--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was handsome enough—dark eyes and a…" description: "\"“He was handsome enough—dark eyes and a nice chin, though his hair was thinning. He wore a dark overcoat and a dark suit, a white shirt and a tie, and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/alice-mcdermott-1961_another-life_he-was-handsome-enough-dark-eyes-and-a-n_279794.jpg" --- # He was handsome enough—dark eyes and a nice chin, though… ![“He was handsome enough—dark eyes and a nice chin, though his hair was thinning. He wore a dark overcoat and a dark suit, a white shirt and a tie, and there was the worn shine of a brass belt buckle as he reached for his wallet. “Reminds me of some days we had overseas,” he said, taking a bill from…” quote by Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/alice-mcdermott-1961_another-life_he-was-handsome-enough-dark-eyes-and-a-n_279794.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/alice-mcdermott-1961_another-life_he-was-handsome-enough-dark-eyes-and-a-n_279794.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/alice-mcdermott-1961_another-life_he-was-handsome-enough-dark-eyes-and-a-n_279794.jpg) > ““He was handsome enough—dark eyes and a nice chin, though his hair was thinning. He wore a dark overcoat and a dark suit, a white shirt and a tie, and there was the worn shine of a brass belt buckle as he reached for his wallet. “Reminds me of some days we had overseas,” he said, taking a bill from his billfold. She frowned, reflexively. “Where were you?” He shook his head, smiled at her. Something in his manner seemed to indicate that they knew each other, that they’d had such conversations before. “In another life,” he”” [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A brief encounter hints at past connections and unspoken histories, suggesting familiarity beyond the present moment. **In simple terms:** A chance meeting suggests a shared past. Key Takeaway Notice subtle cues of familiarity. Themes memory relationships nostalgia Mood reflective melancholic Type literary conversational When to use this quote - social gatherings - travel - unexpected reunions Key Concepts identity unspoken history recognition Questions to Reflect On - What unspoken stories lie behind brief interactions? - How do we interpret familiar gestures? A Different Perspective Assumes prior intimacy that may not exist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Another life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-life/) [Dark eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-eyes/) ## Related quotes > [“I told him about the Oedipal thing, about my father leaving when I was very young so I knew how to pine for men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/i-told-him-about-the-oedipal-thing-about-my-father-leaving-when-i-was/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [We need to get answers to who in the Trump campaign was talking to the Russians throughout that campaign effort and what Donald Trump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-shaheen/we-need-to-get-answers-to-who-in-the-trump-campaign-was-talking-to/) [Jeanne Shaheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-shaheen/) > [“In a book, all would have gone according to plan... but life was so fucking untidy — what could you say for an existence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-a-book-all-would-have-gone-according-to-plan-but-life-was-so/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I wore a dress..you wore a dark grey t-shirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-wore-a-dress-you-wore-a-dark-grey-t-shirt/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [On a couple of occasions I wore dark red lipstick, and nobody likes me in red lipstick!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rituparna-sengupta/on-a-couple-of-occasions-i-wore-dark-red-lipstick-and-nobody-likes-me/) [Rituparna Sengupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rituparna-sengupta/) > [Don't rule out your resources use phrases to guide your mind when you direct your conversations in this life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayla-leach/don-t-rule-out-your-resources-use-phrases-to-guide-your-mind-when-you/) [Gayla Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayla-leach/) > [“All right," said Ford. "How would you react if I said that I'm not from Guildford at all, but from a small planet somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/all-right-said-ford-how-would-you-react-if-i-said-that-i-m-not-from/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“We need to talk," he insisted, opening the door to his jeep that was parked next to my car. I was still holding out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-g-holster/we-need-to-talk-he-insisted-opening-the-door-to-his-jeep-that-was/) [S.G. Holster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-g-holster/) > [“Listen," she said taking my hand. "Tell me: you wouldn't have behaved like this, would you? You would not have abandoned a girl who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/listen-she-said-taking-my-hand-tell-me-you-wouldn-t-have-behaved-like/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Come live with me,” he said, taking my face in his hands. “And die with me, and everything with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luna-lacour/come-live-with-me-he-said-taking-my-face-in-his-hands-and-die-with-me/) [Luna Lacour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luna-lacour/) > [“Jenn said something about taking a picture to make it last longer. I didn’t need to. That moment would always be burned in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/jenn-said-something-about-taking-a-picture-to-make-it-last-longer-i/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) > [“I was afraid … I was afraid you were going to let me go,” she managed. 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An hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/come-on-hathaway-he-said-taking-my-arm-you-can-be-my-partner-let-s/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) ## More by Alice McDermott > [“Some vestige of his race or of his sex made him think, whenever he looked out across the ocean: As it was before me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/some-vestige-of-his-race-or-of-his-sex-made-him-think-whenever-he/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“If you want to see how far we have not come from the cave and the woods, from the lonely and dangerous days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/if-you-want-to-see-how-far-we-have-not-come-from-the-cave-and-the/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“John Keane pressed his chest to the steering wheel as he put the key in the ignition, taking a deep breath as he did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/john-keane-pressed-his-chest-to-the-steering-wheel-as-he-put-the-key/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“The fourth contraction seized her and suddenly she was perspiring. She heard herself cry out and then she heard the children’s voices like sparks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/the-fourth-contraction-seized-her-and-suddenly-she-was-perspiring-she/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“THE TINY SPIDERS that lived in the higher branches of the downed tree (which now meant the branches that lay on the other side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/the-tiny-spiders-that-lived-in-the-higher-branches-of-the-downed-tree/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [What makes a sentence, a phrase, a moment, or a scene delightful? Something