--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That was the thing about America, people…" description: "\"“That was the thing about America, people always moving on, so that a girl had to snap up a beau as fast as she could.”\" — Edna O'Brien" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/edna-o-brien-2155_america-people_that-was-the-thing-about-america-people_422081.png" --- # That was the thing about America, people always moving on… ![“That was the thing about America, people always moving on, so that a girl had to snap up a beau as fast as she could.” quote by Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/edna-o-brien-2155_america-people_that-was-the-thing-about-america-people_422081.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/edna-o-brien-2155_america-people_that-was-the-thing-about-america-people_422081.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/edna-o-brien-2155_america-people_that-was-the-thing-about-america-people_422081.png) > ““That was the thing about America, people always moving on, so that a girl had to snap up a beau as fast as she could.”” [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights the fast pace of romance in a society that constantly moves forward. **In simple terms:** Love can be rushed in a changing world. Key Takeaway Take time to choose partners wisely. Themes relationships societal change romance Mood reflective thoughtful Type observational cautionary When to use this quote - dating culture - career moves - migration decisions Key Concepts cultural expectations gender roles Questions to Reflect On - How does societal pressure affect your choices? - What values should guide your relationships? A Different Perspective Rapid decisions may overlook deeper compatibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-people-231177/) [Girl Snap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl-snap-3739692/) [Moving Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving-girl-3739694/) [Snap Beau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snap-beau-3739693/) [Thing America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-america-241670/) ## Related quotes > [The great thing about America is that people take its history and mythologise it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/the-great-thing-about-america-is-that-people-take-its-history-and/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [“I deigned to suggest to him that it was also the American thing -- America was nothing if not good intentions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-deigned-to-suggest-to-him-that-it-was-also-the-american-thing/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [The thing about being in America is when you are driving with the sun on your back, there's hip hop. I never used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-brown/the-thing-about-being-in-america-is-when-you-are-driving-with-the-sun/) [Vanessa Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-brown/) > [That's the greatest thing about America, freedom that we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-beverley/that-s-the-greatest-thing-about-america-freedom-that-we-have/) [Patrick Beverley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-beverley/) > [I think the greatest thing about America is the American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyclef-jean/i-think-the-greatest-thing-about-america-is-the-american-dream/) [Wyclef Jean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyclef-jean/) > [The greatest thing about America is this country is the place everyone wants to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-taylor-greene/the-greatest-thing-about-america-is-this-country-is-the-place/) [Marjorie Taylor Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-taylor-greene/) > [The great thing about America is I always come back with more books and more tip-offs of who to read. It's a country in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-rankin/the-great-thing-about-america-is-i-always-come-back-with-more-books/) [Ian Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-rankin/) > [The interesting and inspiring thing about America is that she asks nothing for herself except what she has a right to ask for humanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-interesting-and-inspiring-thing-about-america-is-that-she-asks/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [If you disagree with me, fine! Because that's the great thing about America, we can disagree!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/if-you-disagree-with-me-fine-because-that-s-the-great-thing-about/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [The great thing about America is that you can come from the worst circumstances and become something remarkable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-great-thing-about-america-is-that-you-can-come-from-the-worst/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [The worst thing to be in America and anywhere on the planet is poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/the-worst-thing-to-be-in-america-and-anywhere-on-the-planet-is-poor/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [I've been wanting to do a book about baseball for the longest time, and nobody will let me do it. It's the one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-ve-been-wanting-to-do-a-book-about-baseball-for-the-longest-time/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I've said many a time that I think the Un-American Activities Committee in the House of Representatives was the most un-American thing in America!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman-2/i-ve-said-many-a-time-that-i-think-the-un-american-activities/) [Harry S Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman-2/) > [One thing I like about the United States, and I kind of miss about the United States, is there's an election coming up here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/one-thing-i-like-about-the-united-states-and-i-kind-of-miss-about-the/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [We will invest in our people, quality education, job opportunity, family, neighborhood, and yes, a thing we call America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quayle/we-will-invest-in-our-people-quality-education-job-opportunity-family/) [Dan Quayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quayle/) ## More by Edna O'Brien > [... a country encapsulates our childhood and those lanes, byres, fields, flowers, insects, suns, moons and stars are forever reoccurring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-country-encapsulates-our-childhood-and-those-lanes-byres-fields/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [You have to be lonely to be a writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/you-have-to-be-lonely-to-be-a-writer/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [I crossed the room, and what you did was to feel my hair over and over again and in different ways, touch it, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/i-crossed-the-room-and-what-you-did-was-to-feel-my-hair-over-and-over/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [In our deepest moments we say the most inadequate things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/in-our-deepest-moments-we-say-the-most-inadequate-things/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [We hide the truer part of ourselves when we love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/we-hide-the-truer-part-of-ourselves-when-we-love/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/the-vote-means-nothing-to-women-we-should-be-armed/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [Movie people are possessed by demons, but a very low form of demons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/movie-people-are-possessed-by-demons-but-a-very-low-form-of-demons/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [Ordinary life bypassed me, but I also bypassed it. It couldn't have been any other way.Conventional life and conventional people are not for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/ordinary-life-bypassed-me-but-i-also-bypassed-it-it-couldn-t-have/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [History