If I Could Quotes

If I could quietly kill her without anyone knowing, I would. ~ Miranda July

I would have winked back - that is - if I could. Ever since I was little and tried to wink, it always looked like a painful squint. ~ Valerie Biel

He is lost in Agamemnon and Odysseus' wily double meanings, their lies and games of power. They have confounded him, tied him to a stake and baited him. I stroke the soft skin of his forehead. I would untie him if I could. If he would let me. ~ Madeline Miller

If I could I would!" is the maxim of tyrants. ~ Lamine Pearlheart

If I could change the structure of existence I would do it. I could see a better way to live for everybody. ~ Woody Allen

As he grew older, which was mostly in my absence, my firstborn son, Alexander, became ever more humorous and courageous. There came a time, as the confrontation with the enemies of our civilization became more acute, when he sent off various applications to enlist in the armed forces. I didn't want to be involved in this decision either way, especially since I was being regularly taunted for not having 'sent' any of my children to fight in the wars of resistance that I supported. (As if I could 'send' anybody, let alone a grown-up and tough and smart young man: what moral imbeciles the 'anti-war' people have become.) ~ Christopher Hitchens

Certainly there's a connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda. It doesn't surprise me at all that they would be talking to Al Qaeda, that there would be some Al Qaeda there or that Saddam Hussein might even be, you know, discussing gee, I wonder since I don't have any scuds and since the Americans are coming at me, I wonder if I could take advantage of Al Qaeda? How would I do it? Is it worth the risk? What could they do for me? ~ Wesley Clark

If I could offer only one key to understanding this divine dialogue, it would be to remember that it takes place in the depths of consciousness and that Krishna is not some external being, human or superhuman, but the spark of divinity that lies at the core of the human personality. This is not literary or philosophical conjecture; Krishna says as much to Arjuna over and over: "I am the Self in the heart of every creature, Arjuna, and the beginning, middle, and end of their existence" (10:20). ~ Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

I don't know if I could rebuild an airplane engine, but I know a little bit about rotors and rivets. ~ Dane Cook

Even if I could, I wouldn't want to undo the transformation of jazz into a sophisticated art music. ~ Terry Teachout

Well If I could live my life again differently, there are things I would do and things I wouldn't do. Like drugs, I wouldn't deal with drugs and guns, I wouldn't deal with it, a whole lot of things, that's the truth ~ Gregory Isaacs

I've been training with my mixed martial arts guy as much as I can when I'm back in L.A., so if I could do another movie like I did in 'The Killing Game,' with Samuel L. Jackson, that would be awesome. ~ Kellan Lutz

If I could summarize my suggestions to parents over the past twenty-five years it would be: worry less, criticize less, preach less, listen more, have more fun, be more honest with your own feelings, develop your own joys and friendships, and don't sweat the small stuff (which is nearly everything). The goal is not to be a perfect parent, because no such thing exists. The hope is to be a good enough parent so that your child leaves home a responsible adult who can take care of him or herself. ~ Charlotte Sophia Kasl

For the first time that day, I felt as if I could breathe. As if this, this was what God was leading me to. Waiting, abiding, resting. Enjoying what was rather than fearing what might be or resenting what had come before. ~ Lisa Tawn Bergren

FOR A VERY LONG MOMENT WE ALL STOOD IN A FROZEN tableau of hostile indecision. Debs and Recht stared at each other, Deke breathed through his mouth, and I tried to decide whether assisting the fallen woman was technically within my jurisdiction as a blood-spatter analyst. And then there was a clatter at the front door and I heard a minor commotion behind me. "Shit," a male voice called out, quite clearly. "Shit, shit, shit." It was impossible to argue with the general sentiment, but nevertheless I turned around to see if I could gather some specifics. A middle-aged man hurried toward us. He was tall and soft-looking and had close-cropped gray hair and a matching beard. He slid to one knee beside Mrs. Aldovar and picked up her hand. "Hey, Emily? Honey?" he said as he patted her hand. "Come on, Em." I ~ Jeff Lindsay

