We just don’t recognize life’s most significant moments while they’re happening. Back then I thought, “Well, there’ll be other days.” I didn’t realize that that was the only day.
WP Kinsella
WP Kinsella (May 25, 1935 – September 16, 2016) was the author of the book Shoeless Joe which was the basis for the movie Field of Dreams. The story is built around a real person – Archibald Graham, who played two innings in one major league game in 1905 and never made it to the majors again. As in the story, he became a beloved doctor after his baseball career.
Not to be outdone, Larry Yount, Robin Yount’s brother, was announced as the pitcher in a game in 1971 but injured himself during the warmups, never to return again. So, he’s in the Baseball Encyclopedia as a pitcher without ever having thrown a major league pitch.
An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.
Niels Bohr
This quote was attributed to Bohr by Edward Teller in an article in Life magazine in 1954. Neils Bohr (7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish physicist, probably the second greatest physicist of the twentieth century (behind some guy named Einstein). He won the Nobel Prize in 1922.
When I worked at Syncsort I was assigned to generate code that would improve the randomness of the sort keys without affecting the veracity of the subsequent sort. It would not be an exaggeration to say I worked on 75 or so lines of code for over six months. And certainly made every mistake possible within those lines of code. So, yes, Neils, I was an expert in this very niche field (niche? maybe one of one!)
Inside, we are ageless…and when we talk to ourselves, it’s the same age of the person we were talking to when we were little. It’s the body that is changing around that ageless center.
David Lynch
This quote is attributed to David Lynch. David Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker famous for movies with a sureallist quality. He directed Blue Highway, Mulholland Drive, and the television series Twin Peaks.
An eighteen year old boy was carried into the shock ward, and he looks up at me trustingly asking, “How am I doing, nurse?” I just kiss his forehead and say, “You are doing just fine soldier.” He smiles sweetly and says, “I was just checking,” then he dies. We all cry in private. But not in front of the boys. Never in front of the boys.
June Wandrey
June Wandrey Mann (June 25, 1920 – November 27, 2005) was a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps from Wautoma, Wisconsin. She was the author of Bedpan Commando, an account of her military service from 1942 to 1946, during which she was awarded eight battle stars.
One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.
Omar El Akkad
Omar El Akkad (born 1982) is an Egyptian-Canadian novelist and journalist, whose novel What Strange Paradise was the winner of the 2021 Giller Prize.
“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?” “What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting TODAY?” said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.
A.A. Milne
A. A. Milne (18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, as well as children’s poetry.
