--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Coincidentally the couple who had endowed…" description: "\"“Coincidentally the couple who had endowed it had lived in her parents’ building. They had had an eight-year-old with a pretty singing voice who drowne..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/041/anna-quindlen-467_old-man_coincidentally-the-couple-who-had-endowe_876157.png" --- # Coincidentally the couple who had endowed it had lived in… ![“Coincidentally the couple who had endowed it had lived in her parents’ building. They had had an eight-year-old with a pretty singing voice who drowned at a Maine summer camp. “You can’t imagine what happened,” said Sarah, but of course Rebecca could imagine. Being a boy soprano had a shorter…” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/041/anna-quindlen-467_old-man_coincidentally-the-couple-who-had-endowe_876157.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/041/anna-quindlen-467_old-man_coincidentally-the-couple-who-had-endowe_876157.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/041/anna-quindlen-467_old-man_coincidentally-the-couple-who-had-endowe_876157.png) > ““Coincidentally the couple who had endowed it had lived in her parents’ building. They had had an eight-year-old with a pretty singing voice who drowned at a Maine summer camp. “You can’t imagine what happened,” said Sarah, but of course Rebecca could imagine. Being a boy soprano had a shorter shelf life than being a supermodel. She could almost see it as Sarah went on and on, the boy with the pale blue eyes, insensible to the hormones coursing through his body as he stood on the stage at Alice Tully Hall. Apparently his choir director had chosen “Old Man River,” sung not in the bass range made famous by Paul Robeson, or in the dialect in which it had been written, but in a high register with crisp consonants. (To be fair to the choir director, he had never”” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A young singer’s brief fame contrasts with fleeting youth, highlighting impermanence of talent and life. **In simple terms:** Fame is fleeting, especially for youth. Key Takeaway Recognize the temporary nature of success. Themes impermanence artistry nostalgia Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - artistic pursuits - life transitions - memory preservation Key Concepts sociology identity performance Questions to Reflect On - What does the boy’s story say about fleeting talent? - How do we honor temporary achievements? A Different Perspective Idealizing past moments can hinder present growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boy Soprano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boy-soprano-1003759/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Paul Robeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paul-robeson/) [Rebecca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebecca/) [Rebecca Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebecca-imagine-1003760/) [Said Sarah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-sarah-855356/) [Sarah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sarah/) [Shelf life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelf-life/) [Singing voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing-voice/) [Summer camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer-camp/) ## Related quotes > [I remember at the age of, and I'll say this, 10 and a half, 11, I had a natural boy soprano.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-warlow/i-remember-at-the-age-of-and-i-ll-say-this-10-and-a-half-11-i-had-a/) [Anthony Warlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-warlow/) > [As a boy soprano in the high school choir, I later sang a solo during the carol service at Canterbury Cathedral, but I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamish-bowles/as-a-boy-soprano-in-the-high-school-choir-i-later-sang-a-solo-during/) [Hamish Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamish-bowles/) > [I was a boy soprano. I had a natural kind of voice and then trained it after my voice changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-cariou/i-was-a-boy-soprano-i-had-a-natural-kind-of-voice-and-then-trained-it/) [Len Cariou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-cariou/) > [Suddenly Saffron had a picture in her mind of Sarah waiting at the bottom of the wall, and she was angry with herself. Something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mckay/suddenly-saffron-had-a-picture-in-her-mind-of-sarah-waiting-at-the/) [Hilary McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mckay/) > [“Telepaths have ethics?" Dominic's eyes narrowed, tone and posture united to convey disbelief. "My mother and I do," said Sarah, letting her head settle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seanan-mcguire/telepaths-have-ethics-dominic-s-eyes-narrowed-tone-and-posture-united/) [Seanan McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seanan-mcguire/) > [“Like Sarah, treat your husband like what he might become. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-fishburne/back-in-1978-when-i-was-still-in-high-school-i-went-to-see-a-broadway/) [Laurence Fishburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-fishburne/) > [Paul Robeson was an athlete, Rutgers valedictorian, lawyer, writer, actor in movies and plays, great voice - a black male doing it all, back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhani-jones/paul-robeson-was-an-athlete-rutgers-valedictorian-lawyer-writer-actor/) [Dhani Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhani-jones/) > [Early on I saw the plastic quality in colored people and had friends among them; and later was to work from colored models and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/early-on-i-saw-the-plastic-quality-in-colored-people-and-had-friends/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [“I named you Fauna because I loved Robinson Jeffers’ poem about Flora and Fauna. I asked that they keep that name. I wanted only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fauna-hodel/i-named-you-fauna-because-i-loved-robinson-jeffers-poem-about-flora/) [Fauna Hodel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fauna-hodel/) > [There never has been a desire on the part of the government that the struggle of Black people in America should be linked to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/there-never-has-been-a-desire-on-the-part-of-the-government-that-the/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More Old man quotes > [“You’d better keep her tied.” “Why?” A yawn stretched Hunter’s dark face. “Because she’s looking skittish.” “She’s naked.” Sheathing his knife, Hunter flopped on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/you-d-better-keep-her-tied-why-a-yawn-stretched-hunter-s-dark-face/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [Therefore, brethren, pray until God gives us revelation so that "knowing this" in our spirit we may truly confess "that our old man has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/therefore-brethren-pray-until-god-gives-us-revelation-so-that-knowing/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [My old man was ruthless. He terrorised us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hunt/my-old-man-was-ruthless-he-terrorised-us/) [Mark Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hunt/) > [There was an Old Man of Messina, Whose daughter was named Opsibeena; She wore a small wig, and rode out on a pig, To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lear/there-was-an-old-man-of-messina-whose-daughter-was-named-opsibeena/) [Edward Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lear/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“IN the year 1888 Herr von Pasenow was seventy, and there were people who felt an extraordinary and inexplicable repulsion when they saw him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-broch/in-the-year-1888-herr-von-pasenow-was-seventy-and-there-were-people/) [Hermann Broch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-broch/) > [“He wants to dream like a young man with the wisdom of a old man, he wants his home and securities, he wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-seger/he-wants-to-dream-like-a-young-man-with-the-wisdom-of-a-old-man-he/) [Bob Seger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-seger/) > [The true love suddenly broken, not only but like the old man who has lost the stick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-true-love-suddenly-broken-not-only-but-like-the-old-man-who-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I’m 59 and people call me middle aged. 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That's baseball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-harwell/a-tall-thin-old-man-waving-a-scorecard-from-the-corner-of-his-dugout/) [Ernie Harwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-harwell/) > [God has given this way of life to Israel: to abstain from everything which is contrary to nature, that is to say, anger, fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poemen/god-has-given-this-way-of-life-to-israel-to-abstain-from-everything/) [Poemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poemen/) [Browse all 2,184 Old man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Coincidentally the couple who had endowed it had lived in her parents’ building. They had had an eight-year-old with a pretty singing voice who drowned at a Maine summer camp. “You can’t imagine what happened,” said Sarah, but of course Rebecca could imagine. Being a boy soprano had a shorter shelf life than being a supermodel. She could almost see it as Sarah went on and on, the boy with the pale blue eyes, insensible to the hormones coursing through his body as he stood on the stage at Alice Tully Hall. Apparently his choir director had chosen “Old Man River,” sung not in the bass range made famous by Paul Robeson, or in the dialect in which it had been written, but in a high register with crisp consonants. 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