He was filled with loss and an off-brand of nostalgia for events that were supposed to become part of his past but now wouldn't at all. In the mind's special processes, a ten-mile run takes far longer than the minutes reported by a grandfather clock....
I've got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don't want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I'd rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, o...
The world was in terrible shape, and I'm glad we stood up and said what we believed; but a lot of the time we'd say these beautiful things about justice and fairness and equality, but we weren't so nice to each other. We'd be jealous and we'd gossip,...
Is this Tree of Life a God one could worship? Pray to? Fear? Probably not. But it did make the ivy twine and the sky so blue, so perhaps the song I love tells a truth after all. The Tree of Life is neither perfect nor infinite in space or time, but i...
I recently heard a talk about identity in which the speaker said it's almost as though we are born into a world in which we are constantly being labeled by others -- our parents, our friends, our family, and people we don't even know. Each person, fr...
I dream dark dreams. I dream of a figure moving through the forest, of children flying from his path, of young women crying at his coming. I dream of snow and ice, of bare branches and moon-cast shadows. I dream of dancers floating in the air, steppi...
Troy: Why do we inflict this on ourselves? Ben: Why? I'll tell you why, 'cause the Red Sox never let you down. Troy: Huh? Ben: That's right. I mean - why? Because they haven't won a World Series in a century or so? So what? They're here. Every April,...
Excellence is the result of loving more than others think is necessary, dreaming more than others think is practical, risking more than others think is safe, and doing more than others think is possible. Every day is a golden opportunity to learn, pr...
Know ye not that there is here in this world a secret confraternity, which one might call the Company of Melancholiacs? That people there are who by natural constitution have been given a different nature and disposition than the others; that have a ...
The United States is the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, yet its inhabitants are strikingly unhappy. Accordingly, we present to the rest of mankind, on a planet rife with suffering and tragedy, the spectacle of a clown civilization. Su...
J. Russell Finch: And I give you my word. My wife wanted to stop for you, I wanted to stop for you, he wanted to stop for you. But tell him, tell him how my mother in-law made us drive right by him... Lennie Pike: Listen, anything you got to say abou...
Capt. T.G. Culpeper: [into a phone] Ginger, I want you to prepare yourself for a little shock. When I tell you what happened... Ginger Culpeper: [voice] So, tell me, tell me. I've got this biscuit dough... Capt. T.G. Culpeper: The Smiler Grogan case ...
Benjy Benjamin: [while Benji tries to fly the plane, Ding tries putting head phones on Benji's head] Hey, get outta here. Ding Bell: Put them on. Benjy Benjamin: I don't wanna. Ding Bell: Benji, I tell you, he said the man who's flying should be talk...
[Pike and Sylvester are digging into a hole that suddenly becomes too close] Sylvester Marcus: Wait a minute, wait a minute. There's not enough room, Man, you're bugging me. You're bugging me. Lennie Pike: What are you talking about 'bugging'? Sylves...
Sylvester Marcus: [Benji and Dingy run by] Who are they? Mrs. Marcus: I don't know. Sylvester Marcus: From this morning? Mrs. Marcus: Yes. Sylvester Marcus: [Captain Culpeper goes by] Who is he? Mrs. Marcus: I don't know. Sylvester Marcus: [Otto Meye...
J. Algernon Hawthorne: [Russell takes a swing at him and misses] So it's fisticuffs you want, is it? Right, stick 'em up! J. Russell Finch: Don't hit me! Don't hit me! [Hawthorne chases him around the car, until the two bump into one another] J. Alge...
Capt. T.G. Culpeper: You know what I believe I'd like? A chocolate fudge sundae with whipped cream and a cherry on top. [Everybody stares] Capt. T.G. Culpeper: Nothing will happen here for five minutes. Secretary Schwartz: Mrs. Culpeper on the phone....
Otto Meyer: [turns around to see a helicopter] [shouts] Otto Meyer: Look out! Nervous Motorist: What? Wh-Who...? Otto Meyer: Don't stop driving man. Keep going! Nervous Motorist: What? What is it? [turns around, sees the helicopter and spins back aro...
Christian: [after testing some explosives] Fuck! That was sick! Imagine if we use one of the big ones. His car will be blown to pieces. Elias: Whose car? Christian: That asshole, Lars. Elias: You want to blow up his car? Christian: Sure. Elias: Someo...
Max: First time in L.A.? Vincent: No. Tell you the truth, whenever I'm here I can't wait to leave. It's too sprawled out, disconnected. You know? That's me. You like it? Max: It's my home. Vincent: 17 million people. This is got to be the fifth bigge...
Milo Herlihy: I have had murderous feelings, though, I have to admit. Not getting laid, it's starting to make me feel really angry towards women. And so I thought, well, if I join the Army, those inclinations, as you call them, would be seen as a plu...