--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was at a vividly bad time in Norman…" description: "\"It was at a vividly bad time in Norman Mailer's life that I met him, and a sort of water-treading time in mine. He had stabbed his wife, and I was a co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/dick-cavett-3310_bad_it-was-at-a-vividly-bad-time-in-norman-m_1002538.jpg" --- # It was at a vividly bad time in Norman Mailer's life that… ![“It was at a vividly bad time in Norman Mailer's life that I met him, and a sort of water-treading time in mine. He had stabbed his wife, and I was a copy boy at Time magazine.” quote by Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/dick-cavett-3310_bad_it-was-at-a-vividly-bad-time-in-norman-m_1002538.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/dick-cavett-3310_bad_it-was-at-a-vividly-bad-time-in-norman-m_1002538.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/dick-cavett-3310_bad_it-was-at-a-vividly-bad-time-in-norman-m_1002538.jpg) > “It was at a vividly bad time in Norman Mailer's life that I met him, and a sort of water-treading time in mine. He had stabbed his wife, and I was a copy boy at Time magazine.” [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A chaotic personal crisis intersected with a professional low point, highlighting how turmoil can bring people together. **In simple terms:** Bad times can connect strangers. Key Takeaway Find empathy in shared hardship. Themes crisis connection empathy Mood reflective somber Type conversational narrative When to use this quote - journalism - personal relationships - career setbacks - violent crime Key Concepts psychology human experience Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when you encounter someone in crisis? - Can adversity foster genuine connection? A Different Perspective Shared trauma can also create distance if not handled sensitively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-times/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time magazine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-magazine/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [How wonderful it was to sit on a set with Norman Mailer and get to know him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fisher/how-wonderful-it-was-to-sit-on-a-set-with-norman-mailer-and-get-to/) Frances Fisher > [How could you not love Norman Mailer? He was a total chauvinist, but also so vulnerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/how-could-you-not-love-norman-mailer-he-was-a-total-chauvinist-but/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The whole book experience was a look into another world, the world of Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-kramer/the-whole-book-experience-was-a-look-into-another-world-the-world-of/) [Jerry Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-kramer/) > [If I'd found out that Norman Mailer liked me. I'd have killed myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/if-i-d-found-out-that-norman-mailer-liked-me-i-d-have-killed-myself/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I fell in love with Norman Mailer's 'Of a Fire on the Moon', a description of the 1969 moon landing and the society that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-fell-in-love-with-norman-mailer-s-of-a-fire-on-the-moon-a/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Norman Mailer records in his recent essays and public appearances his perfecting of himself as a virile instrument of letters; he is perpetually in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/norman-mailer-records-in-his-recent-essays-and-public-appearances-his/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Norman Mailer loved women so much. I mean probably more than anything in the world he loved women. He got put into a position…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buffalo-mailer/norman-mailer-loved-women-so-much-i-mean-probably-more-than-anything/) [John Buffalo Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buffalo-mailer/) > [ \[Norman Mailer\] is against masturbation, he's against homosexuality. He believes that murder is essentially sexual. I think he's rather an anthology of all the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/norman-mailer-is-against-masturbation-he-s-against-homosexuality-he/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“So, you're the man who can't spell 'fuck.'" Dorothy Parker to Norman Mailer after publishers had convinced Mailer to replace the word with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/so-you-re-the-man-who-can-t-spell-fuck-dorothy-parker-to-norman/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It's always an interesting question of what was it like as Norman Mailer's son because I could easily turn it back and say what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buffalo-mailer/it-s-always-an-interesting-question-of-what-was-it-like-as-norman/) [John Buffalo Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buffalo-mailer/) > [I never wanted to change the world. Norman Mailer wanted to, he set himself the task of changing the consciousness of our age. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-never-wanted-to-change-the-world-norman-mailer-wanted-to-he-set/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [My father, Norman Mailer, expected a lot from us and he really pushed us and you know one of his favorite lines was, "If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buffalo-mailer/my-father-norman-mailer-expected-a-lot-from-us-and-he-really-pushed/) [John Buffalo Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buffalo-mailer/) > [Norman Mailer thinks William Burroughs is a genius, which I think is ludicrous beyond words. I don't think William Burroughs has an ounce of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/norman-mailer-thinks-william-burroughs-is-a-genius-which-i-think-is/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [Norman Mailer described the desire to be cool as a "decision to encourage the psychopath in oneself, to explore that domain of experience where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/norman-mailer-described-the-desire-to-be-cool-as-a-decision-to/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [What had brought me to New York in the autumn of 1972 was a letter of recommendation written by Norman Mailer, the author of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/what-had-brought-me-to-new-york-in-the-autumn-of-1972-was-a-letter-of/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) ## More by Dick Cavett > [A conversation does not have to be scintillating in order to be memorable. I once met a president of the United States, and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/a-conversation-does-not-have-to-be-scintillating-in-order-to-be/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I don't see the future as bright, language-wise. I see it as a glass half empty - and evaporating quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-don-t-see-the-future-as-bright-language-wise-i-see-it-as-a-glass/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I'm not all that enthralled by show business, and I'm not that much of a highbrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-m-not-all-that-enthralled-by-show-business-and-i-m-not-that-much-of/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I know what it feels like to be a gun lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-know-what-it-feels-like-to-be-a-gun-lover/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Meryl Streep belongs on anybody's list of greats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/meryl-streep-belongs-on-anybody-s-list-of-greats/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Radio, which was a much better medium than television will ever be, was easy and pleasant to listen to. 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Buckley was a man who had a great capacity for fun and for amusing himself by amazing others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/william-f-buckley-was-a-man-who-had-a-great-capacity-for-fun-and-for/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Just think of all the billions of coincidences that don't happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/just-think-of-all-the-billions-of-coincidences-that-don-t-happen/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I eat at this German-Chinese restaurant and the food is delicious. The only problem is that an hour later you're hungry for power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-eat-at-this-german-chinese-restaurant-and-the-food-is-delicious-the/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [I have a long list of things that make me mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-have-a-long-list-of-things-that-make-me-mad/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [“The idea that hunting is one against one is ludicrous. It's one animal versus the hunter, the manufacturer of the rifle, the bullet maker,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/the-idea-that-hunting-is-one-against-one-is-ludicrous-it-s-one-animal/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Chris Matthews can't start any sentence without 'Let me ask you this... ' And I love Chris Matthews! 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Probably a reluctance to give away anything you might conceivably use yourself caused a block.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-m-not-sure-why-writing-for-others-became-harder-probably-a/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) [Explore all 134 Dick Cavett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) ## More Bad quotes > [If I am going to be phased out by whatever powers, then I want people to know that it is not because I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvathy/if-i-am-going-to-be-phased-out-by-whatever-powers-then-i-want-people/) [Parvathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvathy/) > [Sometimes I'm in a bad mood, sometimes I'm in a good mood. 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When I argue with him on the kind of music he is listening to, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeenat-aman/i-listen-to-heavy-metal-thanks-to-my-son-when-i-argue-with-him-on-the/) [Zeenat Aman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeenat-aman/) > [I've said it before, good people are forced to do bad things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-cloud/i-ve-said-it-before-good-people-are-forced-to-do-bad-things/) [Angus Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-cloud/) > [“If any woman opens her legs for you, don't feel so lucky to be fed with nonsense, she has been a bitch for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/if-any-woman-opens-her-legs-for-you-don-t-feel-so-lucky-to-be-fed/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [One thing I always tell players is that there are three bad things: Nothing good happens after midnight, nothing good happens when you're around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-saban/one-thing-i-always-tell-players-is-that-there-are-three-bad-things/) [Nick Saban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-saban/) > [Everybody has bad days, but how you respond to it is a testament to whether you are a winner or a loser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-gordon/everybody-has-bad-days-but-how-you-respond-to-it-is-a-testament-to/) [Aaron Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-gordon/) > [Obviously I'm very grateful 'Bad Guy' is doing so well - it's shocking and surprising and gratifying - but I do think it's important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finneas/obviously-i-m-very-grateful-bad-guy-is-doing-so-well-it-s-shocking/) [Finneas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finneas/) > [I felt pretty good growing up. 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