--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whenever calamity howlers shake their…" description: "\"Whenever calamity howlers shake their heads and impress upon you that this, that, and the next dire catastrophe is to befall this nation or the nations..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c93/b-c-forbes-2124_bridges_whenever-calamity-howlers-shake-their-he_3030609.jpg" --- # Whenever calamity howlers shake their heads and impress… ![“Whenever calamity howlers shake their heads and impress upon you that this, that, and the next dire catastrophe is to befall this nation or the nations of the world-such as, for example, that exhaustion of the world's oil supply will bring all transportation and machinery to a standstill through…” quote by B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c93/b-c-forbes-2124_bridges_whenever-calamity-howlers-shake-their-he_3030609.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c93/b-c-forbes-2124_bridges_whenever-calamity-howlers-shake-their-he_3030609.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c93/b-c-forbes-2124_bridges_whenever-calamity-howlers-shake-their-he_3030609.jpg) > “Whenever calamity howlers shake their heads and impress upon you that this, that, and the next dire catastrophe is to befall this nation or the nations of the world-such as, for example, that exhaustion of the world's oil supply will bring all transportation and machinery to a standstill through lack of lubrication, or that exhaustion of the earth's stores of coal will make life unlivable in these cold climates-just smile and reply that the worst troubles of all are those that never happen \[and\] that you prefer not to cross shaky bridges until you come to them…” [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exaggerated predictions of disaster distract from present action; focus on realistic solutions. **In simple terms:** Don’t fear imagined catastrophes. Key Takeaway Prioritize practical action. Themes fear catastrophe media action Mood anxious critical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - environmental planning - personal decision making Key Concepts critical thinking risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - What real risks deserve attention? - How can you balance caution with optimism? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on worst‑case scenarios can cause paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) [Calamity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calamity/) [Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Exhaustion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaustion/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lubrication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lubrication/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Transportation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transportation/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“...invokes the supposed stimulatory effects of their homeland's cold climate and the inhibitory effects of hot, humid, tropical climates on human creativity and energy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/invokes-the-supposed-stimulatory-effects-of-their-homeland-s-cold/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [All evil results from the non-adaptation of constitution to conditions. This is true of everything that lives. Does a shrub dwindle in poor soil,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/all-evil-results-from-the-non-adaptation-of-constitution-to/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [You cannot ask which system is the better because you cannot standardize one system for the whole of the world. You cannot have one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/you-cannot-ask-which-system-is-the-better-because-you-cannot/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Unless an age too late, or cold Climate, or years, damp my intended wing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/unless-an-age-too-late-or-cold-climate-or-years-damp-my-intended-wing/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“Another possibility is that the sweat glands were the driving force behind the rise of EDAR-V370A. East Asians are usually assumed to have evolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wade/another-possibility-is-that-the-sweat-glands-were-the-driving-force/) [Nicholas Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wade/) > [I know what it's like to live in a cold climate. I grew up in the Snow Belt, north of Toronto in Canada, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-pratt/i-know-what-it-s-like-to-live-in-a-cold-climate-i-grew-up-in-the-snow/) [Victoria Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-pratt/) > [you see, we live in a cold climate and are not permitted to kiss on the street so I made up a song that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/you-see-we-live-in-a-cold-climate-and-are-not-permitted-to-kiss-on/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [In a culture, manners are the lubrication that ease the frictions of social contacts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/in-a-culture-manners-are-the-lubrication-that-ease-the-frictions-of/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [This economy doesn't work well without the lubrication of credit and trust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/this-economy-doesn-t-work-well-without-the-lubrication-of-credit-and/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Any substantial tax reform would involve substantial redistributions of tax burdens and substantial changes in asset values, and you need some 'lubrication' (i.e., transition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reischauer/any-substantial-tax-reform-would-involve-substantial-redistributions/) Robert Reischauer > [In effective literature, ideas emerge from matter, not the other way around. So I squeeze the dirt for all it's worth and watch the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suhayl-saadi/in-effective-literature-ideas-emerge-from-matter-not-the-other-way/) [Suhayl Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suhayl-saadi/) > [The joint lubrication was not what it was when I was competing, and I decided that not having arthritis or rheumatism for the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-moses/the-joint-lubrication-was-not-what-it-was-when-i-was-competing-and-i/) [Edwin Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-moses/) > [To get to Earth from the edge of the solar system, depending on the time of year and the position of the planets, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cornell/to-get-to-earth-from-the-edge-of-the-solar-system-depending-on-the/) [Paul Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cornell/) > [Moving parts in rubbing contact require lubrication to avoid excessive wear. Honorifics and formal politeness provide lubrication where people rub together. Often the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/moving-parts-in-rubbing-contact-require-lubrication-to-avoid/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trust-is-the-lubrication-that-makes-it-possible-for-organizations-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by B. C. Forbes > [Our future and our fate lie in our wills more than in our hands, for our hands are but the instruments of our