Danielle

“The important thing is to keep them pledging,' he explained to his cohorts. 'It doesn't matter
whether they mean it or not. That's why they make little kids pledge allegiance even before they know what "pledge" and "allegiance" mean.' To Captain Piltchard and Captain Wren, the Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade was a glorious pain in the ass, since it complicated their task of organizing the crews for each combat mission. Men were tied up all over the squadron signing, pledging and singing, and the missions took hours longer to get under way. Effective emergency action became impossible, but Captain Piltchard and Captain Wren were both too timid to raise any outcry against Captain Black, who scrupulously enforced each day the doctrine of 'Continual Reaffirmation' that he had originated, a doctrine designed to
trap all those men who had become disloyal since the last time they had signed a loyalty oath the day before. It was Captain Black who came with advice to Captain Piltchard and Captain Wren as they pitched about in their bewildering predicament. He came with a delegation and advised them bluntly to make each man sign a loyalty oath before allowing him to fly on a combat mission.”
― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

“Fred Bockman is thirty and looks eighteen. Life has left no marks on him, because he hasn’t paid much attention to it.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Welcome to the Monkey House

“Summer friends will melt away like summer snows, but winter friends are friends forever.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

“The people who came to her booth were seeking meaning and control – but they were looking in the wrong place. When they gave themselves over to superstition, they were giving up on shaping their own destiny.”
― Ruth Ware, The Death of Mrs. Westaway