--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Irwin was difficult to wake; the poor man…" description: "\"“Irwin was difficult to wake; the poor man was totally wiped out. He collapsed in one of the soft office chairs the moment Smith let him, sliding back ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/holly-rutan-107870_horror_irwin-was-difficult-to-wake-the-poor-man_699324.jpg" --- # Irwin was difficult to wake; the poor man was totally… ![“Irwin was difficult to wake; the poor man was totally wiped out. He collapsed in one of the soft office chairs the moment Smith let him, sliding back into slumber. After he was settled, I sat at my desk and reviewed Smith’s…no, Charles’s notes, shuffling the paper irritably to bring the print into…” quote by Holly Rutan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/holly-rutan-107870_horror_irwin-was-difficult-to-wake-the-poor-man_699324.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/holly-rutan-107870_horror_irwin-was-difficult-to-wake-the-poor-man_699324.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29c/holly-rutan-107870_horror_irwin-was-difficult-to-wake-the-poor-man_699324.jpg) > ““Irwin was difficult to wake; the poor man was totally wiped out. He collapsed in one of the soft office chairs the moment Smith let him, sliding back into slumber. After he was settled, I sat at my desk and reviewed Smith’s…no, Charles’s notes, shuffling the paper irritably to bring the print into focus. Someday, I’d come up with a melody that fixed my sight problems. And tomorrow, I thought, mocking myself, I’ll find a way to sing away fleas and retire rich.”” [Holly Rutan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-rutan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exhaustion, distraction, and yearning for creative solutions illustrate workplace fatigue. **In simple terms:** Work fatigue leads to creative yearning. Key Takeaway Address burnout, seek inspiration. Themes burnout creativity workplace fatigue distraction humor Mood tired humorous Type Collapsed:1 Horror:0 Musa-publishing:0 Paranormal:0 Paranormal-thriller:0 Poor man:0 Reviewed Smith:0 Thought Mocking:0 Charles Notes:0 Collapsed Soft:0 When to use this quote - time management - creative breaks - mental health support - organizing workspace Key Concepts psychology productivity artistic expression stress management Questions to Reflect On - What strategies combat workplace exhaustion? - How can humor improve productivity? A Different Perspective Humor may mask serious issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Charles Notes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charles-notes-5539553/) [Collapsed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapsed/) [Collapsed Soft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapsed-soft-5539554/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Musa-publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musa-publishing-127115/) [Paranormal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paranormal/) [Paranormal-thriller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paranormal-thriller/) [Poor man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-man/) [Reviewed Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reviewed-smith-5539551/) [Thought Mocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-mocking-5539552/) ## Related quotes > [“...My hands shook, and I stared at them. Another loss of control. That was the second time this month. 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"Not if your words have anything to do with 'this isn’t right' or 'Jacinda, this can’t happen between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-eastwick/jacinda-will-you-listen-to-me-not-if-your-words-have-anything-to-do/) [Dominique Eastwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominique-eastwick/) > [“I sit on a foldaway chair at the lakeside, sipping hot cocoa and admiring the sunset behind distant clouds, pondering my next novel, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-j-sarfeh/i-sit-on-a-foldaway-chair-at-the-lakeside-sipping-hot-cocoa-and/) [I.J. Sarfeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-j-sarfeh/) > [“I’m going to kiss you, and we’re going to see just how moved on you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-eastwick/i-m-going-to-kiss-you-and-we-re-going-to-see-just-how-moved-on-you-are/) [Dominique Eastwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominique-eastwick/) > [“Drive. He’s already dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/drive-he-s-already-dead/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [“Was James bipolar?” The tears returned, and I watched her battle them. “We don’t use that word in our family.” I stared at her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-butler/was-james-bipolar-the-tears-returned-and-i-watched-her-battle-them-we/) [Hazel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-butler/) > [“Remember. Observe, assess and act. No hesitation. No remorse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/remember-observe-assess-and-act-no-hesitation-no-remorse/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [“Joshua had always been able to get away with things—things for which he should never have been forgiven. He was a lot like James…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-butler/joshua-had-always-been-able-to-get-away-with-things-things-for-which/) [Hazel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-butler/) > [“So exquisitely perfect was the darkness of the heavens above that one would have difficulty believing it was a prison to the passengers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micheal-rivers/so-exquisitely-perfect-was-the-darkness-of-the-heavens-above-that-one/) [Micheal Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micheal-rivers/) > [“James had taken his own life, but the need to do so was not something easily explained. He had the life he wanted: money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-butler/james-had-taken-his-own-life-but-the-need-to-do-so-was-not-something/) [Hazel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-butler/) > [“The horror of what I saw chilled me to the bone. Blood glistened on my friend's lips. He knelt down and whispered something I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-coulson/the-horror-of-what-i-saw-chilled-me-to-the-bone-blood-glistened-on-my/) [Stella Coulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-coulson/) > [“I don’t know how these things died without benefit of a bullet to the brain pan. They seemed to exist in an eternal twilight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/i-don-t-know-how-these-things-died-without-benefit-of-a-bullet-to-the/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [“I thought if I loved you enough I could change you. I was so stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/i-thought-if-i-loved-you-enough-i-could-change-you-i-was-so-stupid/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) ## More by Holly Rutan > [“...My hands shook, and I stared at them. Another loss of control. That was the second time this month. Sooner or later, I’d break,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-rutan/my-hands-shook-and-i-stared-at-them-another-loss-of-control-that-was/) [Holly Rutan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-rutan/) [Explore all 2 Holly Rutan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-rutan/) ## More Collapsed quotes > [“Janet collapsed her head into her hands with relief. She’d never reached out for help before, certainly not with someone she knew so little.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-roy/janet-collapsed-her-head-into-her-hands-with-relief-she-d-never/) [Deanna Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-roy/) > [“But I lacked the courage and she had a boyfriend and I was gawky and she was gorgeous and I was hopelessly boring and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/but-i-lacked-the-courage-and-she-had-a-boyfriend-and-i-was-gawky-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“As he left the hospital, he wasn’t scared. 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I thought of two trees nearly unrooted and leaning against each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/she-collapsed-i-stepped-forward-and-caught-her-i-thought-of-two-trees/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [When the USSR collapsed, I was 11, and unlike many people, I don't miss it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-simonyan/when-the-ussr-collapsed-i-was-11-and-unlike-many-people-i-don-t-miss/) [Margarita Simonyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-simonyan/) > [“My imagined future and my personal identity collapsed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/my-imagined-future-and-my-personal-identity-collapsed/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“The Maya collapsed because they overshot the carrying capacity of their environment. 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Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher-2/) [Browse all 127 Collapsed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapsed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Irwin was difficult to wake; the poor man was totally wiped out. He collapsed in one of the soft office chairs the moment Smith let him, sliding back into slumber. After he was settled, I sat at my desk and reviewed Smith’s…no, Charles’s notes, shuffling the paper irritably to bring the print into focus. Someday, I’d come up with a melody that fixed my sight problems. 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