Letters of Note Quotes

“As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness. Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society—things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly. It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbor seeds of goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the conditions are right. Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out. Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“Every man is the sum total of his reactions to experience. As your experiences differ and multiply, you become a different man, and hence your perspective changes. This goes on and on. Every reaction is a learning process; every significant experience alters your perspective.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“But beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living WITHIN that way of life.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“Ecstasy is only recognizable when one has experienced pain. Beauty only exists when set against ugliness. Peace is not appreciated without war ahead of it. How we wish that life could support only the good. But it vanishes when its opposite no longer exists as a setting. It is a white marble on unmelting snow. And Jimmy stands clear and unique in a world where much is synthetic and dishonest and drab. He came and rearranged our molecules.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“Perhaps you will learn from this that books are sacred to free men for very good reasons, and that wars have been fought against nations which hate books and burn them.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“while I don’t agree or care for what you are saying, I do support your right to say it, for herein lies true freedom’.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“Censorship is the tool of those who have the need to hide actualities from themselves and from others. Their fear is only their inability to face what is real, and I can’t vent any anger against them. I only feel this appalling sadness. Somewhere, in their upbringing, they were shielded against the total facts of our existence. They were only taught to look one way when many ways exist.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“Freedom of speech’ means you support the right of people to say exactly those ideas which you do not agree with.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out. Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“A work of art is useless as a flower is useless. A flower blossoms for its own joy. We gain a moment of joy by looking at it. That is all that is to be said about our relations to flowers. Of course man may sell the flower, and so make it useful to him, but this has nothing to do with the flower. It is not part of its essence. It is accidental. It is a misuse.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“Do!”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note

“Well ‘Bre’r ‘Villec, I guess I’ll ‘put it ‘down, and get some ‘shut eye.” It’s the ‘Wee ‘hours in the ‘Morning. I’ve ‘Just ‘finished ‘Work. I am too ‘tired to ‘raise an ‘eye ‘lid. Tee hee. So I’ll leave this little message with you. “Here goes’. When you ‘Walk—through a ‘Storm— Put your ‘Head—up ‘high— And ‘Don’t be Afraid of the ‘Dark— At the ‘End of a ‘Storm— Is a ‘Gol-den ‘Sky— And a Sweet Silver ‘Song— Of a ‘Lark— ‘Walk—’on—through the ‘Wind— ‘Walk—’on—through the ‘Rain— Though your ‘Dreams be “Tossed and ‘Blown— ‘Walk—’on—’Walk—’on— With ‘Hope in your heart And ‘You’ll ‘Nev-er ‘Walk ‘A-’lone— You’ll ‘Nev-er ‘Walk A-lone— (one more time) ‘Walk—’on—’Walk—’on—with ‘Hope in your ‘heart—And ‘you’ll Nev-er ‘Walk ‘A-lone—’You’ll ‘Nev-er ‘Walk—’A-lone—. “Savvy?”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“On ne règne sur les âmes que par le calme”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“What is truth to one may be disaster to another. I do not see life through your eyes, nor you through mine. If I were to attempt to give you specific advice, it would be too much like the blind leading the blind.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“you are in love—that’s a good thing—that’s about the best thing that can happen to anyone.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“Dearest that you know I cherish no sentimental rubbish about remarriage—when the right man comes to help you in life you ought to be your happy self again—I wasn’t a very good husband but I hope I shall be a good memory certainly the end is nothing for you to be ashamed of and I like to think that the boy will have a good start in parentage of which he may be proud.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“You, dead, are so much better than anyone else alive.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“remember that all advice can only be a product of the man who gives it.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“The answer—and, in a sense, the tragedy of life—is that we seek to understand the goal and not the man.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“The worth of a person’s life lies not in the number of years lived; rather it rests on how well that person has absorbed the lessons of that life, how well that person has come to understand and distil the multiple, messy aspects of the human experience.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Mothers

“You are at once a lasting presence and an unhealed wound.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Mothers

“Obviously, you did not die. Death is a convention, a certification to the end of pain, something for the vital statistics book, not binding upon anyone but the keepers of graveyard records.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Mothers

“Don’t stop learning and studying. If you really want to, you will reach your goal.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Mothers

“Life is scary, and it’s glorious. You’re never going to get it all right. You’ll get it deliciously messed up, and that will be part of figuring out who you are.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Mothers

“One has to learn how to distinguish real gold from tinsel. It is hard because tinsel sometimes glitters so dazzlingly.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Mothers

“The goal is absolutely secondary: it is the functioning toward the goal which is important.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“As I see it then, the formula runs something like this: a man must choose a path which will let his ABILITIES function at maximum efficiency toward the gratification of his DESIRES.”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience

“dear laurence,

thankyou for your gorgeous and charming letter, you brighten up my dim life. i read the whole fucking thing, dear. of course, i'd love to see you in your black dress and your white socks too. but most of all i want to see you take a deep breath and do whatever you must to survive and find something to be that you can love. you're obviously a bright fucking chick, w/ a big heart too and i want to wish you a (belated) HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY 21st b'day and happy spirit. i was very miserable and fighting hard on my 21st b'day, too. people booed me on the stage, and i was staying in someone else's house and i was scared. it's been a long road since then, but pressure never ends in this life. 'perforation problems' by the way means to me also the holes that will always exist in any story we try to make of our lives. so hang on, my love, and grow big and strong and take your hits and keep going.

all my love to a really beautiful girl. that's you laurence.

iggy pop”
― Shaun Usher, Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience