During our senior year at Exeter High, my best friend Nate Oxnard gave me this book for Christmas. In the 27 years since, I have referred to it often for inspiration, strength, or comfort. Churchill, King, Lincoln, and Kennedy are here, but so are Meir, Keller, Lombardi, Disney, Aristotle, and Confucius. I’ve made liberal use of these quotes in my own speeches and remarks over the decades. I love this book.
Yesterday Nate was re-elected to the Deerfield School Board, and I returned to municipal office on the Select Board in Kensington. We may not be great leaders, and our quotes are unlikely to stir future generations. But we’re serving our communities, and I like to think that the folks in this book would approve of that.
Party on, indeed.