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L Quotes

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All L Quotes

“Longevi, ci chiamavamo tra noi. Eravamo una sorta di Dorian Gray ambulanti senza un ritratto marcescente in soffitta e, durante i secoli, avevamo collezionato i più stravaganti epiteti: streghe, vampiri, angeli, demoni, doppelgänger. Non avremmo mai conosciuto le gioie della maternità o della paternità, poiché i nostri figli morivano – senza eccezioni – appena venuti alla luce. Avremmo potuto tentare all’infinito, accontentarci di sentire per nove mesi i loro calci ovattati attraverso la pelle del ventre, per poi dover accettare di vederli spegnersi appena fatto capolino nel mondo. Avevo seppellito tre figli, tutti nati morti alle prime avvisaglie di autunni distanti vite intere l’uno dell’altro. Alcune sere percepivo ancora la sensazione asfissiante della terra bagnata sotto le unghie. Temere che la propria creatura, di cui non hai mai udito il pianto, possa sentire freddo sotto la terra è il primo segnale di una follia disperata. Scavare tra le lacrime per riabbracciare quel corpo inerme e bianco, che non è mai stato vivo se non nel buio del tuo grembo, e poi desistere in un barlume di lucidità è un’esperienza straziante. Si rimane con un pugno di fango in mano, la gola stretta dall’angoscia e il cuore vuoto. Ho sentito tre figli crescere e perire dentro di me. E se fossi così folle da riprovarci, un quarto, un quinto e un sesto mi farebbero singhiozzare dalla gioia e poco dopo dal tormento. Così sarà per sempre. È una delle mie tante condanne. Malachia, Robert e io non potevamo dirci amici. Tuttavia lo eravamo, quasi inevitabilmente, per una serie di eventi e per la maledizione che ci univa. Nella mia lunga carriera ne avevo profanati di sarcofagi, templi e necropoli. Così innumerevoli, che ormai avevo perso il conto. Eppure, con tutti gli anatemi che mi ero tirata addosso, nessuno di questi era ancora riuscito a farmi apprezzare quello sotto il quale ero nata.”

“Longevity can be a source of corrective optimism. I recall an occasion early in the George W. Bush presidency when my friend and former physician, Quentin Young, was confronted at a talk by a medical student who lamented that she couldn't imagine being able to win any progressive objectives because the right had been in power all her conscious life. Quentin, who was then about eighty years old, responded that a virtue of having lived as long as he had was that he knew that almost no one, no matter how far left or how optimistic, standing in 1950 would have predicted that the back of the Jim Crow system would be broken within fifteen years. He was correct, and that's a good lesson for us all to keep in mind in this most perilous time in this country and the world.”

“Longevity in my family's been pretty good. And my grandparents were pretty spry at their age, so I figured I'd probably stay skinny and fairly agile. I used to do old men all the time in sketches. And there used to be an organization called the Gray Panthers. And they would send me, oh, terrible letters about making fun of old people. And I would just always say, "I'm playing the old person I intend to become!"”

“Longevity is a huge factor in becoming separate from the mass of people that are just starting, or don't have any friends in the same realm, or don't really have the foundation. So it's good and bad, it's easy and it's hard. It's really what you make of it. Because if it's truly something that you really enjoy and obsess over, then waiting 10 years or waiting 30 years shouldn't be that big of a deal for you. As you get older and as you work harder, you see further down the road.”

“Longevity is something I never gave a second thought to. I guess it's the shadow of growing up in post WWII, but I never believed I would live past 20. Here I am though... a senior citizen... my voice and heart are stronger than ever, but boredom is the greatest enemy so I have to be careful not to slip over the edge.”

“Longganisa was curled up on her bed beneath my desk but stood up to greet me. Today, she was outfitted in a leaf-patterned hoodie that bore the Brew-ha Cafe logo. Cute, simple, and practical since Longganisa hated the cold. I clipped on her leash and led her around the cafe. Her usual admirers surrounded us, and we spent some time on pets and belly rubs. When we got to the front of the shop, Leslie was helping Adeena bag her order. "Longganisa, show your Tita Adeena some love." Adeena was more of a cat person, but she loved my little wiener dog almost as much as I did. Longganisa adored her as well, and Adeena was the only person other than me and Jae who was allowed to pick her up. Even Tita Rosie didn't get that privilege. Adeena snuggled Longganisa close to her chest, and Longganisa rewarded her with a few licks. "Oh, my bestest girl. Your kisses will sustain me through all my family lecturing.”

“Longhaired preachers come out every night, Tryin' to tell us what's wrong and what's right. But when asked about something to eat, They will tell you in voices so sweet. You will eat (You will eat!) By and by, (By and by!) In that glorious land in the sky. (Way up high!) Work and pray, live on hay, You'll get pie in the sky when you die. (That's a lie!)”

“Longing for Heaven won’t help you to make the most of this lifetime, the one you have now. Especially if you’re interested in Spiritual Enlightenment, don’t treat this precious human life like some pathetic kind of consolation prize.”

“Longing is the fullest sense of desire; it's the most deeply felt kind of desire. I think the most interesting artwork comes out of some sense of longing. It could be called dissatisfaction; it could be called distance. There are many kinds of wanting to get closer to something else, whether that is an idea, a body, a place. Longing is also one of the conditions people approach reading, visual art, or music with - it's to satisfy that sense of longing. It's part of my job, on some level, to grapple with that notion.”