If you sum up your judgment of me, the result you get is that, although you don't charge me with anything downright improper or wicked . . . , you do charge me with coldness, estrangements and ingratitude. And, what is more, you charge me with it in such a way as to make it seem my fault, as though I might have been able, with something like a touch on the steering wheel, to make everything quite different, while you aren't in the slightest to blame, unless it be for having been too good to me.
This, your usual way of representing it, I regard as accurate only in so far as I too believe you are entirely blameless in the matter of our estrangement. But I am equally entirely blameless. If I could get you to acknowledge this, then what would be possible is - not, I think, a new life, we are both much too old for that - but still, a kind of peace . . . ~ Franz Kafka

If I could write an autobiography for fear, it would read like this:
__________

Hi, my name is Fear. F-E-A-R. But you are going to call me a lot of other things as you start to get closer to me. I'm terribly unoriginal. I'm like every has-been out there, but you give me way more credit than I deserve. You should keep doing that. I like it when you make me bigger than I actually am. I'm going to make you feel alone, and I like it when you believe you're the only one who's ever felt this way. You think I'm custom-catered to fit you, but I'm really no different than the brand of me your best friend wears. I'm a ballad lurking in the hearts of a billion people, and I will do anything to keep you from realizing that I am just the same song on repeat. You all know all my words.
I'm pretty jealous though. I want you alone with me at night. I'm not afraid to say I'm greedy or that I don't want to share you. I'm a territorial lover, and I would rather you not have solid and deep conversations at dinner parties or find a community that doesn't leave your side. I wrote you a story a long time ago, and I don't want you to figure out that you've outgrown the plotline.
I wonder why you don't get over me sometimes, but then the realization hits me: You come back because you know I want you. You come back because you know the sound of my voice. You come back because you know the way I move and how I shut you down. You've stood face-to-face with me so many times and ~ Hannah Brencher

I would honestly be elated if I could wave a magic wand and eradicate my back catalog and then have a fresh crack at some of those ideas. ~ Adrian Tomine

Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can? ~ Prince

Like so many addicts, I'd thought that if I could only sort out my life, I could then sort out my drinking. It was a revelation to see that it would be simpler the other way around ~ Pete Townshend

If I could be alone, I would. Gratefully. I'd rather be alone than have to pretend I'm okay. ~ Katja Millay

If I could make noise with anything, I was going to. ~ Hunter Hayes

There's no need to get that way. It's your own thoughts that keep you young, Dick. And age hasn't anything to do with it. It's a question of your state of mind." "I don't care about all that. Oh! Jake - if I could live tremendously, and then die." "What do you call 'tremendously'?" "I don't know - but there are a whole lot of things I want to know and to feel. They won't ever happen though. Fate'll be against me." "Don't talk like a fool. There isn't such a thing as Fate. Everything depends on yourself," he said. "Everything?" "Yes." "I wish I could ~ Daphne Du Maurier

So if I could just go back now to something which I am sure we should cover here regarding our original scenario: we have, in fact, four ways - four major potential lines of research. ~ Martin Fleischmann

If I could patent 'being real', I think I could own that. ~ Tupac Shakur

With the supplies gathered, he went over to the stainless-steel sink and pressed the foot pedal to get the water running. While he washed his hands, he said quietly, "If I could, I would."
"Excuse me?"
Qhuinn pumped some suds into his palms and scrubbed all the way up his forearms. Which was overkill, but if Blay wanted him superclean, then that was what he was going to be. "If I could love a guy like that, it would be you. ~ J.R. Ward

If I could choose any car in the world, I'd get a Lamborghini, but I think that's a bit too much money. I'll start off with maybe a V8 or something. ~ Kodi Smit-McPhee

If I could shine like the sun all over the world, then I would be special. ~ Cindy Fisk

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday. ~ Mary Schmich

For my 23rd birthday, I received a nylon string guitar. I told myself that if I could play Eric Clapton's 'Tears In Heaven,' then I could play the guitar. I practised every chance I got, driving my housemates insane, until several weeks later I had a shaky version of the song down. I wrote my first song on the guitar a few weeks after that. ~ Neil Jackson

