Gaffney Quotes

I hate jealousy. At least it's its own punishment; it makes me feel like hell.

laughter is cathartic and cleansing, that it's good for the body and the soul, and when it's real it's better than sex.

You were the best thing in my life … I did love you. I do. As much as I’ve ever loved anyone, as much as I can. It feels like a lot – it takes up my whole heart.

I love the slow, warming sensation of my body going numb when I drink.

Little things. The thought of losing them makes them unbearably dear ... I only think of the sweetness. Simple things. The quarter moon, the taste of an orange. The smell of the pages of a new book.

All my life I've wanted to tell people I love them. Fear usually held me back, that they wouldn't care, or they wouldn't hear, or they would take too much from me once they knew.

Never throw love away, never neglect it. Never assume you'll find better love somewhere else. Take it wherever you're lucky enough to find it, and always try to return it in kind. Don't take so much for granted.

Bad news doesn't hurt as much, if you hear it in good company. It's like, if somebody pushes you out of a 5th floor window and you bounce off an awning, a car roof, and a pile of plastic garbage bags before you smash onto the pavement, you've got a pretty good chance of surviving.

I was small enough to mind that Rudy had a good friend other than me.

I was thinking in a Scottish brogue, because I'd just heard this guy interviewed on NPR, Lonnie McSomething.

Imagine me maintaining anybody's equilibrium.

History is the story of people’s lives. History reflects the consequences of their choice and actions – both good and bad. History is what has given you the world you live in today – both good and bad.

And Honey, I just want you to know, even though I didn't see it coming, it makes absolutely no difference to your father or to me that you are a thespian.

Fear kills. Protecting yourself backfires eventually. And living in fear of pain isn't really living at all.

Misery alternates with euphoria.

Topics... are what people talk about when they don't know each other well. Topics... are what men talk about.

I just tried to put myself in her place and figure out what would be the scariest thing. If I thought I might be dying. And it was being alone' ... 'To me,' she said, 'the scariest thing is oblivion. Being, and then not being.

The only cure for loneliness be givin’. When you be givin’ you ain’t got time to think ‘bout what you don’t got. But you got to give with your heart. You got to give from your heart. That’s the only sure way to beat back that old demon o’ loneliness.

Seems that folks who try to hide it the most end up judging the most. Guess they figure if they judge other people’s garbage it makes their own not quite so dirty.

He even got an old moral lesson hammered home anew: the poor go to gaol for the same crimes with which the rich aren’t even charged.

He resorted to tyranny—the favored fallback of English aristocrats when democracy wasn’t going their way.

she needed the quiet solitude found when the rest of the world was still asleep.

Skepticism is luxury.

An informed customer is a satisfied one.

The essence of learning to be grateful is to learn to want what you have.

What was it about a woman—a certain kind of woman—standing at the mercy of men—righteous, civic-minded men, with the moral force of public outrage on their side—that could sometimes be secretly, shamefacedly titillating?

Isabel never despaired, even though I think she knew everything that was going to happen, right from the beginning. There was a Walt Whitman poem she liked, especially the part that went - 'All goes onward and outward,/Nothing collapses/And to die is different from/What anyone supposes/And Luckier.' She tried to believe that, and it gave her some comfort, I know. She was very brave. Always. She hid her anguish and sadness, although I know she felt them. Because she wasn't losing only one person she loved - as we have. She was losing all of them.

What the hell is this stuff?" he muttered, frowning at the oily spot on the linen cloth. "Pearlman slathered it on me this morning." "It's macassar oil. Gentlemen use it to keep their hair neat. Nicholas used it," she added pointedly. "Well, tomorrow he's giving it up. I smell like a rotten apple." "You do not. And I think it looks rather nice." He sent her an incredulous look. "I look like an otter. And everything I put my head against gets greasy." "That's why someone invented the antimacassar," she told him, almost smiling. "The-aha!" He laughed as he made the connection. "Of course. First they invent something stupid, then something ugly to make up for it. We live in a wondrous age, Annie.

Mather Grouses can’t have no friends. Can’t fight, can’t talk, can’t fuck. Not really.” No, Randall thought, but not because we don’t want to. It’s because our minds keep drifting from the fighting and the fucking, always back to the me—what about me, is this a me I can live with, that I can suffer people to see, that I can suffer myself to see. His grandfather had felt all of this, surely. All Mather Grouses felt it; the same perverse self-consciousness that had driven Randall into the old hospital that day. Concern for Wild Bill Gaffney had come later, after everyone had told him why he had done it and he had believed them. He had been fearless, selfless, they said, never suspecting that what had pushed him forward through the falling debris was in fact fear. Fear that someone would witness him standing there and know he had done nothing.

