--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cannot tell you how many quiet mornings…" description: "\"“I cannot tell you how many quiet mornings I have spent sitting around hotel rooms and furnished apartments in the United States and Mexico, smoking ci..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/dave-hickey-19063_smoking-cigarettes_i-cannot-tell-you-how-many-quiet-morning_1029820.jpg" --- # I cannot tell you how many quiet mornings I have spent… ![“I cannot tell you how many quiet mornings I have spent sitting around hotel rooms and furnished apartments in the United States and Mexico, smoking cigarettes, plunking the guitar, and watching Perry Mason --telling myself, "Well, at least I don't have a day job. And there is nothing wrong with…” quote by Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/dave-hickey-19063_smoking-cigarettes_i-cannot-tell-you-how-many-quiet-morning_1029820.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/dave-hickey-19063_smoking-cigarettes_i-cannot-tell-you-how-many-quiet-morning_1029820.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/dave-hickey-19063_smoking-cigarettes_i-cannot-tell-you-how-many-quiet-morning_1029820.jpg) > ““I cannot tell you how many quiet mornings I have spent sitting around hotel rooms and furnished apartments in the United States and Mexico, smoking cigarettes, plunking the guitar, and watching Perry Mason --telling myself, "Well, at least I don't have a day job. And there is nothing wrong with that. I am not guilty of anything. Perry would see that in a minute.”” [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding freedom in idleness and creative solitude can be a valid lifestyle choice. **In simple terms:** Idle moments can nurture creativity. Key Takeaway Value your quiet time. Themes creativity solitude nonconformity Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary personal When to use this quote - writing retreats - travel - personal reflection Key Concepts Existentialism artistic freedom Questions to Reflect On - Do you balance leisure with purpose? - How does solitude affect your work? A Different Perspective Idle time may become avoidance of responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Guilty Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty-perry-2345877/) [Mornings Spent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mornings-spent-2345876/) [Perry Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perry-mason-1585481/) [Quiet Mornings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet-mornings-745292/) [Smoking cigarettes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoking-cigarettes/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Unemployment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unemployment/) [Watching Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching-perry-2345878/) ## Related quotes > [“Always more, always hungrily scratching for more. But there were times, quiet moments, when our mother was sleeping, when she hadn’t slept in two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-torres/always-more-always-hungrily-scratching-for-more-but-there-were-times/) [Justin Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-torres/) > [I've been meditating since 14 years and my mornings are spent in the building garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-ve-been-meditating-since-14-years-and-my-mornings-are-spent-in-the/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [My Sunday mornings are spent in a recovery meeting in Pacific Palisades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/my-sunday-mornings-are-spent-in-a-recovery-meeting-in-pacific/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) > [When we started 'Perry Mason,' we thought it might go a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-burr/when-we-started-perry-mason-we-thought-it-might-go-a-year/) [Raymond Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-burr/) > [I once knew it. I only hope that I can regain my own identity, once I decide that Perry Mason and myself have come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-burr/i-once-knew-it-i-only-hope-that-i-can-regain-my-own-identity-once-i/) [Raymond Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-burr/) > [I only hope that I can regain my own identity once I decide that 'Perry Mason' and myself have come to the parting of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-burr/i-only-hope-that-i-can-regain-my-own-identity-once-i-decide-that/) [Raymond Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-burr/) > [I'm proud that Della was sort of a prototype for TV secretaries. There really was no such established character on TV when 'Perry Mason'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-hale/i-m-proud-that-della-was-sort-of-a-prototype-for-tv-secretaries-there/) [Barbara Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-hale/) > [Trying to micromanage the perfect vacation is always a disaster. That leads to terrible times. If you get lost and you just end up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/trying-to-micromanage-the-perfect-vacation-is-always-a-disaster-that/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgement in all human affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-believe-that-pipe-smoking-contributes-to-a-somewhat-calm-and/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Ods me I marle what pleasure or felicity they have in taking their roguish tobacco. It is good for nothing but to choke a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/ods-me-i-marle-what-pleasure-or-felicity-they-have-in-taking-their/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The believing we do something when we do nothing is the first illusion of tobacco.