“But it's our curse and our blessing to remember the past and to know there's a future.

—Charlie”

Book VII
Rebel of the Underground (2013)

Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 448.

The Crosswicks Journal, The Irrational Season (1977)
Context: If our usual response to an annoying situation is a curse, we're likely to meet emergencies with a curse. In the little events of daily living we have the opportunity to condition our reflexes, which are built up out of ordinary things. And we learn to bless first of all by being blessed. My reflexes of blessing have been conditioned by my parents, my husband, my children, my friends

Knox on the Declaration of Independence. Reported in David McCullough, 1776 (2005), p. 83.

"The Old Man and the White Horse"
In the Eye of the Storm (1991)
Context: It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. No one knows. Say only this. Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows.

Marius Melville in Ch. 17
Cassidy (1986)

As quoted in Traits of a Healthy Family (1985) by Dolores Curran, p. 199.
Context: The family is our refuge and our springboard; nourished on it, we can advance to new horizons. In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.