Basil Coenen

“I don't even remember the season. I just remember walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere.”
― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“A newcomer, a tall bewhiskered Sikh policeman came to see me. ‘Sahib,’ he said in Hindustani, ‘I was lucky to escape from Rangoon when that city was evacuated. I reached Mandalay after many nights hiding and sleeping in the jungle. How I escaped with my life I do not know. From Mandalay I managed to get on a train and eventually found my way here.’ He came a little closer and almost whispered, ‘Sahib, I am staying in the Police Lines. You must let me and my pal guard your bungalow or….’ And he drew his finger
across his throat. ‘Believe me I have seen many tragedies during the past few weeks.’ I smiled, thanked him and said I would send for him and his pal should I find it necessary. I had many native friends who I knew would be helpful and kind to refugees and I regarded the policeman’s tale as greatly exaggerated. The next day this good man joined the stream of refugees hastening to the frontier
of India … Captain Gribble”
― Elizabeth Tebby Germaine, EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORIES OF SURVIVAL IN BURMA WW2: tens of thousands fled to India from the Japanese Invasion in 1942

“Aunque ya han aparecido plásticos realmente biodegradables derivados de azúcares vegetales naturales, así como un poliéster igualmente biodegradable hecho a base de bacterias, las probabilidades de que estos reemplacen a los originales derivados del petróleo no son muchas.”
― Alan Weisman, The World Without Us

“Marilynne Eichinger's book will bring added interest to museums and what they can offer now and in the future.”
― Jean Auel