THOMAS WOLFE

Thomas Wolfe in " The Web And The Rock"

For pity, more than any other feeling, is a "learned" emotion; a child will have it least of all. Pity comes from the infinite accumulations of man's memory, from the anguish, pain, and suffering of life, from the full deposit of experience, from the forgotten faces, the lost men, and from the million strange and haunting visages of time. Pity comes upon the the nick of time and stabs us like a knife. Its face is thin and dark and burning, and it has come before we know it, gone before we can grasp or capture it; leaves a shrewed, deep wound, but a bitter, subtle one, and it always comes most keenly from a little thing.

Book Lovers Take Heart.

Nancy Pearl in " Book Lust "

" I have sometimes dreamt when the Day of Judgement dawns and great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards, their crowns, their laurels, their names carved indelibly upon imperishable marble, the Almighty will run to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when He sees us coming with our books under our arms,

" Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading."

ADVICE FROM BILL GATES

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this. Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1:
Life is not fair - get used to it.

Rule 2.
The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3.
You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4.
If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5.
Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6.
If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7.
Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8.
Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and thry'll give as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance of ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9.
Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10.
Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule11
Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

LINES THAT HAVE ENDURED

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"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse "

God Father in Mario Puzo's " God Father." 1972.


*"Frankly my dear I don't give a damn."

*Rhett Butler to Scarlet O'Hara in Magaret Mitchell's " Gone with the wind." 1939.


" You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody instead of a bum, which is what I am. " On the Waterfront " 1954.

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" Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore " " The Wizard of Oz " 1939.

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Here's looking at you, kid. " Casablanca 1942.

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" Go ahead, make my day. " Sudden Impact 1983.
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" All right Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up " Sunset Blvd " 1950.


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" May the force be with you " Star Wars 1977.


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" Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." " All About Eve " 1950.

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" You talking to me ? " " Taxi Driver " 1976.

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" What we've got here is a failure to communicate " " Cool Hand Luke " 1967.

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" I love the smell of napalm in the morning . " " Apoaclypse Now " 1979.

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" Love means never having to say you're sorry " " Love Story " 1970.

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" The stuff that dreams are made of " " The Maltese Falcon " 1941.

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" E.T. phone home. " " E.T. the extr-terrestrial " 1982.

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" they call me Mister Tibbs " " In the Heat of the Night " 1967.

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" Rosebud " " Citizen Kane " 1941.
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" Made it, Ma . Top of the world. " " White Heat " 1949.

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" I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore. " " Network " 1976.

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" Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship " " Casablanca "

1942.


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Census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. " The silence of the lambs." 1991

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Bond. James Bond. " Dr. No " 1962.

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There's no place like home. " The Wizard Of Oz " 1939.

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I am big. Its the pictures that got small. " Sunset Blvd." 1939.

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Why don't you come up sometime and see me. " Shr done him wrong " 1933.

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Show me the money. Jerry Maguire. 1996.

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I'm walking here. I'm walking here. " Midnight Cowboy " 1969.





Play it Sam. Play as time goes by. " Casablanca 1942.





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You can't handle the truth. Jack Nicholson in " A Few Good Men" 1992.





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I wan't to be alone. " Grand Hotel " 1932.





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After all, tomorrow is another day. " Gone With The wind " 1939.





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Round up the usual suspects. Casablanca 1932.





I'll have what she's having. " When harry Met Sally " 1989.





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You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow . " To Have And Have Not " 1944.





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You're gonna need a bigger boat. " Jaws " 1975.





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Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to you any stinking badges. " The Treasures Of Sierra Madre " 1948.





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I'll be back. " The Terminator " 1984.





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Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. " The Pride of The Yankees " 1942.





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If you build it he will come. " Field Of Dreams " 1989.





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Mama always said life was a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. " Forrest Gump 1994.





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" We rob banks. " Bonnie And Clyde 1967.





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Plastics. The Graduate 1967.





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We'll always have Paris. Casablanca 1942.





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I see dead people. " The Sixth Sense " 1999.





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Stell. Hey Stella. " A Street Car Named Desire " 1951.





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Oh Jerry, Don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars. " " Now Voyager " 1942.





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Shane. Shane. Come back. " Shane " 1953.





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Well, nobody's perfect. " Some Like It Hot " 1959.





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It's Alive. It's Alive. " Frankenstein " 1931.





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Houston, we have a problem. " Apollo 13, 1995.





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You got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well do ya punk? " Dirty Harry " 1971.





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You had me at hello. " Jerry Maguire 1996.





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One morning i shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know.


" Animal Crackers " 1930.





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There's no crying in baseball. " A League Of Their Own " 1992.





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La - dee - da, la-dee - da " Annie Hall " 1977





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A boy's best friend is his mother " "Psycho " 1960.





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Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. " Wall Street " 1987.





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Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. " The Godfather Part 11" 1974.

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As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again. " Gone With The Wind " 1939.



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Well, here's another nice mess you've got ten me into. " Sons of the Desert " 1933.

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Say" hello " to my little friend. " Scarface. " 1933

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What a dump. " Beyond the Forest." 1949.



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Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you ? " The Graduate" 1967.



