"A boy is told that boys do not skip, or jump rope, but he knows that his body is capable of skipping. A girl is told not to physically fight because she is a girl, but she knows her anger is as real as her fist" -Phyllis Burke

"Your silence will not protect you" ~Audre Lorde

"If you judge people you have no time to love them" -Mother Theresa

"Be the bomb that you throw" -Lesbian Avengers

"Its all good." ~everyone, but first heard from Anastasia Mooney, once of Radar Rose

"I've gone across this country
makin' my life my own
Hadn't always done the right thing
Seems I'm drawn to the unknown." -Jane Gabrielle/Radar Rose

"Blues ain't nothin' but a good soul feelin' bad." -Sheldon Kopp

"..when you smile, others will smile too.." -Anne Frank

"..the power of truth is the fuel for the flame.." ~Emily Saliers

"It was 1995, but for two weekends every year we forgot about reality, remebered the 60's and danced the night away."-Bob Hart

"..And for everything I learn there are two I don't understand. Thats why I'm still on a search through the weather strewn church. I'm doing the best that I can and its alright." ~Emily Saliers

"All good shamans are part musicians. Thats how they cure you and that's how they maintain the trance. Good music should be good transcendence. You should get high. You should get uplifted. You should dance. You should sing." -Mickey Hart

"..And its okay if you hate that way, hate me cause I'm different, hate me cause I'm gay. Truth of the matter come around one day so its alright." ~Emily Saliers

"And we belong in the street to walk without fear
We belong in the open telling everyone we're queer
We belong in the hearts of our family
We belong everywhere, out, proud, and free..."
-Jamie Anderson

"Returning to the mountains, I gave my face to the rain,
I was cleansed of confusion, free from the pain.
Mountains said, "soar with us, you have nothing to prove."
"Keep your heart full of faith and these mountains will move."
-jane gabrielle

"You grow up the day you have your first real laugh - at yourself"-Ethel Barrymore

"I..wanted something that was impossible: to be in control of the weather. I wanted to unzip the tent door and walk into the world whenever I pleased. But that's not what going out of your comfort zone and having an adventure is all about. It's all about losing control and digging deep within to find a way to cope, to find a way to ascend the double part of the koru spiral."
-Lori Hobkirk, from Cycling the Koru, from Solo: On Her Own Adventure

"I want to feel more love-- pure and simple, not captured in a tangled web.
A single, solid love that encompasses all.
I want to fly and sing like these gulls. To hear my wings soar through the atmosphere. To catch the perfect thermal and glide all day.
I want to be fearless.
I want to sit here and watch white birds cluster on a dark tree at water's edge.
I want to trust my heart."
-Marybeth Holleman, from The Wind On My Face, from Solo: On Her Own
Adventure

"Slowly the symbolism of the situation dawned on me as I sat in awe,
understanding I was on the threshold of something profound and transforming. Alone, in undisturbed solitude, feeling. I understood all the longings I had for the soft curves of a woman's body as the naked orchids rested in the sunlight filtering through the tree canopy. I had traveled so far to avoid these feelings. It was as if the Fates had made an appointment for me."
-Vera Lucia Morits, from The Moment of Understanding, from: Solo:
On Her Own Adventure

"Knowing between passion of love and the passion of pain, knowing in your heart that the two are not the same.. knowing how to find
your strength, is to start with trust, and you have to know the difference between love and lust, and if growing apart is sometimes just a part of growing up, then knowing your heart is the very heart of knowing.. choosing bad love or no love, i'm not sure which is worse, because in this life of mine its been a blessing and a curse... in our hearts i know we're growing.. this is the very heart of knowing.." -Caroline Aiken

"Once you find your sexual identity is different than you imagined, or everyone else imagines -- it's a very profound matter. Once you eject yourself from the world of the common understandings and assumptions about who everyone is or what they should be doing, then the choices become enormous." ~Frances Fitzgerald in Cities on a Hill, a book about gay San Francisco.

