Dan Groat, A Punctual Paymaster
27 quotes
"If the forest has a day of fire and the heat of the flames does not consume a special tree, it will still be changed; charred, but still standing."
"You can be spiritual all by yourself. Everybody has a soul. But to be religious, it seems like you need other people, and then sometimes it becomes more about the people than the soul."
"Porches could be cleaned with a broom in a few minutes, but the soul could not be swept. It had to be shaken. And shaking the loess from a soul took a lifetime and more strength than most people had."
"Peace, a commodity purchased with friendship and safety and anything comfortable and all things familiar; peace that was a pleasant melody playing through the moments of their day; a chord striking only the notes of security and agreement and understanding and order."
"There are struggles you cannot win, but a man can meet his own heart if value is found in loss. Give yourself permission to cry."
"Governments have absolutely no interest in self-reliance. It defeats one of the purposes for their existence. They encourage and thrive on dependency. The more of it they sell, the more necessary they are, and the more power and money they need."
"The power of our country relies on the character that comes out of each of our homes."
"The world has a way of dragging down our mood."
"As you get older, you have to be willing and able to choose your own path for your life. And once you choose it, you walk it with strength. If you meet evil along the way, know that it is supposed to make you afraid, but it’s not supposed to stop you. You walk through the fear and you walk through the evil, and you don’t let either one become your master."
"A government that thinks it can remedy personal failure is an intrusion in everybody’s life. No law is going to cure a human’s lack of physical or mental effectiveness. I’d rather see democracy promote strength than reward weakness."
"I wonder if God hears prayers if the only time you make them is when you’re in trouble."
"He knew that prejudice was a necessary part of the weak spirit of some men."
"Time does not heal, but it can liberate. A race run well can never be lost."
"Hope was always hard to find in the darkness."
"Doing without will wear on you until temptation is stronger than character, sometimes."
"There is no end to the hatred in men, but there is an end to the hatred in a man. If your hatred is just, and deeds will get you to the end of it, then go and do what must be done."
"We learn to love when we’re young. If we learn hating better, it has to go somewhere. We can hate ourselves or we can hate somebody else. Most people would rather hate somebody else."
"People don’t die so the universe can gauge your reaction. They die because life is finite."
"Human thought and human caring go on in one brain and one heart at a time. Groups are necessary. Regulations are necessary. Government, I would hope limited government, is necessary. But it all starts with the individual. Everything that is accomplished starts with one person, even if the group steps in and helps; it’s still one brain and one heart at a time."
"In this country our principles should not be silent."
"It made him wonder if all things taken from their home too soon lost some of their bloom."
"They understood that brave men could be injured more by pity than by disease."
"Winning and losing was suddenly elevated to be about things that had no score and no teams and no uniforms; just one player at a time dealing with his life, his own struggle, his own triumph and torment."
"Those who show no loyalty give up the right to expect any."
"The weak thrive on indulgence."