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Patty Craig: A Slice of Time

I often repeat something written or spoken by someone else, giving credit to the original speaker. Many of us use quotes in writing and in conversation. Quotes are often used to summarize or to motivate.

Some of my favorite historical quotes are:
•    Abraham Lincoln: “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”
•    WW II propaganda poster: “Loose lips sink ships.” 
•    Ronald Reagan (1961): “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
•    Martin Luther King, Jr.  (1963): “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
•    Neil A. Armstrong (1969): “That's one small step for [a] man; one giant leap for mankind.”
•    George H. W. Bush (1989): “The longer our graduation lines are today, the shorter our unemployment lines will be tomorrow.”

Some quotes or sayings that have special meaning for me include:
•    Nike slogan: “Just do it!”
•    Robert Lee Frost: “Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.”
•    Matthew 22:39 (NIV): “… Love your neighbor as yourself.”
•    Henry Ford: “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”
•    Stephen Covey: “Happiness, like unhappiness, is a proactive choice.”
•    “The best is yet to be.”

I asked friends and family whether they have favorite quotes or sayings. Their responses are below:
•    I bought her flowers before she died.
•    It is what it is.
•    God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference (Reinhold Niebuhr).
•    TANSTAAFL: There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch (Robert Heinlein).
•    The difference between this world and the Otherworld is the exact thickness of imagination seen on edge (Michael Grace).
•    That your faith should not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:5).
•    This too shall pass.
•    You can do anything, but not everything.
•    The Mad Hatter: “Have I gone mad?”     Alice Kingsley: “I’m afraid so, you’re entirely bonkers. But, I’ll tell you a secret … all the best people are” (Alice in Wonderland).
•    Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.
•    Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid (attributed to Albert Einstein).
•    To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all (Oscar Wilde).
•    Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind (Albert Einstein).
•    If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
•    Actions speak louder than words.
•    People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel (Maya Angelou).
•    Speak the truth even if your voice shakes.
•    I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13 NKJV).
•    Live in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you, no one would believe it.
•    Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
•    Giving in its purest form expects nothing in return.
•    Bless his/her heart.
•    What goes around comes around.
•    Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.
•    It’s as broad as it is long.
•    He/She is a few bricks shy of a load.
•    Pretty is as pretty does.
•    If you lie with dogs, you are going to get fleas.
•    Don’t put the cart before the horse.
•    My eyes are bigger than my belly.
•    Blood is thicker than water.
•    The truth is neither sought after nor rewarded.
•    No good deed goes unpunished.
•    I’m hanging in there like a hair in a biscuit.
•    Waited for you like one dog waits for another.
•    All the world’s a stage… (Shakespeare).
•    Cousin Vickie: Audrey, honey …. In this world you’re either up on the stage in the spotlight, or down in the pit serving drinks. So have some fun (Vegas Vacation).
•    When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions (Shakespeare).
•    Obi-Wan: Use the Force, Luke (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope).
•    Yoda: Do or do not. There is no try (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back).
•    Temet nosce or know thyself (ancient Greek saying).
•    It’s not having what you want, it’s wanting what you got (Sheryl Crow’s Soak Up the Sun).
•    Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus? You’ve got to help me make a stand. You’ve got to see me through another day (James Taylor’s Fire and Rain).
•    All you need is love (Beetles, John Lennon).
•    Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care (Theodore Roosevelt).
•    It is hard to be an island of excellence in a sea of indifference (Ernest Boyer).
•    Striker: Surely you can’t be serious.     Rumack: I am serious … and don’t call me Shirley (Airplane).
•    Carpe diem or seize the day (Latin saying).
•    What’s the worst that could happen?
•    Chip: Thank you, sir! May I have another? (Animal House).
•    Frost (after marines ordered not to use rifles): What do you expect us to use man, harsh language? (Aliens).
•    Treason doth never prosper, what’s the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it treason (John Harrington).
•    Dalton: There’s always barber college (Roadhouse).
•    Jackie Brown: This life’s hard man, but it’s harder if you’re stupid (The Friends of Eddie Coyle).
•    At the end of life, no one says, “I wish I’d worked more.”
•    There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.
•    If you really want to do something, you will make an effort. If not, you will make an excuse.
•    Every child deserves a champion: an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists they become the best they can possibly be (Rita Pierson).
•    The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s about what you’re made of, not the circumstances.
•    The definition of integrity is loyalty to the absent.
•    Go big or go home!
•    We are here to change the world!
•    Not my circus, not my monkeys.
•    People who are busy rowing seldom rock the boat.
•    The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it” (Steve Jobs).
•    Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do (Steve Jobs).

Quotes are like shorthand – abbreviated communication. They may be used in various ways. As A.A. Milne said, “… a quotation is a handy thing to have about, saving one the trouble of thinking for oneself, always a laborious business" (The Record Lie).

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