West Jax Rotary -- Rosey’s Rotary Quotes and Proverbs

"Asking an aspiring journalist not to broadcast everything he hears is like asking a piranha to become a vegetarian."
Alan Abelson, editor of Barron’s, on off the record comments by Al Gore.

"There’s a day in every man’s life when he suddenly realizes that he’s older than his father. A day when the father becomes a child in need of protection and the young man must be a shield."
Ted Allebury (1917), English novelist, The Alpha List

"There are times when silence is the best way to yell at the top of your voice."
O. A. Battista (1901-1973), Cuban dictator

"It is not the going out of port, but the coming in, that determines the success of a voyage."
Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), American pulpit orator and lecturer

"Endurance is frequently a form of indecision."
Princess Elizabeth Bibesco (1897-1945), British author

"Studying literature at Harvard is like learning about women at the Mayo Clinic."
Roy Blount, Jr. (1941), American author

"He’s a modest little man with much to be modest about."
Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British statesman and prime minister

"Baseball is like church. Many attend. Few understand."
Leo Durocher (1905), baseball manager

"The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), American essayist, poet and philosopher

"I’m just the utility man. I do a little of everything. All right..Sometimes I do a lot of everything."
Julius Erving (1950), professional basketball player

The question, "Who ought to be boss?" is like asking "Who ought to be tenor in the quartet?" Obviously, the man who can sing tenor.
Henry Ford (1863-1947), American automobile manufacturer

"The older I grow, the more I listen to people who don’t say much."
Germain G. Glidden (1913-1999), amateur squash champion

"If Columbus had had an advisory committee, he would probably still be at the dock."
Arthur Goldberg (1908-1990), American lawyer and Supreme Court justice

"When I’ve heard all I need to make a decision, I don’t take a vote. I make a decision."
Ronald Reagan (1924), 40th president of the United States

"He has every attribute of a dog, except loyalty."
Senator Thomas P. Gore (1870-1940), US senator

"Changing your mind does not involve a transplant."
Robert Half (1918), American businessman

"Immaturity can last a lifetime."
Robert Half (1918), American businessman

"Egotism: The art of seeing in yourself what others cannot see."
George Higgins (1939), English novelist

"It was involuntary. They sank my boat."
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), 35th president of the United States, his response on how he became a war hero.

"Assume nothing. Inside every dumb blond there may be a very smart brunette."
Ann Landers (Esther Pauline Friedman 1918), advice columnist

"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible."
Stanislaw Jerxy Lec (1909-1966), Polish writer

"When it’s third and ten, you can take the milk drinkers and I’ll take the whiskey drinkers every time."
Max McGee, Green Bay Packers receiver

"Ninety percent I’ll spend on good times, women and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I’ll probably just waste."
Tug McGraw (1994-2004), professional baseball player when asked how he spends his money

"A team should be an extension of the coach’s personality. My teams are arrogant and obnoxious."
Al McGuire (1928), American basketball coach

"Leadership, like swimming, cannot be learned by reading about it."
Henry Mintzberg (1939), Canadian educator and writer

"I’ve been on a calendar, but never on time."
Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), American actress

"Isn’t there any other part of the matzo you can eat?"
Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), American actress

"I am probably responsible for the odd fact that people don’t seem to name their daughters Lolita anymore."
Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977), American writer

"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap."
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), Emperor of France

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), Emperor of France

"Middle Age: when you’re sitting home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn’t for you."
Ogden Nash (1902-1971), American poet and humorist

"Bad officials are the ones elected by good citizens who do not vote."
George Jean Nathan (1882-1958), America drama critic, author, editor

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son of a bitch."
Jack Nicholson (1937), American actor

"The worst misfortune that can happen to an ordinary man is to have an extraordinary father."
Austin O’Malley (1858-1932), American oculist and writer

"If women didn’t exist, all the money in the world would mean nothing."
Aristotle Onassis (1900-1975), Greek shipping magnate

"The punishment of wise men who refuse to take part in the affairs of government is to live under the government of unwise men."
Plato (428-348 B.C.), Greek philosopher

"When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a baseball player and join the circus. With the Yankees I’ve accomplished both."
Craig Nettles (1944), New York Yankees third baseman

"I have no use for bodyguards, but I have a very special use for two highly trained certified public accountants."
Elvis Presley (1935-1977), American rock singer

"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), 26th president of the United States

"Ability is the art of getting the credit for all the home runs somebody else hits."
Casey Stengel (1891-1975), American baseball player and manager

"Too much of a good thing can be wonderful."
Mae West (1893-1980), American entertainer

He who can lick can bite.
French proverb

One does not get a headache from what other people have drunk.
Russian proverb

The fish dies because he opens his mouth.
Spanish proverb

Don’t talk unless you can improve the silence.
Vermont proverb

A contented man is one who enjoys the scenery along the detour.

