favorite quotes 1

9 July 2008
Favorite Quotes:
**this list will grow as time goes on. Underlined things are book titles. I’ll put the author if I know it. Some quotes are from PCVs. Some are literature. Some are funny. Some are serious, and some are there just because the writing is so flippin’ beautiful.
1 "The grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. It holds the rain and the mist, and they seep into the ground feeding the streams in every kloof. It is well-tended and not too many cattle feed upon it; not too may fires burn it, laying bare the soil. Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from the Creator. Keep it, guard it, care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for men. Destroy it and man is destroyed." -Cry the Beloved Country
2 "Later that summer, as rain fell, such a moment shimmered and paused on the brink, and then began the ancient dance of numbers: two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, and a new life took root and began to grow. And thus the generations past were joined to the unknowable future." -The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russel
3 " ‘So God just leaves? Abandons creation? You’re on your own, apes. Good luck! (speaker 1)’ ‘No. He watches. He rejoices. He weeps. He observes the moral drama of human life and gives meaning to it by caring passionately about us, and remembering. (speaker 2)’ ‘Matthew ten, verse twenty-nine: not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing about it. (speaker 3)’ ‘But the sparrow still falls. (speaker 2)’" –The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russel *I would add to this a bit… ask me if you care to know.
4 "Do you know the word for ‘clipboard’?" "No. What is it?" "Here let me explain it for you. It’s like a board with a clip… err… um…" -the very earnest Logan
5 "And now for something completely different: Morocco." –advertisement seen on the plane to Rabat from New York City.
6 "I went to the Post Office today. It was awesome!" –the unflappable Jake
7 "Why does George Bush not like democracy?" –an earnest question asked by a young man in my village, translated from Tamazight… sweet, sweet irony
8 "Oxford is excavating a Paleolithic settlement at my site, 500 ft. from my house. Ahhhhh!" –text message from Jonathan, who is an archeologist by training
9 "In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our sill, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God." -Aeschylus
10 "Would you practice what you preach, would you turn the other cheek? Father, Father, Father help us; send some guidance from above. Oh, you know you got me questionin’, where is the love, the love, the love?" --a great song whose title I don’t know