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Gentlemen, You can't fight in here. This is the war room. "Dr. Strangelove" 1964.
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Elementary my dear Watson, " The adventures of Sherlock Holmes " 1929.
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Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape. " Planet of the apes " 1968.
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Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into me. "Casablanca " 1942.
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Here's Johnny. " The " Shinning " 1980.
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They're here. " Poltergeist " 1982.
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Is it safe? " Marathon Man " 1976.

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You ain't heard nothing yet. " The Jazz Singer " 1972.
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No wire hangers, ever. " Mommie Dearest, 1981.
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Mother of Mercy. Is this the end of Rico? "Little Caesar" 1930.
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Forget it Jake, It's Chinatown. " Chinatown " 1974.
I have always depended on the kindness of strangers . " A Streetcar Named Desire" 1951.
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Hasta la vista baby. "Terminator 2" " Judgment Day" 1991.
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Soylent Green is people. "Soylent Green " 1973.
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Open the pod bay doors HAL. " 2001: A Space Odyssey " 1968.
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Striker: Surely you can't be serious. Rumack: I am serious.. and don't call me Shirley. "Airplane" 1980.
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Yo Adrian " Rocky 1976.
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Hello Gorgeous. " Funny Girl " 1968.
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Toga. Toga. " National Lampoon's Animal House " 1978.
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Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make. " Dracula " 1931.
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Oh no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the beast. " King Kong " 1933.
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My precious. " The Lord of the Rings ", " The Two Towers " 2002.
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Attica. Attica. " Dog Day Afternoon " 1975.
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Sawyer, you're going out a youngster but you've got to come back a star. " 42nd Street " 1933.
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Listen to me, mister. You're my knight in shining armor. Don't you forget it. You're going to get back on that horse, and I'm going to be right behind you, holding on tight, and away we're gonna, go. go, go. " On Golden Pond " 1981.
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Tell 'em to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper. " Knute Rockne, All American,. " 1940.
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A marini shaken. Not stirred. " Golffinger " 1964.
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Whose on first. The Naughty Nineties" 1945.
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Cindrella story. outta nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a mirac... It's in the hole. It's in the hole. It's in the hole. " Caddyshack " 1980.
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Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death. " Auntie Mame" 1958.
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I feel the need - the need for speed. " Top Gun " 1986.
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Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary. " Dead Poet's Society " 1989.
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Snap out of it. " Moonstruck " 1987.
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My mother thanks you. My father thanks you. My sister thanks you. And I thank you. " Yankee Doodle Dandy " 1942.
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Nobody puts Baby in a corner. " Dirty Dancing " 1987.
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I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too. " The wizard of Oz " 1939.
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I'm king of the world. " Titanic " 1997.
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Free at last. Free at last. Thank Almighty Free at last. Martin Luther King Jr.
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You Betcha ..Sarah Palin,
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Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes. Richard Pryor.
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He can run but he can't hide. Joe Louis.

What's difficult we do at once, and the impossible takes a little longer.
Capt. Queeg in Herman Wouk's " Caine Mutuny "
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On this ship what's difficult we do at once and the impossible takes longer. Capt. Queeg in " Caine Mutiny "
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Excellent performance is standard performance
Standard performance is sub standard.
Sub standard performance is not allowe to exist.
Capt. Queeg in " The Caine Mutiny"

Ode To The Brave

T'was the night before Christmas,
He lived all alone,


In a one bedroom house,
Made of plaster and stone.


I had come down the chimney,
With presents to give,


And to see just who,
In this home did live.


I looked all about,
A strange sight I did see,


No tinsel, no presents,
Not even a tree.


No stocking by the mantle,
Just boots filled with sand,


On the wall hung pictures,
Of far distant lands.


With medals and badges,
Awards of all kinds,


A sober thought,
Came through my mind.


For this house was different,
It was dark and dreary,


I found the home of a soldier,
One I could see clearly.


The soldier lay sleeping,
Silent, alone


Curled up on the floor,
In this one bedroom home.


The face was so gentle,
The room in such disorder,


Not how I pictured,
A Canadian soldier.


Was this the hero,
Of whom I'd just read?


Curled up on a poncho,
The floor for a bed?


I realized the families,
That I saw this night,


Owed their lives to these soldiers,
Who were willing to fight.


Soon round the world,
The children would play,


And grownups would celebrate,
A bright Christmas Day.


They all enjoyed freedom,
Each month of the year,


Because of the soldiers,
Like the one lying here.


I couldn't help wonder,
How many lay alone,


On a cold Christmas Eve,
In a land far from home.


The very thought brought
A tear to my eye,


I dropped to my knees,
And started to cry.


The soldier awakened
And I heard a rough voice,


Santa, don't cry.
This life is my choice.


I fight for freedom,
I don't ask for more,


My life is my people
My country, my corps.


The soldier rolled over,
And drifted to sleep,


I couldn't control it,
I continued to weep.


I kept watch for hours,
So silent and still


And we both shivered,
From the cold night's chill.


I didn't want to leave,
On that cold, dark night,


This guardian of honor,
So willing to fight.


Then the soldier rolled over,
With a voice, soft and pure,


Whispered, " Carry on Santa,
It's Christmas Day, all is secure."


One look at my watch,
And I knew he was right,


" Merry Christmas my friend,
And to all a good night."



This poem - I call it an Ode - was written by a peace keeping soldier stationed overseas.