Marin Frist quotes from Men in Trees

Marin

Thanks for sleeping with me, Elmo.

Marin

[to Jack] It's hot...

Marin

The only person I trust to cut my hair is Serge, and he's 4,000 miles away. He's been doing me for 10 years. Longest relationship I have ever had.

Marin

You don't have to say everything you feel. I know this because I met Jack...the first real man I've ever known.

Marin

History can be messy and painful but it's not our destruction. If we're lucky, it's our foundation. You just have to work your way through the mess to find what matters, to find the pieces of your past you still want to carry with you, and sometimes, if you have just the right view and just the right castle, you can build the foundation for your new history, all by yourself.

Marin

When Alaska was just a land of trees, tribes created community through barter -- beads for a fur, a canoe for a cow. Trading partners became friends. Friends became family. As far as I can tell, not much has changed up here. We're still giving and receiving in equal trade. When the system is working, both sides come away happy, neither feeling like they've compromised. But rather, getting something better in the deal. In those moments, we are just a community of people -- sharing. Proving every day that it can be just as fulfilling to give as to receive. Sometimes just as hard.

Marin

Regret is a funny thing. You try your best in life to avoid it. But sometimes it's the hard things in life that teach us the most... which makes you wonder, if given the chance, how many of us would do things differently. For some, regret is the very thing that helps us push past our fear and move into the future. For others, it's the thing that allows us to re-explore out past. At its best, regret can be the catalyst for a new beginning, where anything and everything is still possible.

Marin

Patrick and I were just discussing the term "carpe diem" or seize the day, an idea so old it comes to us in Latin. Live for today. Don't let opportunity pass you by. Just do it. Which is all well and good, but what happens the day after when you seize the day, wake up, and face the consequences. What do you think? Given the choice, would you rather look or leap?

Marin

Moving to Elmo was one of those seize-the-day moments for me. The thing is, while Alaska is beautiful to look at, I don't spend my days looking. I spend my days living. Like life anywhere, in Elmo there is fighting, and there is making up. There's joy and there is devastation. And once in awhile, amidst all of that, there will be brief flashes where everything just feels right. Serenity. Kind of like a vacation. And, while it's nice to go away, away wouldn't be nearly as nice if you couldn't come home.

Marin

How can you ever really know where someone is coming from? People say it's important to listen, but how can you listen if nothing is being said. Tell me, Elmo, in a relationship do you have the right to remain silent?

Marin

As children, we're taught to express ourselves. We're told to use our words to be specific and not to assume that others know how we feel. Because, the truth is, it takes our saying things aloud to know what we mean to know what we feel ourselves. As adults, there are those times when words fail us. In times like these, we put our words away and show how we feel because actions speak louder than words, and that's saying a lot.

Marin

Hey Elmo! Patrick and I were just talking about how you show someone you care. Are big grand gestures the way to go or is it the little things that count? We've all had times when we felt like we didn't get enough of someone else's attention, but what about the flip side? Can you actually give too much of yourself to somebody else?

Marin

It is rare to get the chance to actually save someone's life. For most of us, our days are filled with a series of smaller gestures... like a place to lay your head or a beer for a thirsty friend. Then there are times when life calls for a bigger gift, whether you give a fresh start to yourself or a second chance to someone else. But, at the end of the day, perhaps it is our small gestures that will add up to something big... to a life saved or at least a life bettered. Because sometimes the grandest gestures can be the smallest one of all.

Marin

Hey, Elmo. Patrick and I were just discussing movie magic. There's just something about sitting down in a dark theater that lets you escape the reality of your own life and live in the fantasy of someone else's story but what if the cameras were turned on you? In the movie of your life, do you like what you see?

Marin

We all love to lose ourselves in a good movie. When I was a girl, I loved The Wizard of Oz. Especially the moment when Dorothy opens the door into that fantastic world. But once Dorothy appreciated how bright and beautiful everything was, she realized she had a bit of a mess on her hands. One of the classic examples of "Be careful what you wish for." Spend five minutes in a fantasy and you might just find yourself wish for your old life back. We miss what's right in front of us when we're busy looking over the rainbow. But sometimes it takes stepping into someone else's world to realize how much you love the life you have. Because no matter how magical the movies are, there is no place like home.