185
" 2:58:36 And maybe here’s a bit of insight: My face is and isn’t me. It’s a nice face. It has lots of people in it. My parents, my grandparents, and their grandparents, all the way back through time and countless generations to my earliest ancestors—all those iterations are here in my face, along with all the people who’ve ever looked at me. And the light and shadows are here, too, the joys, anxieties, griefs, vanities, and laughter. The sun, the rain, the wind, the broom poles, and the iron fences that have distressed my face with lines and scars and creases—all here. "
― Ruth Ozeki , The Face
194
" Maybe this is a good time to describe how old Jiko looks, because actually I was totally shocked that first day in the bath. You have to remember that she is a hundred and four years old, and if you’ve never hung out with an extremely old person before, well, I’m telling you, it’s intense. What I mean is that even though they still have arms and legs and tits and crotches like other human beings, extremely old people look more like aliens or beings from outer space. I know that’s probably not very PC to say, but it’s true. They look like ET or something, ancient and young all at the same time, and the way they move, slow and careful but also kind of spastic, is like extraterrestrials, too. "
― Ruth Ozeki , A Tale for the Time Being
198
" В своем дневнике ты цитируешь высказывание Дзико — что-то насчет незнания, вроде незнание сближает людей сильнее, чем что бы то ни было еще, или мне это просто приснилось? В общем, я много об этом думала, и мне кажется, так оно и есть, хотя, в принципе, я не любитель неопределенности. Я бы предпочла знать, но опять же, незнание оставляет все возможности открытыми. Оставляет в живых все миры. "
― Ruth Ozeki , A Tale for the Time Being