@wandeljw,
Wandel, Commas and periods go inside the quotation marks. Colons go outside.
I know you didn't ask, but I'm gonna throw this in anyway--because I'm incorrigible. If you're footnoting, the superscript number, asterisk, whatever, goes outside a period or comma and inside a semicolon or colon. Did that make your day?
Now your realizations about life are complete.