A goal is a dream with a finish line.

A mistake at least proves somebody stopped talking long enough to do something.

Ethics is about what is right, not who is right.

He who chooses the beginning of the road, also chooses its destination.

I had rather ride an ass that carries me than a horse that throws me.

It works as long as it works!
Wall Street saying

Kissing a girl is like opening a bottle of olives - if you get one the rest come easy.

Liberal: One who has both feet firmly planted in the air.

One of the mysteries of life is how the boy who wasn’t good enough to marry the daughter can be the father of the smartest grandchild in the world.

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.

You can always tell a Harvard man, but you can’t tell him much.

Genius: one who can do almost anything but make a living.

"Judge: A law student who marks his own examination papers."
H. L. Mencken (1880-1956), American editor

You’re never too old to have a happy childhood.

"In charity there is no excess."
Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, statesman and author

"What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing."
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), Greek philosopher

"In playing ball, or life, a person occasionally gets the opportunity to do something great. When that time comes, only two things matter: being prepared to seize the moment and having the courage to take your best swing."
Hank Aaron (1934), American baseball legend, at Emory University School of Law, 1995

"The secret of success is constancy of purpose."
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (1804-1881), English politician and author

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."
Albert Einstein (1879-1955), American (German-born) physicist

"The problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them."
Albert Einstein (1879-1955), American (German-born) physicist

"Where all think alike, no one thinks very much."
Walter Lippman (1889-1974), American writer

"The world belongs to the energetic."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), American essayist, poet and philosopher

"You can’t shake hands with a clinched fist."
Indira Gandhi (1917-1984), Indian politician

"There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in."
Graham Greene (1904-1991), English writer

"We will either find a way, or make one."
Hannibal (247-183 B.C.), Carthaginian general

"When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt."
Henry J. Kaiser (1882-1967), American industrialist

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter."
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), American clergyman and reformer

"To lead the people, walk behind them."
Lao-tzu (604-531 B.C.), Chinese philosopher, founder of Taoism

There are thermometers and there are thermostats! Thermometers tell you what the temperature is; thermostats do something about it.
The Rev. Barnum McCarty, St. Marks Episcopal Church, Jacksonville, Florida

"I must admit I personally measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to her or his fellow human beings."
Margaret Mead (1901-1978), American anthropologist

"Saying is one thing and doing is another."
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592), French philosopher and essayist

"Deeds, not stones, are the true monuments of the great."
John L. Motley (1844-1877), American historian

"A leader is a dealer in hope."
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), Emperor of France

"Commit yourself to a dream… Nobody who tries to do something great, but fails, is a total failure. Why? Because he can always rest assured that he succeeded in life’s most important battle - he defeated the fear of trying."
Robert H. Schuller (1926), American television evangelist

"Ideals are like the stars - we never reach them, but like the mariners of the sea, we chart our course by them."
Carl Schurz (1829-1906), German journalist and political reformer

"Do something for somebody every day for which you do not get paid."
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), French theologian, philosopher, physician and music scholar

"Wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for a kindness."
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 B.C. - AD 65), Roman philosopher and author

"Never find your delight in another’s misfortune."
Publilius Syrus (c. 1st century BC), Syrian Latin scholar

"It is never too late to give up our prejudices."
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American author and philosopher

"There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher."
Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933), American clergyman and writer

One kind deed is worth a thousand intentions.
Anonymous

Most of us miss out on life’s big prizes. The Pulitzer. The Nobel. Oscars. Emmys. But we’re all eligible for life’s small pleasures. A pat on the back. A kiss behind the ear. A four pound bass. A full moon. An empty parking space. A crackling fire. A great meal. A glorious sunset. Don’t fret about copping life’s grand awards. Enjoy its tiny delights. There are plenty for all of us.
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