That’s Going in the Quote Book: #9

The newest in an ongoing series of Quotes I’ve collected. To see previous posts in the series, click here.

It’s better to be dead and cool, than alive and uncool.

harley davidson and the marlboro man

This is the first in what is going to be many overlaps between my Quote series and Movie series of articles, and we’re starting off with one of my absolute favourites in both categories.

Now, I know that if I was to watch Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man for the first time today, I wouldn’t like it. It’s cheesy, it’s corny, and it’s very much a product of its time. (Besides Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson as the title characters, it’s even got pro wrestler Big John Studd in it, playing a character called Jack Daniels. I mean, come on!)

But since I saw it first at the right moment in my life, today, no matter how bad a mood I may be in, once I pop that DVD in the player and hear those pipes rumble, I’ve got the biggest, stupidest grin on my face. (I’m also sure I’m as annoying as fuck to watch it with, because I’m constantly shouting out all the good lines before the characters say them.)

I remember finding it challenging to pick just one of the many quote-worthy lines from this movie to put in my book. This one finally won out because, while the others made me laugh, I felt a grain of truth in this one.

Which is weird, ’cause it’s actually kinda toxic. There’s nothing wrong with being uncool, whatever that even means, and it’s certainly not worth risking your life to avoid it. I do like the, “Go for it,” mentality at the root of it all, though. The reality is that we only get one life, so we need to make the best of it.

I’m beginning to think “Live every day. Die once,” is my somewhat scaled back version of Harley’s stated philosophy in life.