about recognizing the truth in it, hearing the music in it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/what-makes-a-sentence-a-phrase-a-moment-or-a-scene-delightful/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Michael had slipped beyond the crest of the dune. Jacob was lying flat out now, on his stomach, his little men all before him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/michael-had-slipped-beyond-the-crest-of-the-dune-jacob-was-lying-flat/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“The wind,” Mary said again. “It was making everyone tear up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/the-wind-mary-said-again-it-was-making-everyone-tear-up/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Not a soul,” Mary Keane said to her husband, the wind lifting her words, tossing them gently back over her shoulder, the way it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/not-a-soul-mary-keane-said-to-her-husband-the-wind-lifting-her-words/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“There wasn’t a tear to be seen on the faces of the men and women in the street as the two of them walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/there-wasn-t-a-tear-to-be-seen-on-the-faces-of-the-men-and-women-in/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“His love for his children bore down on his heart with the weight of three heavy stones. There were all his unnamed fears for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/his-love-for-his-children-bore-down-on-his-heart-with-the-weight-of/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Mr. Persichetti knew that six weeks before its time and with a good thirty-minute ride to the hospital once the ambulance came (would it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/mr-persichetti-knew-that-six-weeks-before-its-time-and-with-a-good/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Mike Shea became a medic during the war and was now married, working for Pfizer. To this day he can’t look at her straight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/mike-shea-became-a-medic-during-the-war-and-was-now-married-working/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [As a writer, I'm too busy and worried to experience the delight while composing my own work, although, of course, I hope a reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/as-a-writer-i-m-too-busy-and-worried-to-experience-the-delight-while/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Why not?” but without conviction, confirming for them both that this was a sudden impulse that most likely would not last out the afternoon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/why-not-but-without-conviction-confirming-for-them-both-that-this-was/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) [Explore all 194 Alice McDermott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) ## More Another life quotes > [“Small memories of another life flutter through my head like moths — all grey images and tearstains”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-kahler/small-memories-of-another-life-flutter-through-my-head-like-moths-all/) A.R. Kahler > [When you chopped logs with the ax and they split open they smelled beautiful, like Christmas. But when you split someone's head open it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-you-chopped-logs-with-the-ax-and-they-split-open-they-smelled/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“I love the dark hours of my being. My mind deepens into them. There I can find, as in old letters, the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-love-the-dark-hours-of-my-being-my-mind-deepens-into-them-there-i/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [In another life, I would be your girl. Capable of making promises. We would rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-perry/in-another-life-i-would-be-your-girl-capable-of-making-promises-we/) [Katy Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-perry/) > [I couldn't even think about wanting to be something else; I wouldn't let myself visualize another life. But I wrote because I couldn't stop.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/i-couldn-t-even-think-about-wanting-to-be-something-else-i-wouldn-t/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [And whatever my life had been up to that day, it was another life after that. And that is the gospel truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/and-whatever-my-life-had-been-up-to-that-day-it-was-another-life/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [Literature duplicates the experience of living in a way that nothing else can, drawing you so fully into another life that you temporarily forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/literature-duplicates-the-experience-of-living-in-a-way-that-nothing/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Whatever you have received more than others-in health, in talents, in ability, in success, in a pleasant childhood, in harmonious conditions of home life-all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/whatever-you-have-received-more-than-others-in-health-in-talents-in/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [“Let me give you a bit of advice.' the girl said bitterly, 'from one working girl to another; life isn't easy, no matter where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/let-me-give-you-a-bit-of-advice-the-girl-said-bitterly-from-one/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“The vibrations he felt in his sleep had nothing to do with his soul easing out of his body as he dreamily thought; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-poet-aberjhani/the-vibrations-he-felt-in-his-sleep-had-nothing-to-do-with-his-soul/) Author-Poet Aberjhani > [I wasn't born with a tie or with Mark Shields stapled to my left hip. I have another life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-wasn-t-born-with-a-tie-or-with-mark-shields-stapled-to-my-left-hip/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [For many observers, a child who has known nothing but war, a child for whom the Kalashnikov is the only way to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/for-many-observers-a-child-who-has-known-nothing-but-war-a-child-for/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [I mean, is there a chance for me? To have another life after this, a better one?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-mean-is-there-a-chance-for-me-to-have-another-life-after-this-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [We, all who live, have A life that is lived And another life that is thought, And the only life we have It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/we-all-who-live-have-a-life-that-is-lived-and-another-life-that-is/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [The death-change comes. Death is another life. We bow our heads At going out, we think, and enter straight Another golden chamber of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/the-death-change-comes-death-is-another-life-we-bow-our-heads-at/) [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) [Browse all 433 Another life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He was handsome enough—dark eyes and a nice chin, though his hair was thinning. He wore a dark overcoat and a dark suit, a white shirt and a tie, and there was the worn shine of a brass belt buckle as he reached for his wallet. “Reminds me of some days we had overseas,” he said, taking a bill from his billfold. She frowned, reflexively. “Where were you?” He shook his head, smiled at her. 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