So quiet. So safe. I peer out into the distance, past the garden where the twins were playing, past the Gaffneys’ farmland and estate, past the sprawling wilderness, to the mountains beyond—mountains that loom in the distance and cast dark shadows over everything as the sun sets behind them. And the forest—the wild forest. I squint into the distance and make out the curious shapes of several large white birds flying in from the wilds. They’re different from any birds I’ve ever seen before, with huge, fanning wings, so light they seem iridescent. As I watch them, I’m overcome by a strange sense of foreboding, as if the earth is shifting beneath my feet. I forget, for a moment, about the basket of pig slop I’m balancing on my hip, and some large vegetable remnants fall to the ground with a dull thud. I glance down and stoop to gather them back into the basket. When I straighten again and look for the strange white birds, they’re gone.

Ultimately, in the very grand scheme of things, it’s irrelevant whether my life lasts fifty more years, or five. Or two. The point is to live it, not wait through it. And I’m alive now—I can pick flowers, pet the dog, eat cinnamon toast. How foolish I would be to let my mortality, which has been there all along, since the second of my birth, spoil my love of these things. So I won’t. I’ll have to remind myself constantly, but starting now, I intend to live until I die.

V: You were everything to me, Stanley. Everything. S: You still love me? V: It's like a big stone in the road. S: And all those others? V: You know the way a bat bounces sounds off objects to find out where it is?

There are some people who want to feel power over other people. I guess it makes them feel better about themselves if they have someone to look down upon.

with

Those who fight the purposes of the Almighty will not succeed. They always have been, and they always will be, beaten.

You listen to me good, girl. You done got the healin’ gift, and you got it good. It ain’t nothin’ you done. It be a gift from God. But you better not let that gift go to waste. You got to stretch it. You got to work it. Dreams are like that, too. You got to stretch ‘em. You got to work ‘em. Most of the people in this world have dreams, but they too lazy to make ‘em come true. They want it to be easy. Big dreams don’t come easy, you hear me?” Carrie nodded, listening with all her heart. She had seldom seen Sarah so intense. Sarah continued. “I don’t want to hear nothin’ ‘bout being too tired to work on your dream. You go’s ahead and do the thin’s you got to do, and then you work on that dream. God’ll give you the strength to do it when you think you don’t got none. And another thin’,” she added in a stern voice. “Make sure you ain’t fillin’ up yo’ days with dream killers.” “Dream killers?” “Dream killers,” Sarah repeated, nodding her head. “They be all those thin’s you think be so infernal important. You step back and take a look. Them thin’s may not be all that important. Not if they be robbin’ you of yo’ time to follow yo’ dream. This here plantation will suck you dry if you let it. There always be one more thin’ that need to be done. You can one-more-thin’ yo’ way right into the death of yo’ dream.” She paused again. “You got what I’m sayin’ to you, Miss Carrie?”              “I’ve got it.” Carrie nodded. “You’re right as usual. I’ve been letting other things take up my time. I’ve been waiting until I could leave, rather than making the most of my time here to prepare.” All the wasted hours raised their heads to taunt her. “I’ll start studying tonight, Miss Sarah. I’ll do all I can to make sure I’m ready for my dream,” she promised. Sarah nodded her head, obviously satisfied with what she saw and heard. “I believe you,” she said. “Just you remember one more thin’. God be the one that plants dreams in yo’ heart. Them thin’s you think be sent yo’ way to kill yo’ dream? They really be thin’s sent to make you stronger—better able to live that dream. Don’t you be runnin’ away from the hard times. Embrace them and suck all you can out of ‘em.” She

God might never have wanted blacks to be hauled to this country as slaves, but now that we’re here, I know for certain he wants the hatin’ to stop. It’s our job to make sure it happens, at least in our own hearts. I reckon those are the only ones we can really answer for.

Carrie

strengthen her frail body. “All right, Mama,” she assented joyfully.

Ain’t got no reason to be complainin’, and I done got me a heap of reasons to be thankful. I reckon that makes me be doin’ just fine,

Every life that has been lived until today is a part of the woven braid of life. It takes every person’s story to create history. Your life will help determine the course of history. You may think you don’t have much of an impact. You do. Every action you take will reflect in someone else’s life. Someone else’s decisions. Someone else’s future. Both good and bad.   My

Economists Mason Gaffney and Fred Harrison claim in their work The Corruption of Economics that industrialists toward the end of the 19th century may have intentionally created and promoted a new brand of economics (neoclassical) to divert public attention from the monopolization of nature. Neoclassical economics treats nature as capital - a resource to be exploited.

