Cuco saying and quotes, from Julio, book 5 in the Cuco series.
1. “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” Mark Twain.
2. “He finally quit drinking for good, now he only drinks for evil.” Arturo thinking of Joaquín, and trying to be funny.
3. Remember, The feather that fell is the feather that flew you
The part of you that let you go far
The part of you that brought you this far
So, get over it, say adios,
it just fell.
And that’s all right, considering,
for a time,
it served you so well.
From a river poem
4. “Cuco reminds me that in the ocean there are no forks in the road—there’s not even a road less-traveled.” Arturo
5. “Give a man a thought, and you’ve stirred him up for a few minutes. Teach him how to think, and you’ve upset his whole quiet life.” Arturo misquoting Dale on purpose.
6. “I didn’t get where I am today by worrying any less than I should have.” Arturo making fun of himself.
7. “Generally speaking, the truth is silent, but evident, if you know where to look. It’s lies that lurk in the dark and make a big splash.” Dale
8. “If one balances imagination on one side versus knowledge on the other, it’s hard to tell which one weighs more, either one being heavy enough. Put them together, and it goes off scale.” Dale
9. “No matter how close one looks at a caterpillar, there’s never a hint of a butterfly.” Dale
10. One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say. Will Durant
11. “Before Pia, Joaquín used to not like morning people, or mornings, or even people.” Arturo making fun of his friend.
12. “It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.” Aesop
13. “You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of trifles.” Sherlock Holmes
14. “Can ye fathom the ocean, dark and deep, where the mighty waves and the grandeur sweep?” Fanny Crosby
15. “These girls are easy hellos, and hard goodbyes.” Arturo referring to Pia and Olimpia.
16. “Sometimes, judging a man by his outward appearance is the only way to judge him.” Elsa
17. “Most longings are meant to go unmet.” Dale
18. “It doesn’t take a continent to make people be oceans apart.” Dale
19. “It’s hard to refute an argument made in silence.” Joaquín
20. “It was a sad thing when the dinosaur became extinct ‒ man wasn’t there, so no money was made.” Joaquín
21. “Public opinion is a closed loop: what people think that other people think.” Elsa
22. “Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn’t be done.” Amelia Earhart
23. “A penguin obsessed with an idea is a hard penguin to deal with.” Arturo
24. “The dark side is only talked about dismissively by those that have never felt it.” Dale
25. “I am the ‘every silver lining has a big cloud’ kind of person.” Joaquín describing himself.
Quotes from Pia, book #3 in the Cuco series
“Cuco doesn’t repeat himself, he quotes himself. Says it makes the conversation more interesting.” Arturo- “It’s just as easy to confuse change with progress as it is to confuse motion for action.” Dale
- “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” Margaret Mead.
- It’s easy to say you want to be somebody, but really, you should be more specific.” Dale
- “Before I speak, I have something important to say.” Arturo
- “Be thankful we’re not getting all the government we’re paying for.” Will rogers
- Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” Albert Camus.
- “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” Douglas Adams
- “The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has its limits.” Alexandre Dumas
- “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” Virginia Woolf
- “Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.” Shel Silverstein XXX
- “The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.” ― Douglas Adams.
- “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” ― Mark Twain XX
- “To Cuco, a word to the wise is one word too many.” Arturo
- “Dark, is forever right, as the weather forecast for any night, in Valdivia.” Arturo “Dark, as far as I know, is the only correct weather prediction for a night in Valdivia. Arturo
- “It’s better to disregard circumstances and create opportunities.” Joaquin XX
- “Cuco, reminds me that in the ocean, there are no forks in the road.”
- Cuco thinks men are lucky. On land we have two choices, I the oc
- Unexpected does not mean unpredictable . . . “People are always surprised, and tend to act like the unexpected was entirely unpredictable.” Dale
- If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? Albert Einstein
- I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it. George Bernard Shaw
- “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” Mark Twain
- “Cuco does not only have a different way of doing things, but a new vision as well.” Dale
- We are afraid of the enormity of the possible.
- “If one balances imagination on one side versus knowledge on the other, it’s hard to tell which one weighs more. Either one is heavy enough. But put them together, and it goes off scale, ” Dale
- “My only fault is that I don’t realize how great I really am.” Muhammad Ali
- “It’s not bragging if you can back it up.” Muhammad Ali
- Give a man a thought, and you’ve stirred him for a few minutes. Teaching how to think, and you’ve upset his whole quiet life.
- “I always thought that if penguins could talk, it would take the fun out of it, but I was wrong.” Arturo
- “The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.” Galileo Galilei
- Most of politics is about convincing people only you can get their fuzzy concepts into focus.
- Cuco is the kind of penguin that has tons of fun amusing himself by amazing others.
- You can’t make sense of chaos by throwing blame. Dale
- Trusting to his gifted command of the language, Cuco said nothing.
- We’re having an election to find out if the pundits are right.
- It’s one thing to lose an election, it’s another to lose your way.
- “Some people have prepared answers and are just holding back, waiting for the right question.”
- “According to Cuco, that ‘still waters run deep’ is a mistaken point of view.
Quotes from Cuco, book 1, in Spanish
Por capítulo.
