--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know why he isn't dead, maybe…" description: "\"“I don't know why he isn't dead, maybe he's lucky. Certainly his physical self is dead. Before the streets, drugs, IV use, and hustling -medically - hi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/jim-goldberg-28596_good-nature_i-don-t-know-why-he-isn-t-dead-maybe-he_2684077.png" --- # I don't know why he isn't dead, maybe he's lucky… ![“I don't know why he isn't dead, maybe he's lucky. Certainly his physical self is dead. Before the streets, drugs, IV use, and hustling -medically - his body is not right. [...] So there is some will to live in him, to pass on his knowledge and good nature. It's a mystery. Dave is an inspiration to…” quote by Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/jim-goldberg-28596_good-nature_i-don-t-know-why-he-isn-t-dead-maybe-he_2684077.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/jim-goldberg-28596_good-nature_i-don-t-know-why-he-isn-t-dead-maybe-he_2684077.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/jim-goldberg-28596_good-nature_i-don-t-know-why-he-isn-t-dead-maybe-he_2684077.png) > ““I don't know why he isn't dead, maybe he's lucky. Certainly his physical self is dead. Before the streets, drugs, IV use, and hustling -medically - his body is not right. \[...\] So there is some will to live in him, to pass on his knowledge and good nature. It's a mystery. Dave is an inspiration to people. He is society's throw-away.”” [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Despite physical decline, a will to live and share knowledge persists, making the individual valuable despite societal neglect. **In simple terms:** Even when physically declining, a will to live and help others remains valuable. Key Takeaway Recognize and honor hidden contributions. Themes mortality legacy societal neglect Mood somber reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - healthcare advocacy - community support - elder care - mentoring Key Concepts philosophy social critique Questions to Reflect On - How can we better value those deemed “throw‑away”? - What systems protect the dignity of the marginalized? A Different Perspective Societal disregard can diminish support for the vulnerable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-nature/) [Homelessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homelessness/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [“I mean, they say they've gotta change the street kids' lives. Well, that's true. But you can't take somebody from point A to point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/i-mean-they-say-they-ve-gotta-change-the-street-kids-lives-well-that/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [“Dave: ''Will you ever be happy Echo?'' Echo: ''I don’t know I haven’t tried it yet.'' Dave: ''Let’s give it a shot together.'' Echo:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/dave-will-you-ever-be-happy-echo-echo-i-don-t-know-i-haven-t-tried-it/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [“Quit looking for an answer, Jim. There fuckin' ain't one. Fuck yeah, I'm still looking for God's telephone number.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/quit-looking-for-an-answer-jim-there-fuckin-ain-t-one-fuck-yeah-i-m/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [“I show Dave the dummy for my book. He reads every bit of writing, looks at every picture, and asks no questions. When he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/i-show-dave-the-dummy-for-my-book-he-reads-every-bit-of-writing-looks/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) ## More by Jim Goldberg > [This was in San Francisco, in 1987. A bunch of kids were camped out in the Riviera Hotel - boy hustlers and their sugar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/this-was-in-san-francisco-in-1987-a-bunch-of-kids-were-camped-out-in/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [Every single immigrant is part of a larger history that needs to be communicated in all its ambivalences and complexities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/every-single-immigrant-is-part-of-a-larger-history-that-needs-to-be/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [I'm not a politically radical person. In fact, I'm much more interested in being radical aesthetically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/i-m-not-a-politically-radical-person-in-fact-i-m-much-more-interested/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [ \[A photograph\] is a part of the evidence. I'm not saying it's the truth - it's part of the evidence. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/a-photograph-is-a-part-of-the-evidence-i-m-not-saying-it-s-the-truth/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [“I mean, they say they've gotta change the street kids' lives. Well, that's true. But you can't take somebody from point A to point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/i-mean-they-say-they-ve-gotta-change-the-street-kids-lives-well-that/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [My only agenda is to bring attention to otherwise ignored and shunned lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/my-only-agenda-is-to-bring-attention-to-otherwise-ignored-and-shunned/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [In order to figure this artmaking stuff out, it's trial and error and experimentation, and takes some time and hard thinking. Putting work out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/in-order-to-figure-this-artmaking-stuff-out-it-s-trial-and-error-and/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [“Dave: ''Will you ever be happy Echo?'' Echo: ''I don’t know I haven’t tried it yet.'' Dave: ''Let’s give it a shot together.'' Echo:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/dave-will-you-ever-be-happy-echo-echo-i-don-t-know-i-haven-t-tried-it/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [“I show Dave the dummy for my book. He reads every bit of writing, looks at every picture, and asks no questions. When he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/i-show-dave-the-dummy-for-my-book-he-reads-every-bit-of-writing-looks/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [“Quit looking for an answer, Jim. There fuckin' ain't one. Fuck yeah, I'm still looking for God's telephone number.