wills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/our-future-and-our-fate-lie-in-our-wills-more-than-in-our-hands-for/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Are soft-hearted people handicapped in business? You have heard a businessman say of someone else, He's all right, but he's too soft-hearted… To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/are-soft-hearted-people-handicapped-in-business-you-have-heard-a/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Search and you will find that at the base and birth of every great business organization was an enthusiast, man consumed with earnestness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/search-and-you-will-find-that-at-the-base-and-birth-of-every-great/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [A big business man was telling Henry Ford about a coach driver of super-expertness with his whip. The driver was telling how he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/a-big-business-man-was-telling-henry-ford-about-a-coach-driver-of/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Better to be occasionally cheated than perpetually suspicious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/better-to-be-occasionally-cheated-than-perpetually-suspicious/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Honesty pays dividends both in dollars and in peace of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/honesty-pays-dividends-both-in-dollars-and-in-peace-of-mind/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Timing is everything. Tell me how a young man spends his evenings and I will tell you how far he is likely to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/timing-is-everything-tell-me-how-a-young-man-spends-his-evenings-and/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [To succeed, we must have the will to succeed, we must have stamina, determination, backbone, perseverance, self-reliance, and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/to-succeed-we-must-have-the-will-to-succeed-we-must-have-stamina/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [There are two brands of discontent: the brand that merely fosters greed and snarling and back-biting, and the brand that inspires greater and greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/there-are-two-brands-of-discontent-the-brand-that-merely-fosters/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Which class is happiest, the rich, the middle class or the poor? A very successful executive of a large organization touches upon this vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/which-class-is-happiest-the-rich-the-middle-class-or-the-poor-a-very/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Are your desires purely selfish? Do your tastes run to a grand home, automobiles, fine clothes, an abundance of amusements, and so forth? If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/are-your-desires-purely-selfish-do-your-tastes-run-to-a-grand-home/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [When you delve deep enough, you find that practically every great fortune and great enterprise in America have sprung from the courageous enterprise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/when-you-delve-deep-enough-you-find-that-practically-every-great/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [It can be set down as a broad, general principle that we cannot indulge in idleness and abundance during both the first and second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/it-can-be-set-down-as-a-broad-general-principle-that-we-cannot/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [The Christmas spirit brings home to us-or should bring home to us-the profound Biblical truth that it is more blessed to give than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/the-christmas-spirit-brings-home-to-us-or-should-bring-home-to-us-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) [Explore all 184 B. C. Forbes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) ## More Bridges quotes > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [In my rear view mirror the sun is going down sinking behind bridges in the road and I think of all the good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/in-my-rear-view-mirror-the-sun-is-going-down-sinking-behind-bridges/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [My first big mistake was made when, in a moment of weakness, I consented to learn the game; for a man who can frankly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/my-first-big-mistake-was-made-when-in-a-moment-of-weakness-i/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR's alphabet soup of agencies because it put people to work building roads, bridges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-wpa-was-one-of-the-most-productive-elements-of-fdr-s-alphabet/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you walk, try to think nothing! You can then obtain the silence of a streetlight or a bridge; stop thinking; after that, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-you-walk-try-to-think-nothing-you-can-then-obtain-the-silence-of/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [Al Pacino and Jeff Bridges do it for me in a big way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-scanlon/al-pacino-and-jeff-bridges-do-it-for-me-in-a-big-way/) [Angela Scanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-scanlon/) > [Instead of building castles against your enemies, build bridges for them to come to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/instead-of-building-castles-against-your-enemies-build-bridges-for/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Each person is an island unto himself, in a very real sense; and he can only build bridges to other islands if he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/each-person-is-an-island-unto-himself-in-a-very-real-sense-and-he-can/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [The real test of a bridge player isn’t in keeping out of trouble, but in escaping once he’s in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sheinwold/the-real-test-of-a-bridge-player-isn-t-in-keeping-out-of-trouble-but/) [Alfred Sheinwold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sheinwold/) > [The law ... allows rich as well as poor to sleep under bridges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-law-allows-rich-as-well-as-poor-to-sleep-under-bridges/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Guys like Todd Bridges never overcame being a child star. You can't have any big failures. I've always felt regular. I played organized ball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/guys-like-todd-bridges-never-overcame-being-a-child-star-you-can-t/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) [Browse all 1,521 Bridges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whenever calamity howlers shake their heads and impress upon you that this, that, and the next dire catastrophe is to befall this nation or the nations of the world-such as, for example, that exhaustion of the world's oil supply will bring all transportation and machinery to a standstill through lack of lubrication, or that exhaustion of the earth's stores of coal will make life unlivable in these cold climates-just smile and reply that the worst troubles of all are those that never happen [and] that you prefer not to cross shaky bridges until you come to them…", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "B. C. 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