Penny] I'm not afraid of intruders or madmen. I only fear the demons in my own mind. The demons that sprang forth from their cages the day you left us.