About three weeks ago I went to Roy Thomson Hall to see Dr. Maya Angelou speak. She was part of RT's Unique Lives series. I'm glad I went, she is 80 now and who knows how many chances to see her will arise in the future. I found her very entertaining, charismatic, and it was clear that she really enjoys being in front of an audience. The poet, actress, and singer shared many memorable stories and is endlessly quotable. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the evening.
"I seek intelligent people, not educated people because educated just means trained."
"Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage."
"Women in particular, men in general, don't whine. Don't even complain. Protest! Whining only makes you ugly at best, at worst it lets a brute know a victim is in the neighborhood."
"Try hard not to die until you've done something good for humanity."
On how we don't pay attention to others in our daily lives: "Sometimes we forget, we pass each other as if we've slept together, without a word."
