Helen: Now it's perfectly normal... Violet: [interrupting] Normal? What do *you* know about normal? What does *anyone* in *this* family know about normal? Helen: Now wait a minute, young lady... Violet: We act normal, mom! I want to *be* normal! The ...
Tom Reagan: So what's the deal, you get to live and Verna has to be Leo's girl? Bernie: I have nothing to do with that, she'll sleep with anyone Tom, you know that! She even tried to teach me a thing or two about bed antics once. Some crackpot idea a...
Mulan: [singing] Look at me... I will never pass for a perfect bride. Or a perfect daughter. Can it be, I'm not meant to play this part? Now I see, that if I were truly to be myself, I would break my family's heart. Who is that girl I see, staring st...
Ephraim: You think we'd hurt your family? Avner: I think anyone is capable of anything. Ephraim: I think you're losing your mind. Avner: Did I commit murder? I want you to give me proof that everyone we killed had a hand in Munich. Ephraim: I don't d...
Clark Griswald: Roy... can I call you Roy? Have you even driven cross-country? Roy Walley: Oh, hell yes. Drove the whole family to Florida. Worst two weeks I ever spent in my life. The smell from the back seat was terrible. Clark Griswald: Ooooh. Ooo...
Peter Gibbons: [about the plan to steal from Initech] Before we go any further, all right, we have to swear to God, Allah, that nobody knows about this but us, all right? No family members, no girlfriends, nobody. Samir: Of course. Michael Bolton: Ag...
Adam: [as Lawrence is sawing off his foot] No! Oh, my God! What are you doing? Lawrence, what are you doing? What are you... Oh, my God! Lawrence, don't! No! Lawrence, please! I'm begging you! Lawrence, it's not me who did this to you. Dr. Lawrence G...
Lyle Gorch: [the Bunch is riding into Angel's village] Hey, Angel! Why don't you tell your folks to feed them dogs? Angel: Any insult to my family while we are here and I will kill you! Lyle Gorch: Hey, Angel; do you have a sister? Angel: [angrily] S...
Francis de Marais: Why don't you Americans learn from us - from our mistakes? Mon Dieux! With your Army, your strength, your power, you could win if you want to! You can win! Hubert de Marais: The Vietnamese... we worked with them, made something - s...
[as Wayne Manor is burning down] Bruce Wayne: What have I done, Alfred? Everything my family... my father built... Alfred Pennyworth: The Wayne legacy is more than bricks and mortar, sir. Bruce Wayne: I wanted to save Gotham. I failed. Alfred Pennywo...
Sometimes you meet someone, and it’s so clear that the two of you, on some level belong together. As lovers, or as friends, or as family, or as something entirely different. You just work, whether you understand one another or you’re in love or y...
A meritocracy is a system in which the people who are the luckiest in their health and genetic endowment; luckiest in terms of family support, encouragement, and, probably, income; luckiest in their educational and career opportunities; and luckiest ...
Sixty is heaven," she [bohemian Aunt Norma] told Jeanie as they sat having tea. "The world is done with you, you become to all intents and purposes invisible, particularly if you are a woman. I like to think of it as your third life. There's childhoo...
As parents we carry the blueprints, the dreams of what our family could be. The plans change, the whole thing goes way over budget, there are unexpected additions, and the work never ends. Still, through the messiness of construction we see each othe...
We are shaped by stories from the first moments of life, and even before. Stories tell us who we are, why we are here, and what will become of us. Whenever humans try to make sense of their experience, they create a story, and we use those stories to...
Neither the cat nor I missed you while you were gone. It's worse than that. We danced the visitor-gone dance, flinging our feet (and paws) with particular glee. You remember the dance - the one you do after shutting the door behind a difficult visito...
The only part of evolution in which any considerable interest is felt is evolution applied to man. A hypothesis in regard to the rocks and plant life does not affect the philosophy upon which one's life is built. Evolution applied to fish, birds and ...
You don't pay back your parents. You can't. The debt you owe them gets collected by your children, who hand it down in turn. It's a sort of entailment. Or if you don't have children of the body, it's left as a debt to your common humanity. Or to your...
People "at the top" are eager to attribute their position to their own intellect, savvy, and hard work. The reality is much more complicated. Personal connections, family environment, and what appears to be plain luck determine how successful a perso...
Would it really be so bad if you slowed your life down even a teensy bit? If you took charge of the ingredients of your food instead of letting corporations stuff you and your family, like baby birds, full of sugar, corn products, chemicals, and meat...
It was as if they'd discovered something that had once been there but had gotten hidden or misunderstood or forgotten over time, and they were charmed by it once more, and by one another. Which seems only right and expectable for married people. They...