--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And in a small house five miles away was…" description: "\"And in a small house five miles away was a man who held my mud-encrusted charm bracelet out to his wife. Look what I found at the old industrial park,\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/alice-sebold-999_ballet_and-in-a-small-house-five-miles-away-was_2108116.jpg" --- # And in a small house five miles away was a man who held my… ![“And in a small house five miles away was a man who held my mud-encrusted charm bracelet out to his wife. Look what I found at the old industrial park," he said. "A construction guy said they were bulldozing the whole lot. They're afraid of sink holes like that one that swallowed the cars." His…” quote by Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/alice-sebold-999_ballet_and-in-a-small-house-five-miles-away-was_2108116.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/alice-sebold-999_ballet_and-in-a-small-house-five-miles-away-was_2108116.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/alice-sebold-999_ballet_and-in-a-small-house-five-miles-away-was_2108116.jpg) > “And in a small house five miles away was a man who held my mud-encrusted charm bracelet out to his wife. Look what I found at the old industrial park," he said. "A construction guy said they were bulldozing the whole lot. They're afraid of sink holes like that one that swallowed the cars." His wife poured him some water from the sink as he fingered the tiny bike and the ballet shoe, the flower basket and the thimble. He held out the muddy bracelet as she set down his glass. This little girl's grown up by now," she said. Almost. Not quite. I wish you all a long and happy life.” [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A memory of a lost loved one resurfaces through small, cherished objects, reminding us of enduring connections despite distance and change. **In simple terms:** Memories live on through tiny keepsakes. Key Takeaway Cherish small symbols of love. Themes memory loss connection nostalgia grief Mood melancholic reflective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - visiting graves - family gatherings - personal reflection - heirloom handling Key Concepts symbolism remembrance attachment Questions to Reflect On - What objects remind you of someone you miss? - How do small gestures keep memories alive? A Different Perspective Objects may not fully capture the depth of loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) [Ballet shoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet-shoes/) [Baskets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baskets/) [Bike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bike/) [Bracelet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bracelet/) [Bracelet Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bracelet-wife-4243480/) [Car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/car/) [Charm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charm/) [Charm Bracelet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charm-bracelet-2885947/) [Construction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/construction/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Glasses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glasses/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Happy life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-life/) [Holes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holes/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miles/) [Miles away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miles-away/) [Mud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mud/) [Muddy Bracelet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muddy-bracelet-4243481/) [Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parks/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Shoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoes/) [Tiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tiny/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Wife Poured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife-poured-4243482/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [I put the charm bracelet away in the purse and return it to my jewel case. I don't need a spell to foresee the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/i-put-the-charm-bracelet-away-in-the-purse-and-return-it-to-my-jewel/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [You can imagine me as a kid growing up in redneck Texas with ballet shoes, tucking the violin under my arm. I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swayze/you-can-imagine-me-as-a-kid-growing-up-in-redneck-texas-with-ballet/) [Patrick Swayze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swayze/) > [Technical perfection is insufficient. It is an orphan without the true soul of the dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/technical-perfection-is-insufficient-it-is-an-orphan-without-the-true/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [I think 'Ballet Shoes' was a very pivotal role for me. I was about 14 then, and it was an incredible cast: Eileen Atkins,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-boynton/i-think-ballet-shoes-was-a-very-pivotal-role-for-me-i-was-about-14/) [Lucy Boynton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-boynton/) > [“When I hurt, and I hurt often, I raced for the music, the costumes, the ballet shoes on which I could spin and twirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/when-i-hurt-and-i-hurt-often-i-raced-for-the-music-the-costumes-the/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [I always knew I wanted to dance and when I was eight, I started ballet lessons at a church hall. They all wore pink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlene-phillips/i-always-knew-i-wanted-to-dance-and-when-i-was-eight-i-started-ballet/) [Arlene Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlene-phillips/) > [“For her, being an American was loathing America, but loving America was something he could not let go of any more than he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/for-her-being-an-american-was-loathing-america-but-loving-america-was/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Dad worked in a warehouse when I was little and I didn't see him for three years as he was doing all the overtime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ellison/dad-worked-in-a-warehouse-when-i-was-little-and-i-didn-t-see-him-for/) [Jennifer Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ellison/) > [The highest heels I do are six-inch heels - but mostly only dancers can wear them, since they are used to being on point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-louboutin/the-highest-heels-i-do-are-six-inch-heels-but-mostly-only-dancers-can/) [Christian Louboutin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-louboutin/) > [I was a very rotund child with short hair, and for some reason, I always had black ballet shoes. I was like the Wednesday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-was-a-very-rotund-child-with-short-hair-and-for-some-reason-i/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [I had to do a tango with Raft and I learned to dance in ballet shoes with my knees bent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-windsor/i-had-to-do-a-tango-with-raft-and-i-learned-to-dance-in-ballet-shoes/) [Marie Windsor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-windsor/) > [“Giiiirl," Benny said, fanning himself with the appointment book. "I'm as gay as Todrick's ballet shoes and even I have a semi from that."