"Girls who put out are tramps. Girls who don't are ladies. This is, however, a rather archaic usage of the word. Should one of you boys happen upon a girl who doesn't put out, do not jump to the conclusion that you have found a lady. What you have probably found is a Lesbian." ~ Fran Lebowitz

"..love's a waste of time..
it won't bring you love if you don't love..
it won't strength you if you ain't strong,
it won't bring you kindness if you ain't kind.."
~Mary Chapin Carpenter

"The challenge is not to forgive and forget. Real honor is one's ability to forgive and yet remember." ~anonymous

"Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative." ~Oscar Wilde

"..our rivers should be places to celebrate, not to mourn.."
-m. brooke robertshaw, commenting on the recent number of river deaths.

"Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known."
- A.A. Milne

'"..at home the journey seems less tangible.. more inward. You have to switch gears and the map, it seems, is always on the drawing board, undergoing constant revision. It's the New World.. and I am so often a frightened and reluctant Columbus.."
-Gary Winkler

"Yeah, but how many times have we all peeled out of an eddy with our hearts in our mouths and at pucker-factor 10, knowing that that particular rush of adrenaline is *exactly* what we love about running something scary? Is THAT poor judgement? Or is it 'poor judgement' only if something goes wrong, and 'extreme sports' if nothing goes wrong?"
-from a poster on rec.boats.paddle

"Woman is the surging, inevitable beauty of the sea; it is from her that life comes. Woman's life is lived in rhythm with the moon--in communion with these mysteries. Life is cyclical. Woman's life is the cycle. " -dave sloan

"Belief? What do I believe in? I believe in sun. In rock. In the dogma of the sun and the doctrine of the rock. I believe in blood, fire, woman, rivers, eagles, storm, drums, flutes, banjos, and broom-tailed horses.... "
-- Edward Abbey

"Lets look at the roots of this sickly tree
We're livin' in the branches of 5000 years of patriarchy
Don't let it hypnotize you remove yourself from the scene
Your body's beautiful
the problem is the context we've been in

To be independent, strong and big
threatens the status quo
It's only been 75 years since women had the vote
The laws have changed misogyny went underground
Anytime you hate your body society's doing just fine
Keeping you down"
-Eve Decker/Rebecca Riots

"Every time a girl reads a womanless history she learns she is worth less."
-- Myra and David Sadker, in their book Failing at Fairness:
How America's Schools Cheat Girls

"But homophobia and lesbophobia are as different from each other as men are from women. And like men and women, they are not interchangeable. Homophobia means fear of homsexuality or fear of one's own homosexual desire. Lesbophobia means fear of women-centered being- that is, women without men."
~Alix Dobkin

"Feminism means being deeply loyal to women and our interests,
and no longer serving men and their interests. When these interests
conflict, feminists put women first. "
~Alix Dobkin

"Thousands of years ago cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never
forgotten this."

"When I dare to be powerful,
to use my strength in the service of my vision,
then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."
-Audre Lorde

"if they give you lined paper, write the other way"
- juan ramon jimenez

"I Speak Because
love is positivity,
abundance,
and
truth

I Speak Because
fear is unnatural and learned
and love is natural and innate"
-from I Speak Today As One Black
Gay Man, by Keith Boykin

"And while the fear remains, when I finally look up, ready to
take that first stroke, it simply vanishes. It must be gone
so that the body is loose and can function efficiently, quickly
and naturally." -Corran Addison on Fear and Extreme Kayaking

"I'm not sure I can even envision a world without men, but I try. Trying is what keeps me sane, in as much as I am sane. Some days, hours, moments, sanity is irrelevant. I do what I can to overcome my own irrelevance. Like it or not, I am female, and I refuse to let that be irrelevant."
-B.R. Dudley

