Xenia Bard > Xenia's Quotes

“Tonight," began Potapov, his wrinkled nose twitching above his thin lips, "we plan to pass a new resolution, not just for Ispas, but for all the villages in the region. Effective immediately and until further notice, every horse breeder, like you, Comrade Lazar, will not just try, but will ensure—no, he will guarantee—the pregnancy and birth of all female horses!" The fifty people in the hall fell silent, and Potapov asked, "Is that clear? Is there anything unclear in my words?"
"Anything unclear in my words?" Isabel echoed him.
"Yes, Comrade Potapov," Roman replied. "There are some unclear aspects." Isabelle and Sissy pinched him, and Isabelle mimicked Potapov's grating tenor, "One hundred percent pregnancy and birth of all female horses!" Sissy nearly burst into laughter. Roman detached himself from his wife and sister and strode to the aisle between the benches, where he could speak without their interruptions.
"You claim to be an animal husbandry expert from Moscow?" Roman inquired. "Please enlighten us on how to achieve such remarkable outcomes."
Ostap stood up—Ostap, who never spoke at these meetings! Even Yana was taken aback. "Excuse me," Ostap said, seemingly astonished at his own audacity, "but is that what they call female horses in Moscow, 'women mares'? Because here in Ukraine, we simply call them 'mares'."
"Never mind that," dismissed Potapov.
"And by the way, mares don't 'give birth'," Ostap added, his eyes ablaze with animosity and his voice dripping with scorn. "They foal."
"Let's proceed," Potapov gestured towards the Lazar family members seated with Mirik and Petka. "Comrade Zhuk has informed me about you, the Lazar family," he stated. Petka immediately stood up and moved to another seat. Mirik also shifted his chair slightly further away—just a few centimeters, but it was enough! He distanced himself so as not to be associated with the troublesome Lazars, Isabelle realized. Incredible. As problematic as his wife.”
― Paulina Simons

“Ukraine, March 1929

Roman and Ostap founded an organization called OWK. They handcrafted leaflets with thick pencils and distributed them across the city, sticking them to doors and walls. When an OGPU agent of Afros confronted Roman, he boldly stated, "I serve the revolution, comrade. What about you?" Later, Afros and Zhuk summoned the brothers to a commandeered house in the village square. There, Zhuk questioned if Roman wanted to be sent to Murmansk, which Roman refused. He argued that no kulaks were left in Ispas after the severe purge six weeks earlier. Therefore, they decided to form a group open to everyone, planning its first meeting for the next week. OWK, standing for 'Organization without Kulaks,' was envisioned by Roman as a collective for the non-wealthy farmers of Ispas. He believed that maintaining class struggle among Ukrainian farmers was difficult, as the categories changed with each harvest. Given the recent bad harvest and the absence of kulaks, Roman was unsure how to continue the class conflict as Zhuk had outlined. Nonetheless, he reassured Zhuk with a friendly smile about their commitment to removing the last anti-communist elements, thus establishing OWK. Jock insisted that true commitment meant joining collectivization. Roman recognized the inefficiency of small farms and was open to discussing it further, alluding to important details about the Lazar family's land.”
― Paulina Simons

“In the bedrooms some of the men were fighting two women. One threw a knife and aimed it at Isabel's face. He missed, and the knife embedded itself in the wall behind her. Isabel grabbed her weapon, but Roman had already entered the room. He pushed Isabel aside, threw the knife at the assailant, then pointed the weapon at the other man. "Where is my mother?" he demanded. in a loud and scary voice.
"How should I know, for all..."
Roman interrupted him with a shot. He passed the gun to Isabel, took the machine gun from her, and proceeded to the next room. There, Sissy and Ostap were holding two men at gunpoint. "Move aside, my wife," Roman commanded, as he took hold of the DP machine gun. "Where is my mother?" I don't know where she is," Roman no longer listened. He repeated "no, no, no," his expression echoing the denial. The other man raised his hands defensively. "I'll only ask once," Roman declared. "I don't know where your mother is!" the man yelled. Roman shot him. In the living room, Nikura pinned four men against the wall. As they tried to avert the inevitable, one of the Soviets offered a different tactic. "I know where your mother is," he claimed. "Jock told me." "Where is she?"
"I want my life in exchange for..." Roman didn't let him finish the sentence; he shot him. "Where is my mother?" the remaining three men demanded again. "In Castropol," an enterprising Soviet offered, "I'll make one phone call..." But it was Isabelle who shoved Roman aside and unleashed the machine gun's fury. She aimed and fired again. The lead bullet from the second burst silenced the two who had yet to speak.
"I had a good feeling about the last one," Roman said. "I think he knew something.”
― Paulina Simons

“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
― Ray Bradbury

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
― George Orwell, 1984

“I want you always to remember me. Will you remember that I existed, and that I stood next to you here like this?”
― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

“You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one.”
― John Lennon

“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”
― Narcotics Anonymous

“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”
― Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time

“Go to heaven for the climate and hell for the company.”
― Benjamin Franklin Wade

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
― Anne Frank, Anne Frank's Tales from the Secret Annex: A Collection of Her Short Stories, Fables, and Lesser-Known Writings

“One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don't throw it away.”
― Stephen Hawking

“It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them!”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

“Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

“Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

“Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

“Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

“All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters

“God has no religion.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)... There are just some kind of men who - who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

“I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong.”
― John Lennon

“Parents are like God because you wanna know they're out there, and you want them to think well of you, but you really only call when you need something.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters

“If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.”
― Mark Twain

“It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.”
― Maurice Switzer, Mrs. Goose, Her Book

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).”
― Mark Twain

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
― Socrates

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”
― Isaac Asimov

“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”
― John Lennon

“May you live every day of your life.”
― Jonathan Swift