--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would, if one-armned and jonesing…" description: "\"“I would, if one-armned and jonesing, doubtless have found a way to cook up a hearty spoon of Mexican tar and slam it with my toes. (I met a double amp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/jerry-stahl-4491_amputee_i-would-if-one-armned-and-jonesing-doubt_1869279.jpg" --- # I would, if one-armned and jonesing, doubtless have found… ![“I would, if one-armned and jonesing, doubtless have found a way to cook up a hearty spoon of Mexican tar and slam it with my toes. (I met a double amputee in San Francisco whose girlfriend slapped a bra strap around his throat and geezed him in the neck. Another triumph of the human spirit. But…” quote by Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/jerry-stahl-4491_amputee_i-would-if-one-armned-and-jonesing-doubt_1869279.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/jerry-stahl-4491_amputee_i-would-if-one-armned-and-jonesing-doubt_1869279.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/jerry-stahl-4491_amputee_i-would-if-one-armned-and-jonesing-doubt_1869279.jpg) > ““I would, if one-armned and jonesing, doubtless have found a way to cook up a hearty spoon of Mexican tar and slam it with my toes. (I met a double amputee in San Francisco whose girlfriend slapped a bra strap around his throat and geezed him in the neck. Another triumph of the human spirit. But slap me if I get sentimental...)”” [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A bizarre, darkly comic image of extreme self‑destruction and absurdity, reflecting on human suffering and absurd humor **In simple terms:** A wild, grotesque metaphor for pain and absurdity Key Takeaway Recognize absurdity, seek meaning beyond shock Themes dark humor absurdity human suffering Mood conflicted ironic provocative Type satire dark comedy philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - creative writing - mental health coping - social commentary Key Concepts Existentialism surrealism catharsis Questions to Reflect On - What does the grotesque imagery reveal about coping with pain? - How does humor help process trauma? A Different Perspective The shock value may alienate readers and obscure deeper insight ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amputee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amputee/) [Doubtless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubtless/) [Human spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-spirit/) [San francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/san-francisco/) ## Related quotes > [I miss you like a double amputee misses masterbation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-miss-you-like-a-double-amputee-misses-masterbation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“At the back of my mind I wanted to be a journalist when I grew up since I didn’t seem to be getting any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-colquhoun/at-the-back-of-my-mind-i-wanted-to-be-a-journalist-when-i-grew-up/) Ian Colquhoun > [Olympic double amputee Oscar Pistorius was arrested and charged with killing his girlfriend today. It looks pretty cut and dried and he doesn't appear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-espinoza/olympic-double-amputee-oscar-pistorius-was-arrested-and-charged-with/) [Rudy Espinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-espinoza/) > [It's an objective fact that I am a double amputee, but it's very subjective opinion as to whether that makes me disabled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/it-s-an-objective-fact-that-i-am-a-double-amputee-but-it-s-very/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [If I ever saw an amputee getting hanged, I'd probably just start calling out letters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/if-i-ever-saw-an-amputee-getting-hanged-i-d-probably-just-start/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [The night before my amputation, my former basketball coach brought me a magazine with an article on an amputee who ran in the New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-fox/the-night-before-my-amputation-my-former-basketball-coach-brought-me/) [Terry Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-fox/) > [There are more challenges as an amputee than I had when I was racing with both my legs beforehand but it's something I enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-monger/there-are-more-challenges-as-an-amputee-than-i-had-when-i-was-racing/) [Billy Monger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-monger/) > [I'm not an advocate for disability issues. Human issues are what interest me. You can't possibly speak for a diverse group of people. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/i-m-not-an-advocate-for-disability-issues-human-issues-are-what-2/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [I've had journalists asking me, 'What do we call you - is it handicapped, are you disabled, physically challenged?' I said, 'Well hopefully you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/i-ve-had-journalists-asking-me-what-do-we-call-you-is-it-handicapped/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [“Oedipa sat on the earth, ass getting cold, wondering whether, as Driblette had suggested that night from the shower, some version of herself hadn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/oedipa-sat-on-the-earth-ass-getting-cold-wondering-whether-as/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [With this blistering salvo of poetic gutshots Lawson has proven himself Bizarro’s true bard, its mad laureate. Switching from dark whimsy to retina-blast shock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robert-johnson/with-this-blistering-salvo-of-poetic-gutshots-lawson-has-proven/) [Jeremy Robert Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-robert-johnson/) > [The injured runner is like a recent amputee victim, continually forgetting that the limb isn't there, crestfallen at each realization. What we need more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-fleshman/the-injured-runner-is-like-a-recent-amputee-victim-continually/) [Lauren Fleshman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-fleshman/) > [“Pop's leg was across the room when I came downstairs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-miller-haines/pop-s-leg-was-across-the-room-when-i-came-downstairs/) Kathryn Miller Haines > [“She felt like an amputee, reaching out reflexively with an arm she no longer had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/she-felt-like-an-amputee-reaching-out-reflexively-with-an-arm-she-no/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [Now I know why they call them pay stubs. My take home pay has been amputated. Thanks Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-espinoza/now-i-know-why-they-call-them-pay-stubs-my-take-home-pay-has-been/) [Rudy Espinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-espinoza/) ## More by Jerry Stahl > [“This was, I sometimes thought, the last gift my father gave me. And the best: His death stood out as the supreme-o excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-was-i-sometimes-thought-the-last-gift-my-father-gave-me-and-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [I think there's a phenomenon of people who want to be around something that seems "dangerous." It makes them feel more real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/i-think-there-s-a-phenomenon-of-people-who-want-to-be-around/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [I always figured I myself would never be lucky enough to die, I'd just live on and on in this increasingly dreary spiral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/i-always-figured-i-myself-would-never-be-lucky-enough-to-die-i-d-just/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“Not until I stopped doing drugs altogether did I feel like a man. Not until I walked out of that fire did I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/not-until-i-stopped-doing-drugs-altogether-did-i-feel-like-a-man-not/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“This book, for me, is less an exercise in recall than exorcism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-book-for-me-is-less-an-exercise-in-recall-than-exorcism/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“Not doing something crude right off is about as close as a guy like me ever gets to class.