If I could go back, I'd coach myself. I'd be the woman who taught me how to stand up, how to want things, how to ask for them. I'd be the woman who says, your mind, your imagination, they are everything. Look how beautiful. You deserve to sit at the table. The radiance falls on all of us. ~ Lidia Yuknavitch

I went to the bathroom and threw some water on my face, combed my hair. If I could only comb that face, I thought, but I can't. ~ Charles Bukowski

Most people have friends, but no money. I have the opposite. I don't have a chance to talk to my real friends, the ones I've had since I was 5 years old. Sometimes I wish I could bring Czechoslovakia to America. Then I would be the happiest guy in the world. ~ Jaromir Jagr

If I could tell him just one thing, wherever he is, pass him one message, it would be this: he had something. Something to his thoughts, his ideas, the papers in his notebooks, the work we did in the garage. Beyond just a purity to his ideas, a sincerity to his belief, a genuine curiosity, a determination that, if he just sat there long enough, thought hard enough, failed enough times, he'd find a way in. ~ Charles Yu

My real purpose was to see you, and to judge, if I could, whether I might ever hope to make you love me. ~ Jane Austen

Winter has caused damage everywhere: meadow and forest are all grey, where before you heard many sounds. If I could see the girls play ball on the street, then bird song would come back. If only I could sleep through the winter! When I am awake I feel only hatred that his power is so far and wide. God knows, he even fights with May; I picked flowers where there is now snow. ~ Walther Von Der Vogelweide

Gisele Bundchen I always admired. I think she is an example for all models. If I could have just a little bit of her career would already be a happy girl. She seems to be a determined woman, a fighter, very strong. I think she is an icon of Brazilian people. Gisele is a woman who is extremely inspiring, not only in the fashion world, she also does great things for the world. ~ Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

When I was a kid I used to tell myself the moon was a silver gong and if I could climb high enough to beat on it with both hands all my wishes would come true. ~ John Dos Passos

If there is anything that I could get you to do, it would be to spend ten to fifteen minutes each morning planning your day. If I could get you to do that, you'd not only scare yourself, you'd intimidate everybody on your block. ~ Hyrum W. Smith

I'd drop one hand to your waist, but i don't know if i could be patient enough to unbutton your pants, or if i'd just rip them. Either way, i'd get in. I'd find that sweet place between your legs with my fingers, and i'd play until we were both panting. You'd be wet and ready for me when i dropped to my knees and replaced my hand with my mouth. ~ Larissa Ione

I wonder if I could eat a child if I had the chance.'
'I doubt if I could cook one,' said Constance. ~ Shirley Jackson

It would be a wonderful experience to stand there in those enchanted surroundings and hear Shakespeare and Milton and Bunyan read from their noble works. And it might be that they would like to hear me read some of my things. No, it could never be; they would not care for me. They would not know me, they would not understand me, and they would say they had an engagement. But if I could only be there, and walk about and look, and listen, I should be satisfied and not make a noise. My life is fading to its close, and someday I shall know. ~ George Woodward Warder

If I could predict the trends, they would already be there. ~ Tim Gunn

Not that I'd really been planning on keeping the attack secret; it had just been an option I'd wanted to keep open if I could. ~ Patricia Briggs

I marveled at them both; how difficult it must be to be a person. To constantly subvert your desires. To worry about doing the right thing, rather than doing what is most expedient. At that moment, honestly, I had grave doubts as to my ability to interact on such a level. I wondered if I could ever become the human I hoped to be. ~ Garth Stein

I've always hated dating," I said instead. "In fact, if I could bypass all that might I bestow upon you a kiss business, I would. Why can't we all just skip to the comfortable part of relationships? Go straight to the bit where you can walk around in your undies, let farts go and blame them on the dog, and leave the door open when you're taking a piss?"
"First of all, there is no part of a relationship that should involve that last bit, and second of all, dating is the best part. All those butterflies and excitement, the sexual tension. Wanting to skip to the comfortable bit is laziness. It means you don't have to put in any effort to woo someone. Also, if memory serves, you've never had a relationship that lasted more than six months."
"Thanks for the reminder, oh Sarah of Ye Old Wet Blanket," I groused, but she was right. I hadn't dated anyone for longer than six months; and even then it hadn't really been a relationship with any meaningful or lasting impact.
"Ye Old Wet Blanket was my grandmother's name, I'll have you know...You're thirty years old, practically a baby. You've just burned yourself out. You need to find the excitement in life again, the thrill to be had from simple things."
"I do get a thrill from simple things," I countered. "Didn't I mention I fixed my tap this weekend? And I had Earl Grey tea with breakfast."
"Oh. Stop. Too much excitement. I can't handle it. ~ L.H. Cosway

