Bette Greene Quotes

• It was like that. Sometimes I'd go for a period—days or weeks—without feeling the full sweep of my loss, and then as unexpected as a thunderclap, the realization would rip the protective coating from my senses. Maybe that's the way it is with trick knees and aging griefs. Totally pain free one moment and absorbingly painful the next.

  Bette Greene

  Pain, Rip, Grief

  Bette Greene (1988). “Morning is a long time coming”, Starfire

  45 Copy quote

• I wondered if a blessing is still a blessing if it lasts for only a little while.

  Bette Greene

  Blessing, Littles, Lasts

  Bette Greene (2000). “Summer of my German soldier”

  16 Copy quote

• When people's emotions are involved they don't want to listen.

  Bette Greene

  People, Want, Emotion

  Bette Greene (2000). “Summer of my German soldier”

  8 Copy quote

• I believe that love is better than hate. And that there is more nobility in building a chicken coop than in destroying a cathedral.

  Bette Greene

  Hate, Believe, Love Is

  Bette Greene (1984). “Summer of my German soldier”, Starfire

  10 Copy quote

• Even if you forget everything else I want you to always remember that you are a person of value, and you have a friend who loved you enough to give you his most valued possession.

  Bette Greene

  Forget Everything, Giving, Want

  Bette Greene (1993). “Morning Is a Long Time Coming”, Laurel Leaf

  9 Copy quote

• The world is not a rational place.

  Bette Greene

  World, Reason, Rational

  8 Copy quote

• It seems to me that a man who is incapable of humor is capable of cruelty.

  Bette Greene

  Men, Cruelty, Incapable

  7 Copy quote

• What is genius, anyway, if it isn't the ability to give an adequate response to a great challenge?

  Bette Greene

  Giving, Challenges, Genius

  Bette Greene (2000). “Summer of my German soldier”

  10 Copy quote

• Look inside yourself and you'll find a world of things (a world of your own experiences)worth writing about.

  Bette Greene

  Writing, Looks, World

  10 Copy quote

• Keep in mind that life produces no maestros, only students of varying shades of ineptitude.

  Bette Greene

  Mind, Ineptitude, Maestro

  13 Copy quote

• I love Arkansas but I think Arkansas has its share of unlit minds.

  Bette Greene

  Thinking, Mind, Arkansas

  5 Copy quote

• Like the Bible tells us, when a man will lay down his life for a friend, well, then there ain't no greater love in this here world than that.

  Bette Greene

  Men, World, Wells

  Bette Greene (2000). “Summer of my German soldier”

  7 Copy quote

• Experiencing life through a book can help you learn without all the pain of going through the experiences first hand.

  Bette Greene

  Pain, Book, Hands

  5 Copy quote

• Longevity can't be the only test of love.

  Bette Greene

  Tests, Longevity, Tests Of Love

  Bette Bette Greene (2011). “Morning Is a Long Time Coming”, p.294, Open Road Media

  6 Copy quote

• Why is it I'm always so quick to believe that people are thinking...believing the worst about me?

  Bette Greene

  Believe, Thinking, People

  Bette Greene (1988). “Morning is a long time coming”, Starfire

  6 Copy quote

• And taking care of somebody else made me feel good. Like discovering you're more than you thought you were. More even than you hoped to be.

  Bette Greene

  Feel Good, Care, Made

  Bette Bette Greene (2011). “Morning Is a Long Time Coming”, p.50, Open Road Media

  6 Copy quote

• Fun, like champagne bubbles, can't completely fill you up.

  Bette Greene

  Fun, Champagne, Bubbles

  Bette Greene (1984). “Summer of my German soldier”, Starfire

  7 Copy quote

• And marking off time struck me as something like counting empty spaces—spaces you know can't ever be filled.

  Bette Greene

  Space, Empty, Counting

  Bette Greene (2000). “Summer of my German soldier”

  6 Copy quote

• I was hooked on writing. I mean, where else can you get paid for sticking your nose into somebody else's business?

  Bette Greene

  Writing, Mean, Noses

  5 Copy quote

• Maybe...in a way, this coffee reminds me of something. Maybe...maybe only a philosopher or a mad man would make this connection, but it's a little like life. I mean it's powerful going down and that doesn't even take into account the aftertaste, which really takes getting used to.

  Bette Greene

  Powerful, Coffee, Mean

  4 Copy quote

• A person's got to think, otherwise that person's no better than a trained seal balancing a ball on his nose. If only that seal could think, he'd know he was making a thousand children laugh.

  Bette Greene

  Inspiring, Children, Thinking

  Bette Greene (1984). “Summer of my German soldier”, Starfire

  5 Copy quote

• What do you know about sooner or later? Is a moment only a moment when you're in pain?

  Bette Greene

  Pain, Moments, Sooner Or Later

  Bette Greene (2000). “Summer of my German soldier”

  5 Copy quote

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