WIST Quotations

Russell, Bertrand -- Autobiography, Vol. 3: 1944-1969, ch. 1 “Return to England” (1969)

Dave — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 21:49:22 +0000

We sat in the plane while it slowly sank. Small boats assembled round it and presently we were told to jump into the sea and swim to a boat — which all the people in my part of the plane did. We later learned that all the nineteen passengers in the non-smoking compartment had been killed. When the plane had hit the water a hole had been made in the plane and the water had rushed in. I had told a friend at Oslo who was finding me a place that he must find me a place where I could smoke, remarking jocularly, ‘If I cannot smoke, I shall die’. Unexpectedly, this turned out to be true.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Autobiography, Vol. 3: 1944-1969, ch. 1 “Return to England” (1969)
(Source)

On a 1948 seaplane flight he took from Germany to Norway.

Hammett, Dashiell -- Interview with Helen Herbert Foster, “House Burglary Poor Trade,” Brooklyn Eagle Magazine (Oct 1929)

Dave — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 23:49:48 +0000

Of all the men embezzling from their employers with whom I have had contact, I can’t remember a dozen who smoked, drank or had any of the vices in which bonding companies are so interested.

Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) American author, screenwriter, political activist
Interview with Helen Herbert Foster, “House Burglary Poor Trade,” Brooklyn Eagle Magazine (Oct 1929)
(Source)

HIcks, Bill -- Performance, Oxford Playhouse (11 Nov 1992)

Dave — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 12:06:15 +0000

I was walking through Central Park, and I saw an old man smoking. Nothing makes a smoker happier than to see an old person smoking. This guy was ancient, bent over a walker, puffing away. I’m like, “Dude, you’re my hero! Guy your age smoking, man, it’s great.” He goes, “What? I’m 28.”

Bill Hicks (1961-1994) American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, musician [William Melvin "Bill" Hicks]
Performance, Oxford Playhouse (11 Nov 1992)

HIcks, Bill -- Relentless (1992)

Dave — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 15:38:24 +0000

See, I know you entertain some kind of eternal life fantasy because you’ve chosen not to smoke; let me be the first to pop that fucking bubble and send you hurtling back to reality — because you’re dead too. And you know what doctors say: “Shit, if only you’d smoked, we’d have the technology to help you. It’s you people dying from nothing who are screwed.” I got lots of stuff waiting for me: oxygen tent, iron lung, electronic voice box; it’s like going to Sharper Image when I die.

Bill Hicks (1961-1994) American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, musician [William Melvin "Bill" Hicks]
Relentless (1992)

Parker, Robert -- The Judas Goat (1978)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

I hadn’t smoked in ten or twelve years, but I wished then I’d had a cigarette that I could have taken a final drag on and flipped still burning into the river as I turned and walked away. Not smoking gains in the area of lung cancer, but it loses badly in the realm of dramatic gestures.

Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) American writer
The Judas Goat (1978)