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/not-doing-something-crude-right-off-is-about-as-close-as-a-guy-like/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [A waft of sweet hash drifted by, and I wanted to float after it like Wimpy levitating at the scent of a hamburger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/a-waft-of-sweet-hash-drifted-by-and-i-wanted-to-float-after-it-like/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [I always tell myself, when I remember the non-stop self-generated hell party that used to be my life, I wouldn't be here if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/i-always-tell-myself-when-i-remember-the-non-stop-self-generated-hell/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [My own theory is that people are just so desperate for somebody they can feel better than, in America. Now that everyone's going broke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/my-own-theory-is-that-people-are-just-so-desperate-for-somebody-they/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“...with enough rock in your system, you could hear every noise in the universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/with-enough-rock-in-your-system-you-could-hear-every-noise-in-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [I think that a lot of people are in love with stress. It's the dirty little secret of Western civilization. People often mistake stress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/i-think-that-a-lot-of-people-are-in-love-with-stress-it-s-the-dirty/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“There are stories you don't want to tell, and there are stories that scald your brainpan right down to the tongue at the mere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/there-are-stories-you-don-t-want-to-tell-and-there-are-stories-that/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [Heroin spread that soft blanket over everything. But once the blanket was ripped off, it took a layer of skin with it, leaving nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/heroin-spread-that-soft-blanket-over-everything-but-once-the-blanket/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“In some odd gush of patriotism, my mother had once vomited on the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, and a bust of Benjamin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/in-some-odd-gush-of-patriotism-my-mother-had-once-vomited-on-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“Being a junkie, when you broke it down, was nothing more than a crazed day job.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/being-a-junkie-when-you-broke-it-down-was-nothing-more-than-a-crazed/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) [Explore all 110 Jerry Stahl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) ## More Amputee quotes > [I miss you like a double amputee misses masterbation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-miss-you-like-a-double-amputee-misses-masterbation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's an objective fact that I am a double amputee, but it's very subjective opinion as to whether that makes me disabled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/it-s-an-objective-fact-that-i-am-a-double-amputee-but-it-s-very/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [With this blistering salvo of poetic gutshots Lawson has proven himself Bizarro’s true bard, its mad laureate. Switching from dark whimsy to retina-blast shock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robert-johnson/with-this-blistering-salvo-of-poetic-gutshots-lawson-has-proven/) [Jeremy Robert Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-robert-johnson/) > [If I ever saw an amputee getting hanged, I'd probably just start calling out letters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/if-i-ever-saw-an-amputee-getting-hanged-i-d-probably-just-start/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [“She felt like an amputee, reaching out reflexively with an arm she no longer had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/she-felt-like-an-amputee-reaching-out-reflexively-with-an-arm-she-no/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Pop's leg was across the room when I came downstairs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-miller-haines/pop-s-leg-was-across-the-room-when-i-came-downstairs/) Kathryn Miller Haines > [The injured runner is like a recent amputee victim, continually forgetting that the limb isn't there, crestfallen at each realization. What we need more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-fleshman/the-injured-runner-is-like-a-recent-amputee-victim-continually/) [Lauren Fleshman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-fleshman/) > [Now I know why they call them pay stubs. My take home pay has been amputated. Thanks Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-espinoza/now-i-know-why-they-call-them-pay-stubs-my-take-home-pay-has-been/) [Rudy Espinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-espinoza/) > [“Oedipa sat on the earth, ass getting cold, wondering whether, as Driblette had suggested that night from the shower, some version of herself hadn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/oedipa-sat-on-the-earth-ass-getting-cold-wondering-whether-as/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [I've had journalists asking me, 'What do we call you - is it handicapped, are you disabled, physically challenged?' I said, 'Well hopefully you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/i-ve-had-journalists-asking-me-what-do-we-call-you-is-it-handicapped/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [I'm not an advocate for disability issues. Human issues are what interest me. You can't possibly speak for a diverse group of people. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-mullins/i-m-not-an-advocate-for-disability-issues-human-issues-are-what-2/) [Aimee Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-mullins/) > [There are more challenges as an amputee than I had when I was racing with both my legs beforehand but it's something I enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-monger/there-are-more-challenges-as-an-amputee-than-i-had-when-i-was-racing/) [Billy Monger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-monger/) > [The night before my amputation, my former basketball coach brought me a magazine with an article on an amputee who ran in the New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-fox/the-night-before-my-amputation-my-former-basketball-coach-brought-me/) [Terry Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-fox/) > [I really love to sleep. I think that's an amputee thing because I'm exhausted throughout the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-long/i-really-love-to-sleep-i-think-that-s-an-amputee-thing-because-i-m/) [Jessica Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-long/) > [There's a big difference between me being an amputee from when I was 13 months old to someone who's lost their leg in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-brooker/there-s-a-big-difference-between-me-being-an-amputee-from-when-i-was/) [Alex Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-brooker/) [Browse all 27 Amputee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amputee/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I would, if one-armned and jonesing, doubtless have found a way to cook up a hearty spoon of Mexican tar and slam it with my toes. (I met a double amputee in San Francisco whose girlfriend slapped a bra strap around his throat and geezed him in the neck. 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