To truly live without regrets, pay attention. Ask yourself hard questions and see where they lead. Do I really want this job? Is this relationship right for me? If I could do anything, would it be what I'm doing today ... or something different? ~ Chris Guillebeau

I don't have many friends, not the living, breathing sort at any rate. And I don't mean that in a sad and lonely way; I'm just not the type of person who accumulates friends or enjoys crowds. I'm good with words, but not spoken kind; I've often thought what a marvelous thing it would be if I could only conduct relationships on paper. And I suppose, in a sense, that's what I do, for I've hundreds of the other sort, the friends contained within bindings, pages after glorious pages of ink, stories that unfold the same way every time but never lose their joy, that take me by the hand and lead me through doorways into worlds of great terror and rapturous delight. Exciting, worthy, reliable companions - full of wise counsel, some of them - but sadly ill-equipped to offer the use of a spare bedroom for a month or two. ~ Kate Morton

Remember this, my darling - remember this. What you achieve on earth is only a small part of the deal. If there's a secret I could whisper, and that you could keep, it would be that it's all inside you already. Every single thing you need. Earth is just a stopover. A kind of game. Make it a star game. If I could give you a gift, it would be to teach you how to stay free inside that game, to find the glory inside yourself, beyond the roles and the drama, so you can dance the dance of the game of life with a little more rhythm, a little more abandon, a little more shaking-those-hips. ~ Annie Kagan

I would not, if I could, give up the memory of the joy I have had in books for any advantage that could be offered in other pursuits or occupations. Books have been to me what gold is to the miser, what new fields are to the explorer. ~ Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

I like it when I'm on the stage, but honestly, I would be very happy if I could cut it off, just enjoy my life when I wasn't performing. ~ Beyonce Knowles

I am no worshiper of cloth of any color, but I love the red flag and what it symbolizes to me and other Socialists. I have a red flag hanging in my study, and if I could I should gladly march with it past the office of the Times and let all the reporters and photographers make the most of the spectacle. ~ Helen Keller

I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty. ~ Georgia O'Keeffe

If I could build my own neighbors, I'd have no need to build a fence. I would tell you, "I would tell you, but you wouldn't understand," but you wouldn't understand what you wouldn't understand. ~ Jarod Kintz

I always want to know how things work. Had I been Aladdin, I am certain that just after one wish or two, I'd have taken that old lamp apart to see if I could make another, better lamp. ~ Walter P. Chrysler

Women must find their own answer. That's the important thing. I'm no longer interested in books about women written by men. Even if I could believe in their objectivity, I just can't find their opinions relevant. Now I will only believe what a woman has to say about women, because even if it's not entirely true, it's her struggle and she's on the way to the answer.
Many of you seek masculine approval. Even though you have inside you your way of talking and writing, you have mountains of it inside you, and even though it is enough to begin expressing yourselves so long as it is with your vocabulary, your abstractions, and your own conceptualization, I think you are still afraid of the master: men. Of their judgment. As long as you have this fear, you will not progress. I think the future belongs to women. Men have been completely dethroned. Their rhetoric is stale, used up. We must move on the rhetoric of women, one that is anchored in the organism, in the body. ~ Marguerite Duras

I'd like to get something together - like a Handel, Bach, Muddy waters, flamenco type of thing. If I could get that sound, I'd be happy ~ Jimi Hendrix

I didn't know if I had the music for it or if I could pull off the larger concert experience. Then I realized if I can just continue to be myself, I'll be all right. ~ Jason Mraz

I wished there was some kind of switch on my brain. That I could turn it off in the same way that I could turn off the television. Just click it off and immediately empty my mind of all these images and worrying thoughts. And simply leave a blank screen. Or if I could just remove my head and put it on the bedside table and forget about it until morning. And then attach it again when I needed it. ~ Marian Keyes

