Gro Rollag was no beauty, but she was a strong capable young woman with a long face, prominent cheekbones, high forehead, and a kindly intelligent look in her rather narrow eyes. According to family lore, she was not the most conscientious housekeepe...
Every day we're told that we live in the greatest country on earth. And it's always stated as an undeniable fact: Leos are born between July 23 and August 22, fitted queen-size sheets measure sixty by eighty inches, and America is the greatest countr...
What do you think my chances might be of finding a soul mate in the group of you? I'll be lucky if I can just find someone who'll be able to stand me for the rest of our lives. What if I've already sent her home because I was relying on some sort of ...
The American appetite for loneliness impressed me, and there was something about this solitude that freed conversation. One night at a bar, I met a man, and within five minutes he explained that he had just been released from prison. Another drinker ...
There is a lovely feature of the American psyche which rejects the notion that there are victims. In America, attitude is a magical elixir that cures everything. People are supposed to believe that they create their realities, and are solely responsi...
In spring, 1937, of course, families still rode the rails because of the Depression, which everyone said was already in the history books as the worst ever. The jobs still couldn’t be found, at least for most people. Everett itself—the smaller, p...
If you think you have big problems - and you are looking for more big problems - you will definitely have a lot of them. Instead of giving yourself a nervous breakdown when a difficult situation arises, put the situation into proper perspective. In t...
Her magic formula for dealing with children is ignoring all faults and accenting tiny virtues. She says, "Instead of telling Tommy day in and day out that he is the naughtiest boy in the United States of America, which could very well be true, take a...
Lately it's started to seem to me that here in America our fetishization of self-reliance has taken a wrong turn and has helped enable us to jettison compassion as a national value while still maintaining a vision of ourselves as essentially well-mea...
A historic transition is occurring, barely noticed. Slowly, quietly, imperceptibly, religion is shriveling in America, as it has done in Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan and other advanced societies. Supernatural faith increasingly belongs to the Thi...
Ian Curtis: I don't want to be in the band anymore. Unknown Pleasures was it. I was happy. I never meant for it to grow like this. When I'm up there, singing they don't understand how much I give and how it affects me. Now they want more. They expect...
Tony Stark: They say that the best weapon is the one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That's how Dad did it, that's how America does it, and it's worked out pretty well so far. I present...
Young Deborah: [to Noodles, reading the Torah] "My beloved is white and ruddy. His skin is as the most fine gold. His cheeks are as a bed of spices." Even though he hasn't washed since last December. "His eyes are as the eyes of doves. His body is as...
[In 1968, Noodles meets a familiar figure in heavy make-up... ] Noodles: Hello, Deborah. [For a long time, Deborah is silent and still] Noodles: Aren't you gonna say anything? Deborah Gelly: What is someone supposed to say after... after more than th...
Noodles: What does Bailey want from me? Deborah Gelly: You came to ask me that? Noodles: Why'd he send me an invitation? Deborah Gelly: I don't know! I don't know! I don't know! Why should I know about your invitations? What do you want? Why did you ...
Bugsy: [Bugsy and his gang have beaten Noodles and Max] You don't work for me, you don't work for no-one! Young Max: I don't like bosses. Bugsy: You'd be better off you stayed in the Bronx. Young Max: Woulda been better for *you*, too! [Bugsy spits o...
Young Noodles: Who're YOU calling a cockroach? Young Deborah: So what are you? You're filthy! You make me sick! You crawl up toilet walls just like a roach! So what are you? [Noodles grabs Deborah] Young Deborah: Let go! Young Noodles: I make you sic...
[last lines] Christy: [voiceover] It was as hard for Frankie to smile when the tumor was malignant as it was for my dad to cry after. But they both managed it. I'm going to switch this off now. It's not the way I want to see Frankie any more. Do you ...
[first lines] Helinger: Mathematicians won the war. Mathematicians broke the Japanese codes... and built the A-bomb. Mathematicians... like you. The stated goal of the Soviets is global Communism. In medicine or economics, in technology or space, bat...
If I had my way, I would declare a moratorium on public preaching of 'the plan of salvation' in America for one to two years. Then I would call on everyone who has use of the airwaves and the pulpits to preach the holiness of God, the righteousness o...
In more ancient times the life was simpler, but now the discovery of all these different medicines for curing dyspepsia shows that people are suffering from this disease. In this country we know that there are so many kinds of pills and medicines use...
