On Quotations and Contexts

Oscar Wilde had to say this about the passion for quotations

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”

Well this is one of my favourite quotations!

I send out a quote every morning to a considerably big list of people in my address book. It is not that I borrow these words and try to mimic people it is just that I feel it is a good way to start a day. I think I just imbibed this habit from my earlier bosses. Sometimes I wonder if I am shooting these quotes just like the sun not knowing if people really find it relevant but once in a while I stop sending these quotes and someone comes back to me asking to start again. That keeps me going.

I came across a few interesting quotations from Sports people, thanks to the Blogosphere.

“Everyone has a plan until they're punched in the mouth” from Mike Tyson

Some really good ones then by Yogi Berra thanks to JPs blog

Wikipedia claims that Yogi Berra has a tendency towards malapropism (a new word for me) and fracturing the English language in highly provocative, interesting ways.

Am giving some of the good ones below. You can get the complete list from Wikipedia or Wikiquote

"Nobody goes there no more, it's too crowded!" - This was his response when asked why he no longer went to a popular St. Louis restaurant.

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
This was said when giving directions to his New Jersey home, which was equally accessible via two different routes.

"It ain't over till it's over."
This was when his team 1973 Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by 9½ games in the National League East; the Mets eventually rallied to win the division title on the next-to-last day of the season.

Leave alone the context where these were said and just look at the quotes. Isn’t it amazing how people pass a remark which is business as usual for them but the remark has relevance in a wider context and can be interpreted in different ways?