Hummingbird Weekly Quote. 2020 Edition.

Dec 28

Dec 28 Hummingbird Weekly Quote. 2020 Edition.

Editor’s Note: Hummingbird is pleased to continue our collection of eminently quotable people and their thoughts, curated by Lynda Bernard. Each week a new one will be added; there will be no commentary with it, rather the quote will stand alone as food for thought. Some will be famous, others more obscure. They might be ripped out of today’s headlines, or possibly sage words from writers we have known over time. Regardless, our purpose is to engage and entertain you--to present something you might agree or disagree with; maybe laugh (or cry) about.

December 28, 2020
“Hope -- Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us...A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.” Barak Obama
December 21, 2020
“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!”
Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas
December 14, 2020
Today’s quotes are all from “Peanuts,” by Charles M. Schulz
“I’ve developed a new philosophy. I only dread one day at a time.” Charlie Brown
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.” Lucy
“Dear IRS, Please remove me from your mailing list.” Snoopy
December 7, 2020
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” Anne Lamott
November 30, 2020
“The thing is, when I look back to Yesterday, which was written when I was 21 or something, there’s me talking like a 90-year-old: ‘Suddenly I’m not half the man I used to be.’ Things like that and Eleanor Rigby have a kind of wisdom. You would naturally think, ‘OK, as I get older I’m going to get deeper,’ but I’m not sure that’s true. I think it’s a fact of life that personalities don’t change much. Throughout your life, there YOU are.” Paul McCartney
November 23, 2020
“My good friend would always say to me that it doesn’t matter what you did yesterday; if you’re here today, that’s what counts. Being present. Caring." Yo-Yo Ma
November 16, 2020
“Ridicule is the first and last argument of a fool." Charles Simmons
November 9, 2020
“It's a time to heal in America. I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but to unify, who doesn't see Red states and Blue states, but a United States.” Joe Biden, President-elect
“While I may be the first woman in this office, I won't be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.” Kamala Harris, Vice President-elect
November 2, 2020
“History says don't hope
On this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime,
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise again
and hope and history rhyme.”
Seamus Heaney, excerpt from The Cure at Troy
October 26, 2020
“Few things are as satisfying as uncovering a hard gem of truth in the shifting sands of opinion, politics and legend.” Mary Mann
October 19, 2020
“People have power and don’t know it, or if they do know it, they abuse it.”
Seimone Augustus
October 12, 2020
“The master said You must write what you see.
But what I see does not move me.
The master answered Change what you see.” Louise Gluck
October 5, 2020
“Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.” Loretta LaRoche
September 28, 2020
“Watch your thoughts.
They become words.
Watch your words.
They become deeds.
Watch your deeds.
They become habits.
Watch your habits.
They become character.
Character is everything.”
The following people have been credited with versions of these powerful words! Ralph Waldo Emerson, Lao Tzu, Frank Outlaw, Gautama Buddha, and the father of Margaret Thatcher
September 21, 2020 — Dedicated to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice, American Jurist Icon

September 14, 2020
“Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.” Samuel Johnson
September 7, 2020
“The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.” John Ruskin
August 31, 2020
“Washington has not changed Donald Trump. Donald Trump has changed Washington.” Ivanka Trump
August 24, 2020
“Ella Baker, a giant of the civil rights movement, left us with this wisdom: Give people light and they will find a way. Give people light. Those are words for our time.” Vice President Joseph Biden, Acceptance Speech, Democratic Nomination for President, 2020
August 17, 2020
“Our unity is our strength, and diversity is our power.”
“I was raised to be an independent woman, not the victim of anything.”
Both quotes from Kamala Harris, the first woman of color, of Jamaican and Indian decent, to be nominated as a candidate for Vice President of the United States.
August 10, 2020
“I lie here in a riot of sunlight watching the day break and the clouds flying. Everything is going to be all right.” Derek Mahon from his poem Everything Is Going To Be All Right
August 4, 2020
“When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.” Essay Published Posthumously, Congressman John Lewis
“Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.” Essay Published Posthumously, Congressman John Lewis
July 27, 2020
“I've always admired you so. I wish I could be more like you.” Melanie Hamilton, as played by Olivia de Havilland, Gone With The Wind
July 20, 2020
“We must be bold, brave, courageous, and push and pull until we redeem the soul of America and move closer to a community at peace with itself, where no one will be left out because of race, color, or nationality.” Congressman John Lewis
July 13, 2020
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein
July 6, 2020
“They threw everything at me, everything in the book
I had nothing to fight with but a butcher's hook
They had no pity, they never lend a hand
I can't sing a song that I don't understand…”
Bob Dylan, Goodbye Jimmy Reed 2020
June 29, 2020
“Happiest are the people who give most happiness to others.” Denis Diderot
June 22, 2020
“It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”
“There is never time in the future in which we will work out our salvation. The challenge is in the moment; the time is always now.”
Both quotes by great American writer James Baldwin 1924 - 1987.
June 15, 2020
Really Bad Analogies Written By High School Students
-“John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who also had never met.”
-“She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh like the sound a dog makes just before he throws up.”
-“From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and jeopardy comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30.”
-“The lamp just sat there, like an inanimate object.”
June 8, 2020
“Say his name, George Floyd. I Can't Breathe. Black Lives Matter. Let Us Live. No Justice, No Peace.” Statements of protesters in 40 countries around the world
June 1, 2020
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” John F. Kennedy
May 24, 2020 With Appreciation on Veterans Day.
“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with freedom.” Bob Dylan
May 17, 2020
“When all this is over, may we never again take for granted a handshake with a stranger, full shelves at the stores, conversation with neighbors, a crowded theatre, Friday night out, the taste of communion, a routine checkup, the school rush each morning, coffee with a friend, the stadium roaring, each deep breath, a boring Tuesday, life itself.
When this ends, may we find that we have become more like the people we wanted to be, we were called to be, we hoped to be and may we stay that way - better for each other because of the worst.” Laura Kelly Fanucci
May 11, 2020
Image and Quote by Charlie Mackesy