What was the use of doing great things if I could have a better time telling her what I was going to do? ~ F Scott Fitzgerald

I have always thought that if I could turn back the pages of history and photograph one man, my choice would be Moses. ~ Margaret Bourke-White

Why are you delivering my dress?"
"I saw Lirah with it. I asked if I could bring it to you."
"And she let you, of course."
He lifted his brows at her tone. "She was busy. I thought she would be glad for one less thing to do."
"That was kind of you then," Kestrel said, though she heard her voice indicate otherwise and was annoyed with herself.
Slowly, he said, "What do you mean?"
"I mean nothing."
"You asked me to be honest with you. Do you think I have been?"
She remembered his harsh words during the storm. "Yes."
"Can I not ask the same thing of you?"
The answer was no, no slave could ask anything of her. The answer was no, if he wanted her secret thoughts he could try to win them at Bite and Sting. But Kestrel swallowed a sudden flare of nervousness and admitted to herself that she valued his honesty--and her own, when she was around him. There was nothing wrong with speaking the truth. "I think that you are not fair to Lirah."
His brows drew together. "I don't understand."
"It's not fair for you to encourage Lirah when your heart is elsewhere."
He inhaled sharply. Kestrel thought that he might tell her it was no business of hers, for it was not, but then she saw that he wasn't offended, only taken aback. He pulled up a chair in that possessive, natural way of his and sank into it, dropping the dress onto his knees. He studied her. She willed herself not to look away.
"I hadn't thought of Lirah like that. ~ Marie Rutkoski

If I could turn my thoughts into spoken words and share them with someone, they'd become real and mean something. Now, they were only lines that could be erased when I didn't feel them anymore or hopeful thoughts that, like shadows, would disappear when the sun went away. - Rebecca Meyer, Crooked Lines ~ Holly Michael

If I could sleep with my arms around you, the ink could stay in the bottle. ~ Shelly King

Hey Wanda! Hey Ian!" Jamie was all grins, his messy hair bouncing as he moved..."Guess what? Jared was saying at lunch that he didn't think it was fair for you to have to move out of the room you were used to. He said we weren't being good hosts. He said you should move back in with me! Isn't that great? I asked him if I could tell you right away, and he said that was a good idea. He said you would be in here."
"I'll bet he did," Ian murmured.
"So, what do you think, Wanda? We get to be roomies again!"
"But Jamie, where will Jared stay?"
"Wait - let me guess," Ian interrupted. "I bet he said the room was big enough for three. Am I right?"
"Yeah. How did you know?"
"Lucky guess"
...
"Will you come back?" Jamie begged against my shoulder..."If that's what you want, Jamie. Okay."
"Woo hoo!" Jamie crowed in my ear. "Cool! I'm gonna go tell Jared! I'll get you some food, too, okay?...You want something, Ian?"
"Sure, kid. I want you to tell Jared he's shameless. ~ Stephenie Meyer

His dark eyes were on the road ahead, thoughtful. "No. I was hoping to go back to Tucson and see if I could get this hot chick I know to go out with me. I hear she's in demand, though. She keeps putting me off each time I try to plan something romantic."
"Yeah, well, maybe if you come up with a good itinerary, you could lure her out."
"I was thinking dinner at Joe's."
I made a face. "If that's the case, maybe you'd better brace yourself for rejection."
"Red Pepper Bistro?"
"Okay. Now you're in the zone."
"Followed by a long massage in the sauna."
"That's pretty good too."
"And then indecent things in the sauna."
"I hope you mean you'll be doing the indecent things - because I more than did my share last night."
Kiyo glanced over at me with a mischievous grin. "Who says I'm talking about you? ~ Richelle Mead

Death by a blow or just by the fall?" asked Detective Zach, who was standing beside me at the accident site. "Do you have maybe an X-ray machine with you?" I replied angrily. "After all, I would be grateful if I could have your finding today," said Zach. ~ Scott Andrew Selby

