1976 Quotes

“The North Korean capital, Pyongyang, is a city consecrated to the worship of a father-son dynasty. (I came to think of them, with their nuclear-family implications, as 'Fat Man and Little Boy.') And a river runs through it. And on this river, the Taedong River, is moored the only American naval vessel in captivity. It was in January 1968 that the U.S.S. Pueblo strayed into North Korean waters, and was boarded and captured. One sailor was killed; the rest were held for nearly a year before being released. I looked over the spy ship, its radio antennae and surveillance equipment still intact, and found photographs of the captain and crew with their hands on their heads in gestures of abject surrender. Copies of their groveling 'confessions,' written in tremulous script, were also on show. So was a humiliating document from the United States government, admitting wrongdoing in the penetration of North Korean waters and petitioning the 'D.P.R.K.' (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) for 'lenience.' Kim Il Sung ('Fat Man') was eventually lenient about the men, but not about the ship. Madeleine Albright didn't ask to see the vessel on her visit last October, during which she described the gruesome, depopulated vistas of Pyongyang as 'beautiful.' As I got back onto the wharf, I noticed a refreshment cart, staffed by two women under a frayed umbrella. It didn't look like much—one of its three wheels was missing and a piece of brick was propping it up—but it was the only such cart I'd see. What toothsome local snacks might the ladies be offering? The choices turned out to be slices of dry bread and cups of warm water.

Nor did Madeleine Albright visit the absurdly misnamed 'Demilitarized Zone,' one of the most heavily militarized strips of land on earth. Across the waist of the Korean peninsula lies a wasteland, roughly following the 38th parallel, and packed with a titanic concentration of potential violence. It is four kilometers wide (I have now looked apprehensively at it from both sides) and very near to the capital cities of both North and South. On the day I spent on the northern side, I met a group of aging Chinese veterans, all from Szechuan, touring the old battlefields and reliving a war they helped North Korea nearly win (China sacrificed perhaps a million soldiers in that campaign, including Mao Anying, son of Mao himself). Across the frontier are 37,000 United States soldiers. Their arsenal, which has included undeclared nuclear weapons, is the reason given by Washington for its refusal to sign the land-mines treaty. In August 1976, U.S. officers entered the neutral zone to trim a tree that was obscuring the view of an observation post. A posse of North Koreans came after them, and one, seizing the ax with which the trimming was to be done, hacked two U.S. servicemen to death with it. I visited the ax also; it's proudly displayed in a glass case on the North Korean side.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Love, Poverty, and War: Journeys and Essays

“It was at a conference in Cyprus in 1976, where the theme was the rights of small nations, that I first met Edward Said. It was impossible not to be captivated by him: of his many immediately seductive qualities I will start by mentioning a very important one. When he laughed, it was as if he was surrendering unconditionally to some guilty pleasure. At first the very picture of professorial rectitude, with faultless tweeds, cravats, and other accoutrements (the pipe also being to the fore), he would react to a risqué remark, or a disclosure of something vaguely scandalous, as if a whole Trojan horse of mirth had been smuggled into his interior and suddenly disgorged its contents. The build-up, in other words, was worth one's effort.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch 22: A Memoir

“The one thing I know is that I am going to have a fascinating time, win-lose or what, and for that reason alone, the whole thing will have been worthwhile.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“I do enjoy the physical act of writing.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“Travelling and Tschiffley’s Ride have been my two obsessions ever since I was 12 years old.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“I am
You are beautiful
He is
We are
You are
They are”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“Just don't fall in love and don’t ever lose sight of me.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“They have all been so good to me here in Argentina that it is quite overwhelming. Their generosity is simple, sincere and total.”
― Gordon Roddick,1976

“In Argentina, eating is a sport, a pastime, an essential all rolled into one.”
― Gordon Roddick,1976

“Most of all, I need you.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“Laughter is a wickedness that lurks near the surface and breathes out with joy and maybe even relief.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“I feel as if I have done nothing yet – except shoot my mouth off!”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“If nothing else, my love, this could be a humbling experience! Perhaps it will turn me into a better human being or something. I’m sure it’s all worthwhile! ”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“Kiss my two lovely girls for me ten thousand times.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“I envy your heatwave; mine is just an eat wave.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“There was so much poetry in this journey.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“My destiny is set. My mood will be different. I just want to shit or get off the pot.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“Problems merely create answers, if that makes any sense!”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“Everything looks different and dangerous.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“Many times, we had been given completely spontaneous and selfless help by people living in the very poorest of circumstances, and not once had we been asked for money or any kind of reciprocation.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“Over and over, we have been impressed with this kind of warmth and fellow feeling throughout Paraguay.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“Lunch, an orgy of gastronomic delight.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“The mere sight of the food weakened our resolve. Eventually, we abandoned any pretence of self-control.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“In Argentina, every problem is solved by eating – no one can achieve anything unless they have a full belly.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“There is something in this incident that tumbled around my whole life. I was able to see an opportunity and seize it spontaneously.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“Nothing was planned. It all seemed to happen, and I adjusted to it. I lacked a basic factor: insecurity – anything that attracted my curiosity.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“What the fuck am I doing here?”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“Never be afraid to launch yourself into the unknown. Found dreams are made true.”
― Gordon Roddick, 1976

“Anita would never say no to anybody’s dreams.”
― Gordon Roddick

“Terrible sadness; I have lost two good years of my children. I miss those childish things around the house, tripping up over torn teddies and being unable to find my keys.”
― Gordon Roddick