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Things have dropped from me. I have outlived certain desires; I have lost friends, some by death... others through sheer inability to cross the street.
James Thurber
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects on the passage of time and the inevitable changes in relationships and desires.

James Thurber's quote captures the essence of life's transient nature. It emphasizes that as we age, we naturally shed certain desires and connections, either through the loss of friends to death or the gradual distancing that occurs in relationships. This speaks to the universal experience of change and acceptance that comes with living, highlighting how our priorities and social circles evolve.

Themes

ChangeLossFriendshipDesireAging

In practice

Example use cases

During a reflective moment in a speech at a memorial service.

More from James Thurber

If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.
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Speed is scarcely the noblest virtue of graphic composition, but it has its curious rewards. There is a sense of getting somewhere fast, which satisfies a native American urge.
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The laughter of man is more terrible than his tears, and takes more forms hollow, heartless, mirthless, maniacal.
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The appreciative smile, the chuckle, the soundless mirth, so important to the success of comedy, cannot be understood unless one sits among the audience and feels the warmth created by the quality of laughter that the audience takes home with it.
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Unless artists can remember what it was to be a little boy, they are only half complete as artist and as man.
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These are the days of bootleg love.
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