--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We recognized who we were at a glace--all…" description: "\"“We recognized who we were at a glace--all irregulars from the drifting nation of dreamy youth. We're ghosts of those times now, just nicked, straight-..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/frederic-tuten-41013_despair_we-recognized-who-we-were-at-a-glace-all_3016997.jpg" --- # We recognized who we were at a glace--all irregulars from… ![“We recognized who we were at a glace--all irregulars from the drifting nation of dreamy youth. We're ghosts of those times now, just nicked, straight-edged razors heaped in pawnshop drawers. Don't get old. Don't die. Kill despair. Keep hope.” quote by Frederic Tuten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/frederic-tuten-41013_despair_we-recognized-who-we-were-at-a-glace-all_3016997.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/frederic-tuten-41013_despair_we-recognized-who-we-were-at-a-glace-all_3016997.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/frederic-tuten-41013_despair_we-recognized-who-we-were-at-a-glace-all_3016997.jpg) > ““We recognized who we were at a glace--all irregulars from the drifting nation of dreamy youth. We're ghosts of those times now, just nicked, straight-edged razors heaped in pawnshop drawers. Don't get old. Don't die. Kill despair. Keep hope.”” [Frederic Tuten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-tuten/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reflection on aging, lost youth, and the need to resist despair with hope. **In simple terms:** Aging and hope. Key Takeaway Embrace hope, reject despair. Themes aging hope nostalgia identity resilience Mood melancholic determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - mental health - creative writing - life coaching Key Concepts existentialism self‑reflection mortality Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep hope alive as you age? - What rituals sustain your optimism? A Different Perspective Hope can be fleeting without active effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ## Related quotes > [It's the circle of life, and it moves us all through despair and hope, through faith and love. Rafiki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-lion-king/it-s-the-circle-of-life-and-it-moves-us-all-through-despair-and-hope/) [The Lion King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-lion-king/) > [The greatest faith is born in the hour of despair. When we can see no hope and no way out, then faith rises and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-roberson/the-greatest-faith-is-born-in-the-hour-of-despair-when-we-can-see-no/) [Lee Roberson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-roberson/) > [“Yeah,” sighed Jane. “I suppose. But that’s the problem. I can cope with despair. But hope keeps fucking me up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-baker/yeah-sighed-jane-i-suppose-but-that-s-the-problem-i-can-cope-with/) [Adam Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-baker/) > [“You have to know your own truth and stick to it. And never despair. Never give up. There's always hope. -from Postcards from No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/you-have-to-know-your-own-truth-and-stick-to-it-and-never-despair/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [And remember: you must never, under any circumstances, despair. To hope and to act, these are our duties in misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/and-remember-you-must-never-under-any-circumstances-despair-to-hope/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [Hope is a terrible thing, she said. Is it? Yes, it keep you living in another place, a place which doesn't exist. For some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/hope-is-a-terrible-thing-she-said-is-it-yes-it-keep-you-living-in/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [“Until we walk with despair, and still have hope, we will not know that our hope was not just hope in ourselves, in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/until-we-walk-with-despair-and-still-have-hope-we-will-not-know-that/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [What would it mean to live in a city whose people were changing each other's despair into hope? You yourself must change it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/what-would-it-mean-to-live-in-a-city-whose-people-were-changing-each/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [In strange and uncertain times such as those we are living in, sometimes a reasonable person might despair. But hope is unreasonable and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fripp/in-strange-and-uncertain-times-such-as-those-we-are-living-in/) [Robert Fripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fripp/) > [It's not the despair, Laura. I can take the despair. It's the hope I can't stand. ~ Brian Stimpson, Clockwise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/it-s-not-the-despair-laura-i-can-take-the-despair-it-s-the-hope-i-can-2/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [Courage is as often the outcome of despair as of hope; in the one case we have nothing to lose, in the other everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/courage-is-as-often-the-outcome-of-despair-as-of-hope-in-the-one-case/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Be a light today for all in despair. In hope that if you should fall...they will light your way tomorrow!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/be-a-light-today-for-all-in-despair-in-hope-that-if-you-should-fall/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [It's not the despair, Laura. I can take the despair. It's the hope I can't stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/it-s-not-the-despair-laura-i-can-take-the-despair-it-s-the-hope-i-can/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [“The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.”VII”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-walker/the-best-bridge-between-despair-and-hope-is-a-good-night-s-sleep-vii/) [Matthew Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-walker/) > [In spite of despair, hope must exist. In spite of suffering, humanity must prevail. And in spite of all the differences in the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/in-spite-of-despair-hope-must-exist-in-spite-of-suffering-humanity/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## More by Frederic Tuten > [If you're not happy, if you're not Emmersonianly happy and think everything's going to get better, then you're just sort of a dark animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-tuten/if-you-re-not-happy-if-you-re-not-emmersonianly-happy-and-think/) [Frederic Tuten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-tuten/) > [I think we all recognize that one of the problems in American culture is that increasingly, there's no middle ground. That either you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-tuten/i-think-we-all-recognize-that-one-of-the-problems-in-american-culture/) [Frederic Tuten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-tuten/) > [When you are out of favor, so to speak, it's not just the reviewers. It's the editors, the publishers, they don't want you anymore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-tuten/when-you-are-out-of-favor-so-to-speak-it-s-not-just-the-reviewers-it/) [Frederic Tuten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-tuten/) > [Someone once told me years ago that there was nothing so dead as a warmed-over love affair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-tuten/someone-once-told-me-years-ago-that-there-was-nothing-so-dead-as-a/) [Frederic Tuten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-tuten/) > [“We sleep and nap in bed--my two piled up mattresses on the bare wooden floor. We are silent, dreamy. She surveys my photographs crowded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-tuten/we-sleep-and-nap-in-bed-my-two-piled-up-mattresses-on-the-bare-wooden/) [Frederic Tuten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-tuten/) > [Someone said, in a simplistic way maybe, that all American poetry is either cooked or raw, and if it's cooked, it comes from Poe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-tuten/someone-said-in-a-simplistic-way-maybe-that-all-american-poetry-is/) [Frederic Tuten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-tuten/) > [“I loved him in the way young people are mad for those they wish to resemble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-tuten/i-loved-him-in-the-way-young-people-are-mad-for-those-they-wish-to/) [Frederic Tuten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-tuten/) > [Whether one becomes famous or not, you have to be reminded of people like Melville, who for the last thirty years of his life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-tuten/whether-one-becomes-famous-or-not-you-have-to-be-reminded-of-people/) [Frederic Tuten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-tuten/) > [Aurelie Sheehan's absorbing stories have depth miles beneath their compelling surface. They radiate a wisdom, beauty and originality rare in contemporary fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-tuten/aurelie-sheehan-s-absorbing-stories-have-depth-miles-beneath-their/) [Frederic Tuten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-tuten/) [Explore all 10 Frederic Tuten quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-tuten/) ## More Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) Louaiq8 > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We recognized who we were at a glace--all irregulars from the drifting nation of dreamy youth. We're ghosts of those times now, just nicked, straight-edged razors heaped in pawnshop drawers. Don't get old. Don't die. Kill despair. 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