--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I sit down on the curb, outside the…" description: "\"“I sit down on the curb, outside the Opera. People passing look at me. I will wait here for a hundred years. Or until the hot meat of romance is cooled..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/donald-barthelme-2980_curb_i-sit-down-on-the-curb-outside-the-opera_1947234.png" --- # I sit down on the curb, outside the Opera. People passing… ![“I sit down on the curb, outside the Opera. People passing look at me. I will wait here for a hundred years. Or until the hot meat of romance is cooled by the dull gravy of common sense once more” quote by Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/donald-barthelme-2980_curb_i-sit-down-on-the-curb-outside-the-opera_1947234.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/donald-barthelme-2980_curb_i-sit-down-on-the-curb-outside-the-opera_1947234.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/donald-barthelme-2980_curb_i-sit-down-on-the-curb-outside-the-opera_1947234.png) > ““I sit down on the curb, outside the Opera. People passing look at me. I will wait here for a hundred years. Or until the hot meat of romance is cooled by the dull gravy of common sense once more”” [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A narrator contemplates waiting endlessly, juxtaposing romantic idealism with pragmatic realism. **In simple terms:** Waiting forever versus reality. Key Takeaway Recognize when longing becomes stagnation. Themes loneliness time romance realism Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - waiting at a public place - reflecting on love - contemplating life choices Key Concepts existentialism illusion patience Questions to Reflect On - Do you cling to idealized love? - How does practicality shape desire? 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