- —El único sentido que es común a largo plazo es el sentido de cambio y todos instintivamente lo evitamos—. B. White
- —Apuesto que el que dijo ‘existe una marea en los asuntos humanos’, vive cerca de un río—. Arturo
- —Por algún motivo que no entiendo, el mundo entero está luchando cada minuto para hacerte igual que todos los demás—. Arturo
- —Cuando finalmente me acostumbre a saltar sobre los obstáculos de la vida, yo siendo el principal obstáculo, la vida me dio un pingüino como obstáculo—. Arturo
- —Cuco no se preocupa mucho de cosas extraordinarias, pero vieran con que atención se fija en las más ordinarias—. Arturo
- —Cuando un pingüino dice que nació salvaje, no está tratando de ser rebelde, sino simplemente declarando un hecho—. Arturo
- —Cuco sabe que tener reglas como sagradas es olvidarse de sus principios—. Arturo
- —Los hombres al igual que los pingüinos tenemos fallas, y frecuentemente, es lo mejor que tenemos—. Arturo
- —Es difícil para un pingüino entender que algunas personas consideran salir a pescar un pasatiempo—. Arturo
- —Los pingüinos saben que en la vida no hay respuestas buenas y fáciles, sino buenas y simples—. Arturo
- —Nunca le digas a un pingüino que es un pajarón. Seguro que lo va a tomar como un elogio—. Arturo
- Cuco está orgulloso de saber tanto, y molesto de saber solo tanto—. Dale
—La curiosidad puede que eliminó un montón de gatos pero nunca siquiera rasguño a un pingüino—. Arturo- Cuco me dijo que me fijara como el viento agitaba las hojas, y el cuidado con que lo hacía—.Arrturo
- —No se puede engañar a todos los pingüinos todo el tiempo. Ni siquiera se puede engañar al más inocente una vez—. Arturo
- —Refriégale el cuello a un pingüino una vez, y encuentras un trabajo de jornada completa—. Arturo.
- —Cuando un pingüino comete un error, asegura a todos que solo es humano; y después te recuerda que si bien perdonar es divino, olvidarse es conveniente—. Arturo
- —Si Waldo fuera un pingüino, nunca lo encontrarían—. Arturo
- —Puede ser que Cuco parezca impulsivo, valiente y atrevido, pero créanme, por adentro, es como un buen general, y está lleno de precaución—. Arturo
- —Cuando a un pingüino se le acaban las ideas, un vigoroso pio-pio es bien útil—. Arturo
- —Los pingüinos están armados de paciencia. Ellos saben que a veces los cambios son lentos y el tiempo es el único testigo—. Arturo.
- Me dicen que las penas, Dios me las dio,
y hasta el momento lo más bien que las aguanto.
Con mi canto les cuento, y quiero que sepan
que cuando me canse de este mundo,
no se las dejo a otro, pero me las llevo,
río abajo, y remando.
Del Poema Canto del Rio
—A los pingüinos les gusta una bonita estrategia, pero prefieren buenos resultados—. Arturo- . . . un santo, sí es buena protección en el río,
pero por muy santo que sea,
igual no salva de la lluvia.
Para eso está la manta,
de lana tosca y gruesa,
que también sirve pa’l frío.
Pero lo que más sirve pa’l frio,
y esto no es cuento,
es una damajuana de tinto a mano,
y debajo del asiento.
Del poema, Canto del Río.
- —Cuco prefiere ser subestimado. De esta manera, tiene cancha para asombrar—. Arturo
- —Cuco me dice que todos los pingüinos encajan bien, pero que es difícil resaltar. Yo le dije que no se preocupara de un detallito como ese—. Arturo
- —Cuco sabe que mientras menos dice, más lo escuchan. Pero le gusta decir tanto que se llega a exasperar—. Arturo
- —Me da la impresión que Cuco piensa que soy muy listo cuando sigo sus consejos—. Arturo
- —Algunos pingüinos pueden recorrer el océano por días, incluso semanas, y después cuentan lo que vieron y sus maravillosas aventuras, algunas de las cuales actualmente ocurrieron. Arturo
- Dejando tierra atrás y entrando a un gran río es lograr otro mundo. Los ruidos, los olores, la sensación, la vista, el alma y el pulso de un río, son muy diferente a lo que se puede encontrar en tierra firme. Aquí todo es fluido, sinuoso, redondeado, y constantemente moviéndose y cambiando, nunca frenando, nunca quieto, ni por un segundo, pero deslizándose, fluyendo, balbuceando, y acarreando todo lo suelto y a la deriva, río abajo, para finalmente, y sin mucha pompa ni menos ceremonia, llegar silenciosamente y entregarse con ganas y gusto a su destino: a la mar. Siempre a la mar. Arturo estaba al tanto de todo esto, y sabía que un río tiene carácter, y temperamento, y estado de ánimo, y que cambia constantemente de acuerdo a la hora, el viento, la marea, la lluvia, los temporales y temporadas, y otras mil variantes más, y vivía alegre y contento de conocer uno y ser parte de este maravilloso mundo de pura agua, alegría, y liquides.