is said to be written by the victors. Fiction, by contrast, is largely the work of injured bystanders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/history-is-said-to-be-written-by-the-victors-fiction-by-contrast-is/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“A healer! The beauty of the word a balm. In a mounting astonishment she hears how this man heals with his own blood, pricks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-healer-the-beauty-of-the-word-a-balm-in-a-mounting-astonishment-she/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“If I could feel like myself I’d thank God but I don’t feel and never will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/if-i-could-feel-like-myself-i-d-thank-god-but-i-don-t-feel-and-never/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [...people liking you or not liking you is an accident and is to do with them and not you. That goes for love too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/people-liking-you-or-not-liking-you-is-an-accident-and-is-to-do-with/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“tears running down her cheeks and her nose, tears from the cold and the prospect of being absent for weeks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/tears-running-down-her-cheeks-and-her-nose-tears-from-the-cold-and/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“laughter filling that end of the ward, overflowing, one bringing a chair for Eleanora, another a cup of coffee, marveling that at long last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/laughter-filling-that-end-of-the-ward-overflowing-one-bringing-a/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“Dilly reckons it would be difficult to thread those needles, the eyes so small, especially with her cataracts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/dilly-reckons-it-would-be-difficult-to-thread-those-needles-the-eyes/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) [Explore all 182 Edna O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) ## More America People quotes > [I don't know if a country (America) where the people are so ignorant of reality and of history, if you can call that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/i-don-t-know-if-a-country-america-where-the-people-are-so-ignorant-of/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I think that's what we really need in America, for people to hear each other. And I think philosophy could do a little bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/i-think-that-s-what-we-really-need-in-america-for-people-to-hear-each/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [The people of America are a people of property; almost every man is a freeholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-people-of-america-are-a-people-of-property-almost-every-man-is-a/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Barack Obama has not only said that he is out to 'change the United States of America,' the people he has been associated with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/barack-obama-has-not-only-said-that-he-is-out-to-change-the-united/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [I mean it's very hard to meditate and live a spiritual life in America. People think you're a freak if you try to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-mean-it-s-very-hard-to-meditate-and-live-a-spiritual-life-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is the immigrant hordes who keep this country alive, the waves of them arriving year after year… Who believes in America more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/it-is-the-immigrant-hordes-who-keep-this-country-alive-the-waves-of/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [I'm oftentimes asked, What difference does it make to America if people are dying of malaria in a place like Ghana? It means a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-m-oftentimes-asked-what-difference-does-it-make-to-america-if/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“Poetry is again hip in America as people are beginning to refuse to die of boredom and to choke in the fog of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-codrescu/poetry-is-again-hip-in-america-as-people-are-beginning-to-refuse-to/) [Andrei Codrescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-codrescu/) > [You know that American dream and American spirit of innovation we always talk about? Turns out, the bulk of it was built by people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/you-know-that-american-dream-and-american-spirit-of-innovation-we/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [All over America, people are making kamikaze choices about what to wear. They are misrepresenting the goods. They are letting their clothes write checks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-doonan/all-over-america-people-are-making-kamikaze-choices-about-what-to/) [Simon Doonan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-doonan/) > [This country would not be a land of opportunity, America could not be America, if the people were shackled with government monopolies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/this-country-would-not-be-a-land-of-opportunity-america-could-not-be/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [That is what is happening in America. People see things, but still they've just completely lost the ability to think critically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-yeon-mi/that-is-what-is-happening-in-america-people-see-things-but-still-they/) [Park Yeon-mi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-yeon-mi/) > [ “\[Enoch Root\] hadn't really known what to expect of America. But people here seem to do things—hangings included—with a blunt, blank efficiency that's admirable… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/enoch-root-hadn-t-really-known-what-to-expect-of-america-but-people/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [To be an American is to be part of the world because America, all the people of the world come to America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-anderson/to-be-an-american-is-to-be-part-of-the-world-because-america-all-the/) [Jon Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-anderson/) > [You know what's amazing to me? America. There have been so many people who have stepped up, and I'm just proud to be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/you-know-what-s-amazing-to-me-america-there-have-been-so-many-people/) [Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/) [Browse all 107 America People quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-people-231177/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That was the thing about America, people always moving on, so that a girl had to snap up a beau as fast as she could.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edna O'Brien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/that-was-the-thing-about-america-people-always-moving-on-so-that-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America People" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/that-was-the-thing-about-america-people-always-moving-on-so-that-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/edna-o-brien-2155_america-people_that-was-the-thing-about-america-people_422081.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/edna-o-brien-2155_america-people_that-was-the-thing-about-america-people_422081.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/edna-o-brien-2155_america-people_that-was-the-thing-about-america-people_422081.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That was the thing about America, people always moving on, so that a girl had to snap up a beau as fast as…” — Edna O'Brien", "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": "Edna O'Brien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“That was the thing about America,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/that-was-the-thing-about-america-people-always-moving-on-so-that-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/that-was-the-thing-about-america-people-always-moving-on-so-that-a/#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 } } ] } ```