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-gadziala/giiiirl-benny-said-fanning-himself-with-the-appointment-book-i-m-as/) [Jessica Gadziala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-gadziala/) > [I was a massive fan of Amy Winehouse growing up. I decided it would be a good idea to become Amy Winehouse with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-goth/i-was-a-massive-fan-of-amy-winehouse-growing-up-i-decided-it-would-be/) [Mia Goth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-goth/) > [“Tiring of his questioning, I tell him adamantly that nothing's ever going to happen between Kahn and I. "But you want it to." "It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorge-leedy/tiring-of-his-questioning-i-tell-him-adamantly-that-nothing-s-ever/) [Giorge Leedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorge-leedy/) > [The highest heels I do are six-inch heels - but mostly only dancers can wear them, since they are used to being on point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-louboutin/the-highest-heels-i-do-are-six-inch-heels-but-mostly-only-dancers-can-2/) [Christian Louboutin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-louboutin/) ## More by Alice Sebold > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I left my mark on that man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-left-my-mark-on-that-man/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [These things, she felt, were not to be passed around like disingenuous party favors. She kept an honor code with her journals and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/these-things-she-felt-were-not-to-be-passed-around-like-disingenuous/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I don't think ignorance is a way that you gain distance on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-don-t-think-ignorance-is-a-way-that-you-gain-distance-on-something/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I was like I was in science class: I was curious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-was-like-i-was-in-science-class-i-was-curious/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“There are secret rooms inside us,” I had said to my therapist. “A relatively benign construct,” he said, and so I did not bother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/there-are-secret-rooms-inside-us-i-had-said-to-my-therapist-a/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“This is just a temporary hell, not a permanent one”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/this-is-just-a-temporary-hell-not-a-permanent-one/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“And a soul would run by a living being, touch them softly on the shoulder or cheek, and continue on its way to heaven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/and-a-soul-would-run-by-a-living-being-touch-them-softly-on-the/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [As if in the other side of his kiss there could ve a new life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/as-if-in-the-other-side-of-his-kiss-there-could-ve-a-new-life/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“My little brother's greatest fear was that the one person who meant so much to him would go away. He loved Lindsey and Grandma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/my-little-brother-s-greatest-fear-was-that-the-one-person-who-meant/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“She listened for the pain in my words, not to the narrative itself. She was intuiting what it meant to me, what was most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/she-listened-for-the-pain-in-my-words-not-to-the-narrative-itself-she/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [The relationship with the words someone uses is more intimate and integrated than just a quick read and a blurb can ever be. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/the-relationship-with-the-words-someone-uses-is-more-intimate-and/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Ruth hadn't talked to my sister since before my death, and then it was only to excuse herself in the hallway at school. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/ruth-hadn-t-talked-to-my-sister-since-before-my-death-and-then-it-was/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Since then I've always thought that under rape in the dictionary it should tell the truth. It is not just forcible intercourse; rape means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/since-then-i-ve-always-thought-that-under-rape-in-the-dictionary-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I live in a world where two truths coexist: where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-live-in-a-world-where-two-truths-coexist-where-both-hell-and-hope/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) [Explore all 302 Alice Sebold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## More Ballet quotes > [“Afterwards Isabelle often wondered if the moments themselves were greater or the memory of them. At least the memory did not pass, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/afterwards-isabelle-often-wondered-if-the-moments-themselves-were/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) [Fernando Bujones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-bujones/) > [So I'm studying ballet every day and really training so people will see me as a ballet dancer, which no one's seen before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/so-i-m-studying-ballet-every-day-and-really-training-so-people-will/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [No matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-georges-noverre/no-matter-the-style-the-farther-one-goes-the-more-obstacles-increase/) [Jean-Georges Noverre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-georges-noverre/) > [What I love most about ballet is being able to express my emotions through dance, and to be able to bring others joy through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/what-i-love-most-about-ballet-is-being-able-to-express-my-emotions/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [It is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/it-is-not-a-question-of-who-dances-but-of-who-or-what-does-not-dance/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) [Peter Martins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-martins/) > [Even though I am a professional, and I know what the steps are, I don't quite know how I'm going to do them, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-farrell/even-though-i-am-a-professional-and-i-know-what-the-steps-are-i-don-t/) [Suzanne Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-farrell/) > [I'd rather be a guy that can build a house or fix a car than be able to walk like a ballet dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-fimmel/i-d-rather-be-a-guy-that-can-build-a-house-or-fix-a-car-than-be-able/) [Travis Fimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-fimmel/) > [When I was 16, I moved to Torrance, California to train at a more advanced studio, and by 19, I joined the American Ballet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/when-i-was-16-i-moved-to-torrance-california-to-train-at-a-more/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [You can imagine me as a kid growing up in redneck Texas with ballet shoes, tucking the violin under my arm. I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swayze/you-can-imagine-me-as-a-kid-growing-up-in-redneck-texas-with-ballet/) [Patrick Swayze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swayze/) > [I only started writing in the latter days of Spandau Ballet. I didnt know I could write because all had our roles within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hadley/i-only-started-writing-in-the-latter-days-of-spandau-ballet-i-didnt/) [Tony Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hadley/) > [All ballet, all reading, all music. That was my world, my inner world,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/all-ballet-all-reading-all-music-that-was-my-world-my-inner-world/) [Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/) > [I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I'm horrible in ballet. I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/i-can-dance-i-like-hip-hop-and-stuff-and-jazz-movements-but-i-m/) [Keke Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keke-palmer/) [Browse all 1,227 Ballet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And in a small house five miles away was a man who held my mud-encrusted charm bracelet out to his wife. Look what I found at the old industrial park,\" he said. \"A construction guy said they were bulldozing the whole lot. They're afraid of sink holes like that one that swallowed the cars.\" His wife poured him some water from the sink as he fingered the tiny bike and the ballet shoe, the flower basket and the thimble. He held out the muddy bracelet as she set down his glass. This little girl's grown up by now,\" she said. Almost. Not quite. 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