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-believing-we-do-something-when-we-do-nothing-is-the-first/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the 1960s, you could eat anything you wanted, and of course, people were smoking cigarettes and all kinds of things, and there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/in-the-1960s-you-could-eat-anything-you-wanted-and-of-course-people/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [“I wasn't interested in drinking beer or vodka or smoking cigarettes or doing all the other things Greta thinks I can't even imagine. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/i-wasn-t-interested-in-drinking-beer-or-vodka-or-smoking-cigarettes/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [If the fact that people make poor decisions is reason enough for the government to second-guess their decisions about dangerous activities such as smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-sullum/if-the-fact-that-people-make-poor-decisions-is-reason-enough-for-the/) [Jacob Sullum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-sullum/) > [We have too many preacherettes preaching too many sermonettes to too many Christianettes smoking cigarettes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/we-have-too-many-preacherettes-preaching-too-many-sermonettes-to-too/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) ## More by Dave Hickey > [Martha Stewart contributes more to our civility than the Baptist Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/martha-stewart-contributes-more-to-our-civility-than-the-baptist/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [In images,... beauty was the agency that caused visual pleasure in the beholder; and any theory of images that was not grounded in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/in-images-beauty-was-the-agency-that-caused-visual-pleasure-in-the/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [“If there is no art, no culture, then what the fuck are we going to talk about? These are our stories and our stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/if-there-is-no-art-no-culture-then-what-the-fuck-are-we-going-to-talk/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [I think that if you don't like something and it's not easy, you shouldn't be doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/i-think-that-if-you-don-t-like-something-and-it-s-not-easy-you/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [My mother was an economics professor. I'm proficient in math, and statistics, game theory, symbolic logic and all of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/my-mother-was-an-economics-professor-i-m-proficient-in-math-and/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [I have no evangelical feelings about art at all. I despise art education. Art doesn't lend itself to education. There is no knowledge there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/i-have-no-evangelical-feelings-about-art-at-all-i-despise-art/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [I hate all that woozy political and psychotherapeutic crap applied to books and art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/i-hate-all-that-woozy-political-and-psychotherapeutic-crap-applied-to/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [Beautiful art sells. If it sells itself, it is an idolatrous commodity; if it sells anything else, it is a seductive advertisement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/beautiful-art-sells-if-it-sells-itself-it-is-an-idolatrous-commodity/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [“...There are issues worth advancing in images worth admiring; and the truth is never "plain," nor appearances ever "sincere." To try to make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/there-are-issues-worth-advancing-in-images-worth-admiring-and-the/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [If I go to London, everyone wants to talk about Damien Hirst. I'm just not interested in him. Never have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/if-i-go-to-london-everyone-wants-to-talk-about-damien-hirst-i-m-just/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [With the artists, I don't teach, I coach. I can't tell them how to make art. I tell them to make more art. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/with-the-artists-i-don-t-teach-i-coach-i-can-t-tell-them-how-to-make/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [It used to be that if you stood in front of a painting you didn't understand, you'd have some obligation to guess. Now you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/it-used-to-be-that-if-you-stood-in-front-of-a-painting-you-didn-t/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [Even if one succeeds in making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, there remains the problem of what to do with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/even-if-one-succeeds-in-making-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow-s-ear-there/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [In my experience, you always think you know what you're doing; you always think you can explain, but you always discover, years later, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/in-my-experience-you-always-think-you-know-what-you-re-doing-you/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [Art editors and critics - people like me - have become a courtier class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/art-editors-and-critics-people-like-me-have-become-a-courtier-class/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) [Explore all 33 Dave Hickey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) ## More Smoking cigarettes quotes > [We have too many preacherettes preaching too many sermonettes to too many Christianettes smoking cigarettes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/we-have-too-many-preacherettes-preaching-too-many-sermonettes-to-too/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [If the fact that people make poor decisions is reason enough for the government to second-guess their decisions about dangerous activities such as smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-sullum/if-the-fact-that-people-make-poor-decisions-is-reason-enough-for-the/) [Jacob Sullum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-sullum/) > [“I wasn't interested in drinking beer or vodka or smoking cigarettes or doing all the other things Greta thinks I can't even imagine. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/i-wasn-t-interested-in-drinking-beer-or-vodka-or-smoking-cigarettes/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [In the 1960s, you could eat anything you wanted, and of course, people were smoking cigarettes and all kinds of things, and there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/in-the-1960s-you-could-eat-anything-you-wanted-and-of-course-people/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [The believing we do something when we do nothing is the first illusion of tobacco.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-believing-we-do-something-when-we-do-nothing-is-the-first/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Ods me I marle what pleasure or felicity they have in taking their roguish tobacco. It is good for nothing but to choke a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/ods-me-i-marle-what-pleasure-or-felicity-they-have-in-taking-their/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgement in all human affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-believe-that-pipe-smoking-contributes-to-a-somewhat-calm-and/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Trying to micromanage the perfect vacation is always a disaster. That leads to terrible times. If you get lost and you just end up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/trying-to-micromanage-the-perfect-vacation-is-always-a-disaster-that/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [Ten to 20 years out, driving your car will be viewed as equivalently immoral as smoking cigarettes around other people is today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andreessen/ten-to-20-years-out-driving-your-car-will-be-viewed-as-equivalently/) [Marc Andreessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andreessen/) > [I quit smoking cigarettes and with the $70 a month I am saving not smoking cigarettes I'm smoking $700 worth of cigars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-white/i-quit-smoking-cigarettes-and-with-the-70-a-month-i-am-saving-not/) [Ron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-white/) > [“This sense of being out of time has driven thousands of people from their homes into moving-picture theaters where new universes appear before them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/this-sense-of-being-out-of-time-has-driven-thousands-of-people-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [It was sad, it was sad, it was sad. When Betty came back we didn't sing or laugh, or even argue. We sat drinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/it-was-sad-it-was-sad-it-was-sad-when-betty-came-back-we-didn-t-sing/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“The idea that we need to consume more of some particular nutrient to balance another that is overconsumed is as ineffective as taking vitamin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-n-graham/the-idea-that-we-need-to-consume-more-of-some-particular-nutrient-to/) [Douglas N. Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-n-graham/) > [“The point to keep in mind is that you don’t lose fat because you cut calories; you lose fat because you cut out the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-taubes/the-point-to-keep-in-mind-is-that-you-don-t-lose-fat-because-you-cut-2/) [Gary Taubes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-taubes/) > [I tried to stop smoking cigarettes by telling myself I just didn't want to smoke, but I didn't believe myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kelly/i-tried-to-stop-smoking-cigarettes-by-telling-myself-i-just-didn-t/) [Barbara Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kelly/) [Browse all 93 Smoking cigarettes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoking-cigarettes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I cannot tell you how many quiet mornings I have spent sitting around hotel rooms and furnished apartments in the United States and Mexico, smoking cigarettes, plunking the guitar, and watching Perry Mason --telling myself, \"Well, at least I don't have a day job. And there is nothing wrong with that. I am not guilty of anything. Perry would see that in a minute.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dave Hickey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/i-cannot-tell-you-how-many-quiet-mornings-i-have-spent-sitting-around/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Smoking cigarettes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/i-cannot-tell-you-how-many-quiet-mornings-i-have-spent-sitting-around/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/dave-hickey-19063_smoking-cigarettes_i-cannot-tell-you-how-many-quiet-morning_1029820.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/dave-hickey-19063_smoking-cigarettes_i-cannot-tell-you-how-many-quiet-morning_1029820.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/dave-hickey-19063_smoking-cigarettes_i-cannot-tell-you-how-many-quiet-morning_1029820.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I cannot tell you how many quiet mornings I have spent sitting around hotel rooms and furnished apartments…” — Dave Hickey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dave Hickey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I cannot tell you how many...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/i-cannot-tell-you-how-many-quiet-mornings-i-have-spent-sitting-around/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/i-cannot-tell-you-how-many-quiet-mornings-i-have-spent-sitting-around/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```