Brilliant quotes tell brief, specific stories

I started to think of quotes in terms of stories after entering Penny Arcade's Ten-Word Story Contest. The idea was to write a World of Warcraft-based story in just ten words. Ernest Hemingway's famous six-word story ("For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn") is a tad too mysterious for me to consider as a story - it leaves too many questions unanswered. What happened to the baby? Who is selling the shoes? Who is the baby? As a reader, I'm left with no compelling image that represents this story. Tycho's story, on the other hand (' "Help," he cried. "My dick is stuck in this Treant!" ') has just enough details to give readers a clear picture of the situation.

So, stories need words specific enough to evoke a complete image. Quotes that tell stories should do the same thing.

This quote comes from Arnold Schwarzenegger in this story by the Sacramento Bee's Kevin Yamamura:

"Sometimes you see schools protesting out there or sending me letters," Schwarzenegger said. "I'm with them. I wish I could stand there protesting, too. Because we have to protest the budget system. Not this year's budget. The budget system is the failure. That is what has to be corrected as quickly as possible."

The quote tells a very brief, specific story about the budget troubles in California, and succinctly encapsulates the governor's feelings about his work. I can picture him watching protests and silently agreeing with the shouting voices, and it tells me something about his morals and his desire to change a broken system.

If you've read any storytelling quotes that pop off the page lately, please share them!