Junkyard Quotes: Week 3

1.      “Do you want to take a magic turn in my purple turtle?”

A co-worker was asking another co-walker if she wanted to go out for a ride in her purple minivan, and I thought it was a colorful way to pose the question. She said that it was her kids that came up with calling her minivan a purple turtle because it is somewhat shaped that way. It got me thinking how as kids we have such great imagination and the importance of the defamiliarization activity we did in class in writing ‘baby’ poetry.

2.      “When you don’t get what you want, you get what you need.”

This is supposed to be a lyric from one of Beatles songs, and it was said by my biology professor when she was trying to explain the reasons why animals choose habitats which defer from their ideal or preferred location. I just found it a simple line that we sometimes fail to realize. We complain so much about not getting something we really wanted, that we fail to realize that we have got all that is needed. This in no way means that we should just settle for something, but it’s more to remember to be appreciative of the little things we have which are actually the essential things we need to survive.

3.      “My favorite animal is the turtle. The reason is that in order for the turtle to move, it has to stick its neck out.”

This is a quote by Ruth Westheimers that I found interesting and with which I agree. In life we face many challenges and at these times we need to remember to put ourselves out there, instead of hiding or ignoring and waiting for it to pass.

4.      "Jesus said love one another. He didn’t say love the whole world.”

This is a saying by Mother Theresa that I heard sometime back but one that I’ve been thinking about recently. I think this saying can be applied to many aspects in our lives. It really emphasizes the importance of doing any little we can, instead of saying I want to make the world a better place but right now I’m not in a position to do so or I don’t have the resources.

5.      “Human help is expensive. Robots should cost the same as a Mercedes and could be rented out. That would be a bargain compared to paying $600 a week for help.”

These lines were said by a Japanese engineer that is trying to promote the use of robots for the care of the aging population in Japan and possibly other countries as well, and was published in an article in the BBC webpage. It made me realize the decreasing value placed on human life in today’s society. It’s appalling to think that a machine can be used to care for the old, when especially at that age all you really need is love and some human touch.