Ann > Ann's Quotes

“If you can't be counted on, you won't be counted in.”
― Andrew Vachss

“Your Honor,” Blumberg rang out, “every dog must have his day!” And he got perhaps the first standing ovation ever given in New York City night court.”
― Andrew Vachss, Flood

“Hard" isn't the same as "mean".”
― Andrew Vachss

“There isn’t a liquor store in the world that lets you buy on credit. So, if a man walks into a liquor store after dark, it’s either because he’s got money … or because he doesn’t.”
― Andrew Vachss, That's How I Roll

“Going to prison is pretty common. Coming out a better person than when you went in, that’s never been done.”
― Andrew Vachss, That's How I Roll

“I have learned that a man who counts himself a shepherd is not worthy to be a member of a flock.”
― Andrew Vachss, Haiku

“The idea that you're not a writer until you're published is a lie.”
― Andrew Vachss

“take some pleasure from telling him no. My guess was that she worked for the landlord, not”
― Andrew Vachss, Aftershock: A Thriller

“Max can’t hear or speak, but he communicates okay. He wasn’t programmed for fear—whoever rolled the genetic dice left that out too. If Mama asked Max to deliver a package to the Devil, Max would go straight to Hell. Unlike others of my acquaintance who had made that particular trip, I had complete confidence that Max would come back. Max the Silent is one tough boy. In fact, he’s so infamous that one time over in night court when he was being arraigned for attempted murder, nobody even laughed when the judge told him that he had the right to remain silent. They all knew that Max never attempted to murder anyone.”
― Andrew Vachss, Flood

“the ferret, hunting,
eyes on the ground,
never hears footsteps
of the hawk”
― Andrew Vachss, Footsteps of the Hawk

“The Bowery station on the J line is what happens to a neighborhood once politicians realize the people who live there don’t vote.”
― Andrew Vachss, Terminal

“A couple of buffoons were running for some state-senate seat just vacated by the incumbent's prison term. One accused the other of being "against the Internet" - a knockout punch in a world where whole hordes of humans think better sex is a faster modem.”
― Andrew Vachss, Only Child

“Pervasive abuse and neglect of children is a greater danger to our species than cocaine and Communism combined.”
― Andrew Vachss, Flood

“The biggest threat to children is always inside their houses. The predator with the ski-mask who grabs the kid out of a van, while a real thing, is a tiny percentage of those who prey upon children. Most victimization of children is within the Circle of Trust — not necessarily a parent, but somebody who was let into that circle, who can be a counselor, or a coach, or someone at a day-care center.

The biggest danger to children is that they're perceived as property, not human beings.”
― Andrew Vachss

“He had the radio turned to some Spanish-language station at a volume that reminded me of the holding tank at Riker's Island - and for an added touch of authenticity he screamed 'Maricon!' and waved his fist out the open window at another driver who had the audacity to attempt to share the road with us.”
― Andrew Vachss, Flood

“The first thing any charlatan needs is nomenclature. A special language. Trappings. That's the true genesis of psychobabble terms such as 'disclosure' and 'in denial.' Every good con man needs plausibility. . .”
― Andrew Vachss, Footsteps of the Hawk

“Even if sheep could talk, they'd never ask questions.”
― Andrew Vachss, Footsteps of the Hawk

“You want proof evolution is for real, don’t waste your time with fossils; just check out the New York City rat. They started out as immigrants, stowaways in some ship’s cargo hold. Only the survivors got to breed, and they’ve been improving with every new
litter. Smarter, faster, stronger. Getting ready to rule. Manhattan wouldn’t be the first island they took over.”
― Andrew Vachss, Another Life

“If love would die along with death, this life wouldn't be so hard.”
― Andrew Vachs

“The goal of a true family is not that their children follow in their footsteps, but that their children surpass them in all ways.”
― Andrew Vachss

“Lawyers for abused kids can challenge bad agency decisions because they can always bring a lawsuit. A volunteer cannot.#barahona”
― Andrew Vachss

“People won’t let you live the way you want to, but if you’re strong enough or quick enough, at least you don’t have to live the way they want you to.”
― Andrew Vachss, Flood / Strega / Blue Belle

“[I] settled down with the Daily News and the Post, glad to be back with journalism where all murders are “brutal,” all prosecutors are “tough,” and all blondes are
“attractive.” And any lawyer who cooperates with the reporter is
“high-powered.”
― Andrew Vachss, Only Child

“Perfection cannot be achieved by men," he told me. "Our highest calling is the pursuit of perfection. My haiku will be finished when I die, but it will never be perfect.”
― Andrew Vachss, Haiku

“It isn’t much use writing slogans on a wall if you plan to total the building.”
― Andrew Vachss, A Bomb Built in Hell

“Some people have a personality disorder where they just have to go against the herd, right or wrong. They're so committed to their own lone-wolf image that...Well, put it this way: if the others suddenly came over to their side, they'd switch sides.”
― Andrew Vachss

“That’s Manhattan today—all the money goes up top, while the infrastructure wastes away from neglect. The famous skyline is a cheap trick now, a sleight-of-hand to draw your eye from the truth, as illusory as a bodybuilder with osteoporosis.”
― Andrew Vachss, Mask Market

“A free press doesn't mean it's not a tame press.”
― andrew vachss

“From the very second that two people sat together around a fire in the forest, there was another human out there who felt better in the dark.”
― Andrew Vachss, Flood

“Roots are nice, but a tree can’t run.”
― Andrew Vachss, Flood