Summer of My German Soldier

Even if you forget everything else I want you to always remember that you are a person of value, and you have a friend who loved you enough to give you his most valued possession.

Like the Bible tells us, when a man will lay down his life for a friend, well, then there ain't no greater love in this here world than that.

And marking off time struck me as something like counting empty spaces—spaces you know can't ever be filled.

It seems to me that a man who is incapable of humor is capable of cruelty.

What do you know about sooner or later? Is a moment only a moment when you're in pain?

A person's got to think, otherwise that person's no better than a trained seal balancing a ball on his nose. If only that seal could think, he'd know he was making a thousand children laugh.

Keep in mind that life produces no maestros, only students of varying shades of ineptitude.

I wondered if a blessing is still a blessing if it lasts for only a little while.

I believe that love is better than hate. And that there is more nobility in building a chicken coop than in destroying a cathedral.

The ways of the Lord are filled with wonder and mystery.

When people's emotions are involved they don't want to listen.

Folks keep forgetting that wishing don't make nothing so, but prayer sometimes do.

The secret is in absolutely refusing to let the river beat you down. If I had to, I'd measure my progress in inches. One more inch I've swum—one less inch to swim. Once you know the secret, then nobody's river can bring you down.

Sometimes when a person be thinking about one thing it don't mean they is mad about another thing.

One thing you can say about him is that he's appreciative. He's just happy having someone to sit with.

The secret is in absolutely refusing to let the river beat you down.

But you, Pearl, never liked anything once it was yours.

My father chose acquiescence and life rather than resistance and death. Not a very admirable choice, but a very human one.

My deception was believed because it was built on a foundation of truth … Hitler's first layer is an undeniable truth, such as: The German workers are poor. The second layer is divided equally between flattery and truth: The German worker deserves to be prosperous. The third layer is fabrication: The Jews and the Communists and Jews have stolen what is rightfully yours.