"every little seed in time will flower"
-Eve Decker, Rebecca Riots

"There is something ominous about a swift river, and something thrilling about a river of any kind. The nearest upstream bend is a gate out of mystery, the nearest downstream bend a door to further mystery."
-Wallace Stegner,
from Beyond the Hundredth Meridian:
John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West

"Its not about keeping silent
When you know there's something wrong
No one wants to start a confrontation
But it doesnt help to simply walk away
You might not be heard;
that's a chance that you take
Somethings got to give
or else its going to break"
-Andrea Prichett, Rebecca Riots

"If you dream of a world in which you can put your partner's picture on your desk, then put his picture on your desk and you will live in such a world. And if you dream of a world in which you can walk down the street holding your partner's hand, then hold her hand and you will live in such a world. If you dream of a world in which there are more openly gay elected officials, then run for office and you will live in such a world. And if you dream of a world in which you can take your partner to the office party, even if your office is the U.S. House of Representatives, then take her to the party. I do, and now I live in such a world. Remember, there are two things that keep us oppressed: them and us. We are half of the equation. There will not be a magic day when we wake up and it's now OK to express
ourselves publicly. We must make that day ourselves."
-- Lesbian U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis, speaking from the stage of the Millennium March on Washington

"He sits, regardless of
applause, and thinking as
he kneads his paws,
"What fun to be a cat!""
-taken from a photo caption

"A lot of what straight women and gay men have in common is a longing, wanting to be a part of the dominant culture, its a longing, and an anger."
-Margaret Cho

"If people are true to their emotions and respectful of their identity, then they'll be respectful of other people's identites."
-Kimberly Peirce

"I hope that in time we learn to forge our own customs instead of trying to emulate the failed straight traditions, like marriage, breeding and golf. Because of the world population explosion, gays will be idealized for our natural aversion to breeding, and those compelled to raise kids will adopt or be happy to have a dog and a cat. Three will be so many meat-free lesbians that they'll simply be referred to as "vagitarians." And probaly, after being relegated downwind year after year, the leather contigent will replace their smelly dead gear with pleather and have a heyday."
-Dan Mathews of PETA on Pride in 2100

"If thre were something short of marriage that allowed any couple to have basic security and protect themselves, we'd be talking about a very different fight. But there is no meaningful substitute for the right to marry in providing those benefits and protections. I would hope the fight for the right to marry is not just about gaining the equality and security that heterosexual couples have, but about transforming the institution and the way society views couples coming together."
-Kate Kendall, Exec. Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights

"Marriage is fundamentally a badge of citizenship, a way to create an
identity that's acceptable to our neighbors and families. In the end, our badge of citizenship, however well deserved, would [depend] on acceptance into the very institution thats responsible for obliterating sexual expresssionand autonomy."
-Paula Ettelbrick

"Our transgressive behavior-- beginning with not choosing men-- is a quality of lesbian life we cannot deomonize. Marriage as an institution upholds that division between "acceptable" and transgressive behavior, between the virgin/whore dichotomy."
-Jewelle Gomez in Ms. Magazine, June/July 2000

"According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "wed" originally meant a deposit for security or the state of being pawned."
-Jewelle Gomez in Ms. Magazine, June/July 2000

"Do not argue with Mother Nature for you are small,
insignificant and biodegradable."

"This planting of seeds is more subtle than it first appears its not just about a dollar to the homeless man it's about perceiving what's happening in this very moment and then deliberately choosing to extend love

It's really hard not to go where my whims urge me to go
but I know what sort of person I'm longing to become
if I want to help anybody in the world before I die
if I want the suffering all around me to subside
I have got to be more conscious of the things I do and don't do
every little seed in time will flower
plant the ones that lead me down a path towards really helping
I am the garden but I'm also the gardener"
-Eve Decker, Rebecca Riots

"You can't type what a lesbian is. We're anything and everything. The one thing in common is that we make love to other women. So give up trying to limit us."
~ Amanda Bearse, actor, television director