I have come to believe that most people, seeing life from their own perspective, think they are doing the very best thing they can. Others, including myself, may think they have the ability to see things more clearly, and maybe we can, but a person can only act from their own perceptions. I find myself more able to find understanding and acceptance

Many women have become teachers who never should have, because it’s more appealing than working in the mills or in the fields. Yet, their students suffer.” “Because

Then you’ll cry and go on livin’. But girl, you be borrowing trouble ‘fore there be trouble to borrow. You done be lettin’ that fear take over your heart again. What happened to your trust, chile? What happened to your trust?” Rose

personally acquainted with them,

thickets

There are times in the writing of history when we must use words we personally abhor.

but

It was many hours later before Moses was able to take Rose

folks can blame bad decisions on the times being hard, or they can admit they made a stupid mistake and fix it. She said that’s the real sign of growing up—when you don’t blame your mistakes on other people or circumstances.

It ain’t nothin’ you done. It be a gift from God. But you better not let that gift go to waste. You got to stretch it. You got to work it.

You’ve got to believe the best and then deal with whatever comes your way when it comes.

You remember one thing, Peter. Ain’t many of us able to go out and change the whole world, but ever’one of us can help change the people God brings our way.

Can’t run from hurt, Rose. You might miss some hurt, but you’ll also miss all the joys of livin’.

For now, that means your life gonna be here on Cromwell Plantation. That leaves you only one thin’ to do. You gots to live as hard as you can where you be. You gots to look deep inside and find out all the thin’s you got to give the world. Then you got to give it. You can’t spend all your days lookin’ backward, and you can’t spend all your days lookin’ forward. It’s today that counts, Rose. Yous got to bloom where you be planted. God’s got you planted here for now.

you.” Sarah moved back to her chair and sank down. “I had a dream a few nights ago. In that dream, I was free. Free! Walking the streets of heaven hand in hand with my Jesus. There weren’t no slave or free there. Everyone be equal.” She paused. “Jesus told

Employees can now easily leak company data through the use of insecure public Wi-Fi . If employees do not use VPNs to encrypt their data, they run the risk of exposing their traffic to cybercriminals. This means that passwords and usernames can be seen and intercepted by others on the network….. Although public WiFi hotspots are an invaluable services, there is a strong need for businesses to stay on top of the potential threats and security risks.

In traditional societies, we could explain away setbacks and failures as God’s will, or fate, or bad luck. Now, there is no hiding place for failure. There is an assumption that if we

People believe easily when it doesn’t cause them any discomfort. It’s when it hurts to believe that believing means something.

medical

Never again will I allow myself to be so caught up in the events of my world and my activities that I lose contact with my own heart and mind. All my achievements mean nothing if I lose myself in the process.

North. He believes they saw him as

Why, that be one man who ain’t got nothin’ but hate poisonin’ his blood. But there ain’t been no one born that be that way from the start. No, somethin’ done put that poison in him. We prob’ly won’t never know what put it there, but it been put there sho ‘nuff. You gots to pity a man like that. Now, I be hatin’ the things he be doin’ as much as anybody else, but it won’t be doin’ my heart no good to be hatin’ him. That won’t do nothin’ but put poison in my own blood. No, I reckon I’ll keep on pitying that poor empty shell of a man.

Aren’t I ever going to do anything but ask questions, God? Will I ever get answers?” Slowly, words her mama had said many times floated gently into her mind. Askin’ questions keeps you comin’ to God, Rose girl. You can rest sure he done got all the answers. You can also rest sure he ain’t gonna tell you till you need to know. He don’t mind the askin’ though. As long as we’re askin’ that means there be somethin’ in us that still believes he gonna tell us one day. And he will, Rose girl. When the time be right, he gonna answer all dem questions…If we done knew all the answers, there wouldn’t be no need to trust God. Wouldn’t be no need to get to know him. And that, Rose girl would be the tragedy. Knowin’ all the answers without knowing God... Why, knowin’ ‘em that way wouldn’t mean nothin’!

Matthew nodded. “Aunt Abby is one in a million. I agree with her. I think every individual should feel they alone are responsible for their thoughts and actions.

I’ve been so busy,” Carrie protested. “I barely have time to do the things I have to do.” “Nonsense.” Sarah leaned forward and fixed Carrie with her eyes. “You listen to me good, girl. You done got the healin’ gift, and you got it good. It ain’t nothin’ you done. It be a gift from God. But you better not let that gift go to waste. You got to stretch it. You got to work it. Dreams are like that, too. You got to stretch ‘em. You got to work ‘em. Most of the people in this world have dreams, but they too lazy to make ‘em come true. They want it to be easy. Big dreams don’t come easy, you hear me?” Carrie nodded, listening with all her heart. She

She told me one time that it wasn’t the material things in life that mattered. She wouldn’t be able to take them with her anyway. She said the only thing that counted was how much love you left behind.” She smiled. “Your mama left behind an awful lot of love.

I’m afraid it’s a condition of the human heart, this desire to believe we are better than other people around us. It took God quite a while to teach me I was absolutely no different from my black brothers and sisters. God sees us all the same. Given the same chances, some of us will succeed, and others won’t. Given the same chances, some will give their all to follow their dreams, while others will fall by the wayside. I pray every day that God will cleanse the darkness from my heart.

