I was an only child and I had a mother and father who were just - there wasn't a straight man in the house, and I mean that in a very nice way. They were fun, and we would laugh a lot.
Betty WhiteRead
Animals are near and dear to my heart, and I've devoted my life to trying to improve their lives.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a deep affection for animals and a commitment to their welfare.
In this quote, Betty White emphasizes her profound love for animals and indicates that her life's work has revolved around enhancing their well-being. It reflects a dedication to compassion and the importance of advocating for those who cannot speak for themselves, highlighting the value of empathy and responsibility towards all living beings.
In practice
In a speech at a fundraising event for an animal shelter, one might quote Betty White to emphasize the importance of animal care.
I was an only child and I had a mother and father who were just - there wasn't a straight man in the house, and I mean that in a very nice way. They were fun, and we would laugh a lot.
Don't try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won't live long enough to find out about, but I'm still curious about them. You know people who are already saying, 'I'm going to be 30 - oh, what am I going to do?' Well, use that decade! Use them all!
Animals don't lie. Animals don't criticize. If animals have moody days, they handle them better than humans do.
I have my golden retriever now, Pontiac. He's a career-change guide dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind.
When I pontificate, it sounds so, you know, Oh, well, she's preaching. I'm not preaching, but I think maybe I learned it from my animal friends. Kindness and consideration of somebody besides yourself. I think that keeps you feeling young. I really do.
You gotta use everything you possibly can!
Don't be so fast, you're all you've got.
Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.
I know there is poor and hideous suffering, and I've seen the hungry and the guns that go to war. I have lived pain, and my life can tell: I only deepen the wound of the world when I neglect to give thanks for early light dappled through leaves and the heavy perfume of wild roses in early July and the song of crickets on humid nights and the rivers that run and the stars that rise and the rain that falls and all the good things that a good God gives.
I join the March for Life in Washington with my prayers. May God help us respect all life, especially the most vulnerable.
Olive's private view is that life depends on what she thinks of as "big bursts" and "little bursts." Big bursts are things like marriage or children, intimacies that keep you afloat, but these big bursts hold dangerous, unseen currents. Which is why you need the little bursts as well: a friendly clerk at Bradlee's, let's say, or the waitress at Dunkin' Donuts who knows how you like your coffee. Tricky business, really.
Because I've been so blessed with a background in nursing and spent so much time with patients at a really intimate, vulnerable time in their lives, the one lesson I've learned is that you never turn down a challenge where you can keep your creative integrity and your heart and soul and your sense of self.
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