Far away Quote by Bill Bryson
““It's hard for people now to remember just how enormous the world was back then for everybody, and how far away even fairly nearby places were. When we called my grandparents long distance on the telephone in Winfield, something we hardly ever did, it sounded as if they were speaking to us from a distant star. We had to shout to be heard and plug a finger in an ear to catch their faint, tinny voices in return. They were only about a hundred miles away, but that was a pretty considerable distance even well into the 1950s. Anything farther - beyond Chicago or Kansas City, say - quickly became almost foreign. It wasn't just that Iowa was far from everywhere. Everywhere was far from everywhere.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America, 1989
The quote reflects on how modern communication made distances feel smaller, yet in the past even relatively nearby places seemed vast and remote.
In simple terms: People once felt distant places were huge and far away.
Key Takeaway
Appreciate how technology shrinks perceived distance.
Themes
perspective
technology
distance
history
communication
Mood
nostalgic
reflective
thoughtful
Type
observational
historical
cultural
When to use this quote
- traveling across the US
- making long-distance calls
- reflecting on historical geography
- understanding modern connectivity
Key Concepts
social change
perception of scale
media evolution
Questions to Reflect On
- How does technology change our sense of space?
- What distances still feel far today?
A Different Perspective
Modern tech can also create a false sense of closeness, obscuring cultural differences.
![“Nineteen thousand children [are] dying every day. Does it really matter that we're not walking past them in the street? Does it really matter that they're far away? I don't think it does make a morally relevant difference.” quote by Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cc1/peter-singer-1001_children_nineteen-thousand-children-are-dying-eve_33961.jpg)
