“That's what birthdays were. Days when you found out where you stood. Who was on your side and who wasn't. Nothing to do with how old you were.”

—  Rupert Thomson

Source: The Five Gates of Hell

Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "That's what birthdays were. Days when you found out where you stood. Who was on your side and who wasn't. Nothing to do…" by Rupert Thomson?
Rupert Thomson photo
Rupert Thomson 1
British writer 1955

Related quotes

Prevale photo

“Remember who was by your side, when to others you were invisible.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Ricorda chi era al tuo fianco, quando per gli altri eri invisibile.
Source: prevale.net

Jodi Picoult photo

“If you spent your life concentrating on what everyone else thought of you, would you forget who you really were? What if the face you showed the world turned out to be a mask… with nothing beneath it?”

Jodi Picoult book Nineteen Minutes

Source: Nineteen Minutes

Nicholas Sparks photo

“…feeling her helplessness. There was nothing worse. Most people lived under the illusion that they were in control of their lives, but that wasn't completely true. Yeah, you could decide what to have for breakfast and what to wear and all those little things, but as soon as you stepped out into the world, you were pretty much at the mercy of everyone else around you, and all you could do was hope that if they were having a bad day, they wouldn't decide to take it out on you.”

Nicholas Sparks (1965) American writer and novelist

Jennifer Romanello, Chapter 30, p. 323
2000s, The Guardian (2003)

Walter Murch photo

“As I've gone through life, I've found that your chances for happiness are increased if you wind up doing something that is a reflection of what you loved most when you were somewhere between nine and eleven years old.”

Walter Murch (1943) American film editor and sound designer

The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film, Michael Ondaatje, 2002, ISBN 0-375-41386-3.

Stanley Tookie Williams photo

“Well, the fact that a person such as me, of my ilk, who deemed the opposing gang as an eternal enemy, it wasn't hard for people to believe me, because they knew where I stood. There were no clandestine or latent messages. Everybody knew where I stood. And for me to come out and say that what we were doing was wrong, it was believable. That's why people didn't – or at least the gang members didn't discredit my propensity and my alacrity for peace. That's why I was embraced with sincerity by those who I knew and those I didn't know on both sides of the fence.”

Stanley Tookie Williams (1953–2005) American criminal

Democracy Now! interview (2005)

Ellen DeGeneres photo

“But I do believe that's when you do your soul-searching. I think when you have these trials that life gives you, it is an opportunity to find out who you are. Not just who you are when everything's great, but who are you when every thing is taken away from you and you have nothing.”

Ellen DeGeneres (1958) American stand-up comedian, television host, and actress

Ellen on Oprah show, 9th of November 2009

Eckhart Tolle photo

“How often each day, if you were to verbalize your inner reality at that moment, would you have to say, “I don't want to be where I am?” What does it feel like when you don't want to be where you are–the traffic jam, your place of work, the airport lounge, the people you are with?”

Eckhart Tolle (1948) German writer

Source: Stillness Speaks (2003), Ch 6

“Birthdays could be such a bummer when you were older than the country you lived in.”

Lynsay Sands Canadian writer

Source: A Quick Bite

Barack Obama photo

“We were founded upon a belief in human dignity -- that no matter who you are, or where you come from, or what you look like, or what religion you practice, you are equal in the eyes of God and equal in the eyes of the law.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2015, Address to the Nation by the President on San Bernardino (December 2015)
Context: My fellow Americans, I am confident we will succeed in this mission because we are on the right side of history. We were founded upon a belief in human dignity -- that no matter who you are, or where you come from, or what you look like, or what religion you practice, you are equal in the eyes of God and equal in the eyes of the law. Even in this political season, even as we properly debate what steps I and future Presidents must take to keep our country safe, let’s make sure we never forget what makes us exceptional. Let’s not forget that freedom is more powerful than fear; that we have always met challenges -- whether war or depression, natural disasters or terrorist attacks -- by coming together around our common ideals as one nation, as one people. So long as we stay true to that tradition, I have no doubt America will prevail.

Jascha Heifetz photo

“No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other.”

Jascha Heifetz (1901–1987) Lithuanian violinist

Heifetz official web site http://www.jaschaheifetz.com/about/quotes.html

Related topics