WIST Quotations

McCarthy, Cormac -- No Country for Old Men (2005)

Dave — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 22:51:46 +0000

It’s not about knowin where you are. It’s about thinkin you got there without takin anything with you. Your notions about startin over. Or anybody’s. You dont start over. That’s what it’s about. Every step you take is forever. You cant make it go away. None of it.

Cormac McCarthy (1933–2023) American novelist, playwright, screenwriter
No Country for Old Men (2005)

Mitchell, Margaret -- Gone with the Wind, ch. 57 [Rhett] (1936)

Dave — Tue, 10 May 2016 13:23:19 +0000

“Scarlett, I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new. What is broken is broken — and I’d rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken places as long as I lived. Perhaps if I were younger–” he sighed. “But I’m too old to believe in such sentimentalities as clean slates and starting all over. I’m too old to shoulder the burden of constant lies that go with living in polite disillusionment. I couldn’t live with you and lie to you and I certainly couldn’t lie to myself. I can’t even lie to you now. I wish I could care what you do or where you go, but I can’t.”

He drew a short breath and said lightly but softly:

“My dear, I don’t give a damn.”

Margaret Mitchell (1900–1949) American author and journalist.
Gone with the Wind, ch. 57 [Rhett] (1936)

Rickover, Hyman -- Speech (1981-11-05), “Doing a Job,” Egleston Medal Award Dinner, Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science, New York

Dave — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:23:27 +0000

It is a human inclination to hope things will work out, despite evidence or doubt to the contrary. A successful manager must resist this temptation. This is particularly hard if one has invested much time and energy on a project and thus has come to feel possessive about it. Although it is not easy to admit what a person once thought correct now appears to be wrong, one must discipline himself to face the facts objectively and make the necessary changes — regardless of the consequences to himself. The man in charge must personally set the example in this respect. He must be able, in effect, to “kill his own child” if necessary and must require his subordinates to do likewise.

Hyman Rickover (1900–1986) Polish-American naval engineer, admiral [b. Chaim Gdala Rykower]
Speech (1981-11-05), “Doing a Job,” Egleston Medal Award Dinner, Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science, New York