My mother's dying and may not live through the week. So, yes, I'd rather die trying to save her than live with the guilt of wondering if I could have. If you can't understand caring that much for someone you love then you're one coldhearted bastard. (Abbie) ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon

I would not want to live if I could not perform. It's in my will. I am not to be revived unless I can do an hour of stand-up. ~ Joan Rivers

Don't step on shits, don't be part of shits, don't shit on others as you escape from other bullshits." ~ Angelica Hopes, an excerpt from If I Could Tell You ~ Angelica Hopes

If I could give one tip for people - it's not an exercise or nutrition regimen. It's to walk your talk and believe in yourself, because at the end of the day, the dumbbell and diet don't get you in shape. It's your accountability to your word. ~ Brett Hoebel

I would think I'd accomplished it all if I could get to play Quasimodo. ~ Elias Koteas

As a Welshman that can't sing, I never feel more proud to be Welsh than when I hear the Treorchy Male Choir - the Master Choir of them all. If I could sing I would apply for membership myself. ~ Anthony Hopkins

That works for now." Eve's stomach began to clench and jitter. There were tears swimming in her aide's eyes. Peabody's lips were quivering. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Nothing. Sir."
"How come you're going to cry? You know how I feel about crying on the job."
"I'm not crying." And it appalled her that she was on the edge of it. "I just don't feel very well, that's all. I wonder, sir, if I could be excused from the briefing at sixteen hundred. ~ J.D. Robb

All of nature talks to me - if I could just figure out what it's saying - trees are swinging in the breeze. They're talking to me. Insects are rubbing their legs together. They're all talking. They're talking to me. ~ Laurie Anderson

If I could have anyone or anything, it'd be you. ~ Kit Rocha

When I first started writing these kind of songs that would eventually become Decemberists songs, I was writing them because I knew that nobody was listening at the time and that it wouldn't hurt to challenge myself and get weirder and see if I could alienate more people ~ Colin Meloy

So for me having that element of being able to be competitive wasn't a problem. I'm very competitive. I thought if I could skate first, acting would come second. I could say my lines and then go do what I was saying. You don't have to fake it, you're not really acting. ~ John Robinson

I have always been obsessed with naming things. If I could name them, I could know them. If I could name them, I could tame them. They could be my friends. ~ Eve Ensler

Storytelling is a business of unique snowflakes. Every writer is different; every book is different; every reader is different. This is why it's so hard to give writing advice, because what works for me might be poison to someone else. But if I could make one absolute assertion, it would be this: If you are not enjoying your writing, you're doing it wrong. A book is not a battle, nor is it a conquest. A book is a story, and telling it should be an enjoyable exercise. So the next time you don't want to write, don't waste time beating yourself up. Instead, stop and ask yourself why. Why do you not want to do this fundamentally enjoyable thing? What's really going on? ~ Rachel Aaron

And if I could talk to you all day I would
I'd cling onto your words, syllables, breaths
and I would neatly pack them away into my pocket
just to listen to you speak over and over again
when it's 3am and I am sad and tired
and my heart is aching for the lullaby
that is your voice. ~ Natalija Snjegota

If I could be in any band, I think it would have to be The Beatles. That would have been a lot of fun. ~ Jason Behr

You've earned an honorable death, creature." He meets my gaze; his eyes begin to glow, as if filled with stars. I can't look away. "This will not hurt for long."

There is no sympathy in Death's starry eyes, nothing but resolve as he secures my wrists, pinning them with one gloved hand. He raises the other to his mouth, using his teeth to tug off the gauntlet.

To touch me.

- I'm coming for you, Empress. -

I woke, shooting upright. Death was in my dreams and in my mind. It was as if I could sense his presence in my head, a heavy feeling. Like being possessed. ~ Kresley Cole

You saw my leg?"
"How can a man help what he sees?" he said. "And, if I could add, you possess a very fine leg. ~ Shannon Hale

I always thought if I could just put something in words perfectly enough, people would get the idea, and it would change things. That's a harmless conceit. With people, too, you constantly think, 'If I'm nice to people and treat them well, they'll appreciate it and behave better.' They won't, but it's still not a bad way to live. ~ Neil Peart