"I became a lesbian because of women, because women are beautiful, strong, and compassionate." ~ Rita Mae Brown

"Are there many things in this cool-hearted world so utterly exquisite as the pure love of one woman for another?" ~ Mary McLane, The Story of Mary MacLane by Herself

"I have a brain and a uterus, and I use both."
-Patricia Schroeder

"Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount."
-Clare Booth Luce

"The river is a killer with a pure heart."
-Jim Snyder

"Never fall in love with The River, as she is a fickle mistress.
One day she will seduce you, the next day she will destroy you.
Never fall in love with The River."

"River, river have mercy
Take me down to the sea
For if I perish on these rocks
My love no more I'll see"
-Philip Chevron, (from the song "Lorelei", sung by the Pogues)

"A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until you put her in hot water." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

"Prior to slavery, patriarchal law decreed white women were lowly inferior beings, the subordinate group in society. The subjugation of black people allwed them to vacate their despised position and assume the role of superior. Consequently it can be argued that even though white men institutionalized slavery, white women were its most immediate beneficiaries." - bell hooks

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts."
--Bertrand Russell

"If there is magic on this planet it is contained in water."
~~Loren Eiseley

"she'll stroll through male pride
amazon babes at her side.
till 'hey, baby'-
she'll jam between his eyes,
she'll slice between his thighs,
she'll insist on apologies
twice the size of his offense.
and for other women,
she'll relinquish her privilage, observe,
and be wise,
she'll compromise when some fire is stoked
by other women's desires,
but she'll never leave the flame.
and all the same she'll crave what makes her burn.
she'll learn her cunt's good name
the thick red lips, the small pink tips,
no more of this cryptic shit, ...
this vagina will be known."
-alix olson, from the poem "daughter"

"None of us is really "safe" except for those who summon unreasonable
courage and dare to stretch their limits by doing (in Yeats' words) the hardest work which is not impossible."
-from the eugene weekly

"How come we choose from just two people for president and fifty for Miss America?" - Patty Paul

"It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything." -- Josef Stalin

"I have no objection to President Nixon going to China. I just object
to his coming back." -John Schmitz (ultraright politician, then serving as
a congressperson from california)

"We also want to convey a message to the American people that there's a difference between the people of Afghanistan and the criminal government of Afghanistan. There is a river of blood between them."
-"Fatima" an activist with The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan

"Anything you do deeply is very lonely. There are many Zen students here, but the ones that are going deep are verly lonely."

"Are you lonely?" I asked him.

"Of course," he answered. "But I do not let it toss me away. It is just lonliness."

-Natalie Goldberg, Wild Mind, relaying a conversation with her teacher, Danin Katagiri Roshi.

"I was fighting for my life." - Sylvia Rivera about why she fought at
Stonewall.

"Loving yourself in a world of hate is the most radical thing you can do."
-G.L. Morrison.

"I'll be a post feminist in a post patriarchy." -anon

"....solo was so much a part of me it wasn't just an act or an isolated trip, it was a way of life." -Susan Fox Rogers

"Go now and go solo." -Susan Fox Rogers

"Grassroots encounters can play an important role as diplomatic or
political encounters. People have to be able to meet on a personal level no matter what the politicians do. We have to be able to talk to one another as human beings".
-Ester Golan, Author, Humanitarian, and Holocaust Survivor

"“When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.”
-Edward Teller

"Hope is the elevating feeling we experience when we see – in the mind’s eye – a path to a better future. Hope acknowledges the significant obstacles and deep pitfalls along that path. True hope has no room for delusion. Clear-eyed, hope gives us the courage to confront our circumstances and the capacity to surmount them.”
-Dr. Jerome Groopman

"At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities." ~Jean Houston

"To trace the history of a river...is to trace the history of the soul, and the history of the mind descending and arising in the body." ~Gretel Ehrlich