May 4, 2020
“Let us remember how small our differences are in the face of this shared threat.” President George W. Bush
April 27, 2020
“I can’t believe I have to say this, but please don’t drink bleach.” Joe Biden
April 20, 2020
“Scatter kindness.” Origin Unknown
April 13, 2020
“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Winston Churchill

April 6, 2020
“In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears, and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.” Fred Rogers
March 30, 2020
“It is in the spirit of togetherness that we will rise.” Ralph Lauren

March 23, 2020
“And this is a time for a little gentility. It is a time for a smile when you are walking past someone. It is a time for a nod. It is time to say hello. It is a time for patience and don’t let the little things get you annoyed. That’s New York at its best. That was New York a after 9/11.” Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York
March 16, 2020
“You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.” Bob Marley
March 9, 2020
To Commemorate International Women’s Day 2020
“From my grandmother to my mother, to me, to my daughter to my granddaughter there has been progress, definitely.” Lynda Bernard
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fall. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” Oprah Winfrey

“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” Erica Jong

March 2, 2020
“Politics at its worst is ugly. But at its best, politics can lift us up. It is not just policymaking. It is moral. It is soul craft.” Pete Buttigieg
February 24, 2020
“The story of #MeToo, of what the movement is about, is that men no longer have tacit permission to use their power or prestige to sexually access girls’ and women’s bodies. Their power and position cannot be used in secret or in the open to exploit asymmetry of power. There will be consequences in the courtroom, in employment and in society.
This is the way it’s supposed to be. This is the way it’s supposed to be.” Ashley Judd
February 17, 2020
“Now, today is the day we honor, of course, the Presidents, ranging from George Washington, who couldn’t tell a lie, to George Bush, who couldn’t tell the truth, to Bill Clinton, who couldn’t tell the difference.” Jay Leno
February 10, 2020
“I have been a scoundrel all my life, I’ve been selfish. I’ve been cruel at times, hard to work with and I’m grateful that so many of you in this room have given me a second chance. I think that’s when we’re at our best: when we support each other. Not when we cancel each other out for our past mistakes, but when we help each other to grow. When we educate each other. When we guide each other to redemption.” Joaquin Phoenix

February 4, 2020, UPDATE TO FEBRUARY 3rd WEEKLY QUOTE
“It might be helpful to have a President and government that understands technology so this sort of thing doesn’t happen.” Andrew Yang.
February 3, 2020
“There are only three tickets out of Iowa.” Political Axiom regarding the Iowa Caucuses

January 27, 2020
“Have a good time. Life is too short to get bogged down and be discouraged. You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Put one foot in front of the other, smile and just keep on rolling.” Kobe Bryant
Inspiration from a true “great” in terms of mastery, determination, grit, and giving back.
“Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise.”
“When you make a choice and say come hell or high water, I am going to be this, then you should not be surprised when you are that. It should not be something that is intoxicating or out of character because you have seen this moment for so long that…when that moment comes, of course it is here because it has been here the whole time, because it has been (in your mind) the whole time.” RIP Kobe Bryant. You will be missed in this world.
January 20, 2020
“A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true.” Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)
January 13, 2020
“There was a senator, I think it was after my pancreatic cancer, who announced with great glee that I was going to be dead within six months. That senator, whose name I have forgotten, is now himself dead, and I am very much alive.” Ruth Bader Ginsburg
January 6, 2020
“May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” Peter Marshall