Once in a while I watch an old TV series, and currently I’m watching Gunsmoke on Peacock. There is a friendly back and forth between characters Doc and Chester, ala Spock and McCoy, and Marshal Dillon and Miss Kitty lend moral authority to some of the stories as needed.
“Kinda reminds ya of a grasshopper on locoweed.” Chester to Marshall Dillon while watching Doc dance.
“Youth is wasted on the young.”
The source of this quote is discussed here quoteinvestigator.com
As we age, the wisdom of this quote becomes more apparent. With almost endless energy and plenty of wasted time spent on stupid stuff, the young have little concept of how short their lifetimes are, while some of us older folks watch and are wistful, remembering all the time we wasted when young.
“Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself. (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”
from “Song of Myself” By Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
My big brother quoted this to me one time when I was a kid, using large hand and arm gestures as he did so. Impressed, I looked into who Whitman was and have been trying to finish “Leaves of Grass” ever since.
No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.
Helen Keller (1880-1968)
“The great thing about suicide is that it’s not one of those things you have to do now or you loose your chance. I mean, you can always do it later.”
Harvey Fierstein
“The only reason I have lived so long is that I let go of my past. Shut the door on grief on regret on remorse.”
Lucia Berlin (1936 – 2004)
More about Lucia Berlin: https://www.vice.com/en/article/saint-lucia-a-roundtable-on-writer-lucia-berlin-0817/
I usually shy away from cussing in this blog, but this quote from Arnold resonates with me and I think it should be read intact, as spoken:
Q: You seem pretty Zen now. So what gets under your skin?
A: We all know the rules of life: Hardship and struggle makes you stronger. So I always look forward to discomfort. Why do I go skiing in Aspen for three days in high altitude that wipes you out? Because it’s tough to do, especially at my age. Everyone is talking about their feelings. That’s OK if that’s how you want to occupy yourself. How I feel is irrelevant. I don’t give a fuck how I feel. What I care about is: What can I do to make it better? Sometimes I get out of bed and feel shitty. But I get on a bike or go feed the animals and suddenly I feel great. This country was not built by people feeling good. This country was built by people working their asses off. We have to work our ass off and stop worrying about feelings. Just swallow it. If you feel shitty, don’t think, just do things.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
“No one’s ever as worried about you as you think they are.”
Quinta Brunson
“Don’t hate the black, don’t hate the white. If you get bit, just hate the bite.”
Sly Stone (1943 – 2025)
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
George Bernard Shaw
Off The Back Porch 