--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don’t smoke, although it looks…" description: "\"I don’t smoke, although it looks fantastic in films. But I light matches on those thinking blank nights when I crawl my route out onto the roof of the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/daniel-handler-1043_blank_i-don-t-smoke-although-it-looks-fantasti_2600984.jpg" --- # I don’t smoke, although it looks fantastic in films. But I… ![“I don’t smoke, although it looks fantastic in films. But I light matches on those thinking blank nights when I crawl my route out onto the roof of the garage and the sky while my parents sleep innocent and the lonely cars move sparse on the faraway streets, when the pillow won’t stay cool and the…” quote by Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/daniel-handler-1043_blank_i-don-t-smoke-although-it-looks-fantasti_2600984.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/daniel-handler-1043_blank_i-don-t-smoke-although-it-looks-fantasti_2600984.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27f/daniel-handler-1043_blank_i-don-t-smoke-although-it-looks-fantasti_2600984.jpg) > “I don’t smoke, although it looks fantastic in films. But I light matches on those thinking blank nights when I crawl my route out onto the roof of the garage and the sky while my parents sleep innocent and the lonely cars move sparse on the faraway streets, when the pillow won’t stay cool and the blankets bother my body no matter how I move or lie still. I just sit with my legs dangling and light matches and watch them flicker away.” [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A restless youth finds fleeting comfort in lighting matches, symbolizing a desire for control amid insomnia. **In simple terms:** Lighting matches offers a brief escape from restlessness. Key Takeaway Find healthy ways to cope with sleeplessness. Themes insomnia loneliness escape Mood melancholic introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - mental health - creative writing - personal coping strategies - sleep hygiene Key Concepts nighttime rituals self‑soothing urban solitude Questions to Reflect On - What healthier rituals could replace this? - How does nighttime affect mood? A Different Perspective Matches can be dangerous and self‑destructive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Fantastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Lonely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lonely/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoke/) [Stay cool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stay-cool/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I think most of the time with independent films, you don't know where it's gonna end up. I've done a number of films that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-brie/i-think-most-of-the-time-with-independent-films-you-don-t-know-where/) [Alison Brie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-brie/) > [With today's fast films, you can light the way your eye sees the scene. You can abuse the film and create subtleties in contrast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-hall/with-today-s-fast-films-you-can-light-the-way-your-eye-sees-the-scene/) [Conrad Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-hall/) > [I always liked films that are light and high on entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kashmira-shah/i-always-liked-films-that-are-light-and-high-on-entertainment/) [Kashmira Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kashmira-shah/) > [Films with predominantly white casts can come in any form, tell any story, big or small. For black films, you have the light, fluffy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/films-with-predominantly-white-casts-can-come-in-any-form-tell-any/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [Sometimes I wonder if you even see all of the pain you bring to me I try to show you all my scars while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-wonder-if-you-even-see-all-of-the-pain-you-bring-to-me-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just try to stay cool, calm and collected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-rendon/i-just-try-to-stay-cool-calm-and-collected/) [Anthony Rendon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-rendon/) > [I stay cool, and dig all jive, That's the way I stay alive. 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Always try to stay cool if you wish to be strong!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/even-iron-becomes-weak-when-its-hot-people-use-it-as-they-wish-always/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [“The trick here was indifference, I decided as I took my sweet time coming down the stairs. Act cool. Detached. Something potent and violent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/the-trick-here-was-indifference-i-decided-as-i-took-my-sweet-time/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Stay cool, hang loose, admit nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cara-delevingne/stay-cool-hang-loose-admit-nothing/) [Cara Delevingne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cara-delevingne/) ## More by Daniel Handler > [We laughed the rest of the way, because the point of this story is, it is not the cookies. It is the love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/we-laughed-the-rest-of-the-way-because-the-point-of-this-story-is-it/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I started making plans, thinking we would get that far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-started-making-plans-thinking-we-would-get-that-far/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I can't imagine why you would want to take your child to see what the career of a writer is like, because it mostly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-can-t-imagine-why-you-would-want-to-take-your-child-to-see-what-the/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“All the deaths are dead for nothing but you're not dead at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/all-the-deaths-are-dead-for-nothing-but-you-re-not-dead-at-all/) [daniel handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“I love you so soundly and I will do anything to drag you forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-love-you-so-soundly-and-i-will-do-anything-to-drag-you-forward/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I’d ruin any day, all my days, for those long nights with you, and I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-d-ruin-any-day-all-my-days-for-those-long-nights-with-you-and-i-did/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Chestnuts in stuffing tastes like someone chewed up a tree branch and then French-kissed it into your mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/chestnuts-in-stuffing-tastes-like-someone-chewed-up-a-tree-branch-and/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Lemony Snicket. Now, I'm told - the books, of course, starting from the very first one, became hugely popular, selling millions and millions. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/lemony-snicket-now-i-m-told-the-books-of-course-starting-from-the/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“The matches were a little 'he loves me, he loves me not,' but then I saw right on the box that I had twenty-four,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/the-matches-were-a-little-he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not-but-then-i-saw/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I didn't like books where people played on a sports team and won a bunch of games, or went to summer camp and had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-didn-t-like-books-where-people-played-on-a-sports-team-and-won-a/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [I love no one but you, I have discovered, but you are far away and I am here alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-love-no-one-but-you-i-have-discovered-but-you-are-far-away-and-i-am/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [The Basic Eight and Watch Your Mouth both have first-person voices, and I ended up investigating those voices and investing so much in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/the-basic-eight-and-watch-your-mouth-both-have-first-person-voices/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [The Long Goodbye' is one book I like to read over and over again, and it was an enormous inspiration for 'All The Wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/the-long-goodbye-is-one-book-i-like-to-read-over-and-over-again-and/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [The whole thing of what I’ve been trying,” you said, “is that you’re different, and you keep asking about the other girls, but what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/the-whole-thing-of-what-i-ve-been-trying-you-said-is-that-you-re/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [ I wrote a comedy, which hopefully \[Rick director\] Curtiss Clayton will bring to the screen, that I thought was the antithesis of all my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-wrote-a-comedy-which-hopefully-rick-director-curtiss-clayton-will/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) [Explore all 295 Daniel Handler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) ## More Blank quotes > [I have often wondered how they manage to get return envelopes which miss, by one-quarter of an inch, fitting the blank you are supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-have-often-wondered-how-they-manage-to-get-return-envelopes-which/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [But that quickly faded, and he frowned. 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