Thomas Jefferson said the relationship between a free society and education were inseparable. He

Girl, the only thing you can depend on is change. Things always gonna be changin’. But changing ain’t neither good nor bad. It’s what you do with it. You can fight it and let it get the best of you. You can feel sorry for yourself ‘cause thin’s ain’t stayin’ just like they was. Or you can look for the good in what’s new. You can search for ways to make thin’s better. It’s all how you look at it, and what you figur’ to do with it.

God gave me gifts so that I could use them to help his people. I

Everything you have told me is nothing but fear that the life they have built for themselves and always known will disappear if other people are given the same opportunities as themselves.

We knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but people before us have done it, and so can we. Nothing in this life is guaranteed. You make the best choices you can and try your hardest.” He paused. “I reckon we can trust God to take care of the rest.

Trustin’ done take a lifetime, Rose girl. Every time, it seems like you got to learn it again. But it gets to be some easier. You finally figure out that God does really love you. Then the trustin’ get easier. God done already know how you feel. Let him take you through the hard times. He’ll teach you to trust...

she had realized she could waste energy with anger and frustration, or simply accept what was and do the best she could to make a difference. If

There are many times you are going to find it difficult to believe in yourself. When you run into those times, try and believe in those who believe in you.

stops every now and again to check on ya.

can trust God so easily with one thing, but five minutes later something else has me anxious and worried. I’ve learned I have to ask myself in every situation if I believe God loves me. If the answer is yes, then I have to choose to trust him. It’s a daily decision.

When you can find no reason to celebrate, you find one anyway. Every soul needs laughter and fun, no matter how awful the reality of the present.

over

I guess I needed that.” “No one can stay strong all the time in the midst of such madness,” Carrie assured her. “I’ve wondered how you managed to for so long.

Why, that be one man who ain’t got nothin’ but hate poisonin’ his blood. But there ain’t been no one born that be that way from the start. No, somethin’ done put that poison in him. We prob’ly won’t never know what put it there, but it been put there sho‘nuff. You gots to pity a man like that. Now, I be hatin’ the things he be doin’ as much as anybody else, but it won’t be doin’ my heart no good to be hatin’ him. That won’t do nothin’ but put poison in my own blood. No, I reckon I’ll keep on pitying that poor empty shell of a man.

herself. Moses laughed along with them. “You would be amazed the things men will say when they’re standing around on the street corner. Since my trash route runs through the heart of the business district, I hear a great many

too often the majority makes far less noise than a determined minority.

Yes, but those people simply don’t understand the will of God in all this. The scriptures are quite clear about the basis for slavery. I know some would have us go against God’s will, but they are simply ignorant.

It takes great courage to be honest when the honesty is pointed at yourself.

Anyone who goes against the conventions of their time will experience heartache. People fear change, Carrie, and they fight the things they are afraid of.

We only truly fight to make changes when we believe in those changes with all our heart. You have to want your dream badly enough to hold on through the rough times.

When people fight something with hate and anger, they close the doors to actual change because they close the doors of the person’s heart they are trying to change.

I fear there are many editors and newspapermen who will bear a heavy responsibility for what happens in our country.

ability to read her heart—to see beyond the surface to what was boiling just underneath.

It is impossible to go backward and undo the past. All you can do is live with the present and try to make the best of the future.

A people afraid were a people trapped in bondage. Break that fear and people would spring forward into freedom and liberty.

Askin’ questions keeps you comin’ to God, Rose girl. You can rest sure he done got all the answers. You can also rest sure he ain’t gonna tell you till you need to know. He don’t mind the askin’ though. As long as we’re askin’ that means there be somethin’ in us that still believes he gonna tell us one day. And he will, Rose girl. When the time be right, he gonna answer all dem questions…If we done knew all the answers, there wouldn’t be no need to trust God. Wouldn’t be no need to get to know him. And that, Rose girl would be the tragedy. Knowin’ all the answers without knowing God... Why, knowin’ ‘em that way wouldn’t mean nothin’!

Every life that has been lived until today is a part of the woven braid of life.   It takes every person’s story to create history. Your life will help determine the course of history.   You may think you don’t have much of an impact.   You do. Every action you take will reflect in someone else’s life.   Someone else’s decisions. Someone else’s future. Both good and bad.

If you can find a way to make a living doing what you love, welcome to the elite group of the most blessed people in the world.

Read the Bible yourself and then ask God to show you the truth.

Our gracious Father, we need you to help make sense of the world we are living in. Thank you for your continual blessing and your supplying of our needs. May we find ourselves

Kanawha Canal was a marvel to her. It had first extended seven miles to afford safe passage around the Richmond Falls. Packet boats now ran daily trips