The moonlight fell across her gold strands, looking for all the world like copper threads. I half expected them to sing in clinking charms every time her head moved. I hugged her closely to me, hoping to squeeze the bad memories from her life. I'd absorb them from her, if I could. Just take them and endure the obvious ache they caused her. - Callum Tate from Callum & Harper ~ Fisher Amelie

People asked if I could have played the Terminator. Are you kidding? Not a chance, I never could have played the Terminator. ~ Sylvester Stallone

Had to be here to understand, he had said. He'd meant here in Chicago; but he could also have meant here in my shoes, an older black man who still burns from a lifetime of insults, of foiled ambitions, of ambitions abandoned before they've been tried. I asked myself if I could truly understand that. I assumed, took for granted, that I could. Seeing me, these men had made the same assumption. ~ Barack Obama

From the beginning, when I first got an idea for a story and wondered if I could write it, it has always been the story that has driven me. ~ Jean M. Auel

I had arrived at an understanding of faith that had far more to do with trust than with certainty. I trusted God to be God even if I could not say who God was for sure. I trusted God to sustain the world although I could not say for sure how that happened. I trusted God to hold me and those I loved, in life and in death, without giving me one shred of conclusive evidence that it was so. ~ Barbara Brown Taylor

E-mail is far more convenient than the telephone, as far as I'm concerned. I would throw my phone away if I could get away with it. ~ Tom Hanks

If I could have one prayer answered, I would pray for patience. I move so fast sometimes. I try to slow down. ~ Debra Winger

If I could grow wings, I could fly. Only people can't grow wings," he say's. "Real or not real?"
"Real," I say. "But people don't need wings to survive."
"Mockingjays do. ~ Suzanne Collins

I was always too mature for my age - and not very happy. I had no young friends. I wish I could go back to those days. If I could only live it all again, how I would play and enjoy other girls. What a fool I was. ~ Maria Callas

If I could wash away one memory from my life to date, it would be the suffering in his eyes while I was raped in front of him. ~ Pam Godwin

After my dad started making duck calls, he'd leave town for a few days, driving all over Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas trying to sell them. He left me in charge of the fishing operation. I was only a teenager, but it was my responsibility to check almost eighty hoop nets three times a week. Looking back now, it was pretty dangerous work for a teenager on the river, especially since I'd never done it alone. If you fell out of the boat and into the river, chances were you might drown if something went wrong and you were alone. But I was determined to prove to my father that I could do it, so I left the house one morning and spent all day on the river. I checked every one of our hoop nets and brought a mound of fish back to Kay to take to market. I was so proud of myself for pulling it off without anyone's help!
When Dad came home a couple of days later, Mom told him about the fish I'd caught and how much money we'd made. I could see the smile on his face. But then he went outside to check his boat and noticed that a paddle was missing. Instead of saying, "Good job, son," he yelled at me for losing a paddle! I couldn't believe he was scolding me over a stupid oar! I'd worked from daylight to dusk and earned enough money for my family to buy a dozen paddles! Where was the gratitude?
I was so mad that I jumped in the boat and headed to the nets to see if I could find the missing paddle. After checking about seventy nets, I was resigned to the fact that it w ~ Jase Robertson

My God, is this a date?" Jeff had asked when I asked if I could bring her along.
"I don't know," I said. "She might still be happily lesbian. ~ Jefferson Bass

I am a really bad traveler, I hate traveling and I hate being late so I figure if I could just click my fingers and be somewhere then that would be great! ~ Harry Melling

I wanted to see if I could write a good book. ~ James D. Watson

The truth is that I've spent all my life with my binoculars trained on the Maybe Islands, a pristine place of fantasy that is really no better than the razor-rocks of misery. Maybe if I had stayed on the farm ... maybe if I hadn't gone with Spike ... maybe if I could have lived more peaceably ... maybe if I'd met the right person years ago, maybe if I hadn't done this, or that or, its cousin, the other. Maybe, baby, the promised land was there and I missed it. Look at it glittering in the light. But the truth is I am inventing the maybe. I can only make the choices I make, so why torture myself with what I might have done, when all I can handle is what I have done. The Maybe Islands are hostile to human life. ~ Jeanette Winterson