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/quit-looking-for-an-answer-jim-there-fuckin-ain-t-one-fuck-yeah-i-m/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [There are many images which I miss on purpose. I've done too many of them before and photographing them again doesn't change the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/there-are-many-images-which-i-miss-on-purpose-i-ve-done-too-many-of/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [In Europe, I am an outsider. I don't really understand anything that I am seeing. I can be welcomed into people's homes, I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/in-europe-i-am-an-outsider-i-don-t-really-understand-anything-that-i/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [Before I even took pictures I knew that I wanted to have them as hard copy memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/before-i-even-took-pictures-i-knew-that-i-wanted-to-have-them-as-hard/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [Since 1970, I've been using text and ephemera as well as photographs in order to tell stories of one kind or another. There's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/since-1970-i-ve-been-using-text-and-ephemera-as-well-as-photographs/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) > [The photograph is kind of a proof - a proof that I actually met these people, that they actually have lives, and that they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/the-photograph-is-kind-of-a-proof-a-proof-that-i-actually-met-these/) [Jim Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) [Explore all 19 Jim Goldberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/) ## More Good nature quotes > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [How much wit, good-nature, indulgences, how many good offices and civilities, are required among friends to accomplish in some years what a lovely face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/how-much-wit-good-nature-indulgences-how-many-good-offices-and/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Good nature is often a mere matter of health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/good-nature-is-often-a-mere-matter-of-health/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Protecting our wild and wonderful landscape is good for nature, good for tourism and good for West Virginia's economy and quality of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-justice/protecting-our-wild-and-wonderful-landscape-is-good-for-nature-good/) [Jim Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-justice/) > [Mathematics are well and good but Nature keeps dragging us around by the nose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/mathematics-are-well-and-good-but-nature-keeps-dragging-us-around-by/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The more wit you have, the more good nature you must show, to induce people to pardon your superiority, for that is no easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/the-more-wit-you-have-the-more-good-nature-you-must-show-to-induce/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [“Oddly enough, it was he who had introduced the twins to Kathakali... He is searching for the beast that lives within him , Comrade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/oddly-enough-it-was-he-who-had-introduced-the-twins-to-kathakali-he/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Jonathan Coe's genial, likeable novel can only be described as a kind of lit-prog-rock concept album... Coe recreates the period with such loving accuracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bradshaw/jonathan-coe-s-genial-likeable-novel-can-only-be-described-as-a-kind/) [Peter Bradshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bradshaw/) > [“Boyishness—by which I mean animal life in its fullest measure, good nature and honest impulses, hatred of injustice and meanness, and thoughtlessness enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hughes/boyishness-by-which-i-mean-animal-life-in-its-fullest-measure-good/) [Thomas Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hughes/) > [“Guilliame. ‘No, I was born in the capital.’ He said no more than that. Charls supposed that he and Guilliame were two of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/guilliame-no-i-was-born-in-the-capital-he-said-no-more-than-that/) [C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/) > [Man selects only for his own good: Nature only for that of the being which she tends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/man-selects-only-for-his-own-good-nature-only-for-that-of-the-being/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Well the dog that is the most is the a Labrador retrievers because they tolerate kids tugging on them and things better than other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/well-the-dog-that-is-the-most-is-the-a-labrador-retrievers-because/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Reprehension is a kind of middle thing betwixt admonition and correction: it is sharpe admonition, but a milde correction. It is rather to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gouge/reprehension-is-a-kind-of-middle-thing-betwixt-admonition-and/) [William Gouge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gouge/) > [The world is good natured to people who are good natured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/the-world-is-good-natured-to-people-who-are-good-natured/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Any one may do a casual act of good-nature; but a continuation of them shows it a part of the temperament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/any-one-may-do-a-casual-act-of-good-nature-but-a-continuation-of-them/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) [Browse all 162 Good nature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-nature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I don't know why he isn't dead, maybe he's lucky. Certainly his physical self is dead. Before the streets, drugs, IV use, and hustling -medically - his body is not right. [...] So there is some will to live in him, to pass on his knowledge and good nature. It's a mystery. Dave is an inspiration to people. He is society's throw-away.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jim Goldberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/i-don-t-know-why-he-isn-t-dead-maybe-he-s-lucky-certainly-his/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Good nature" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/i-don-t-know-why-he-isn-t-dead-maybe-he-s-lucky-certainly-his/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/jim-goldberg-28596_good-nature_i-don-t-know-why-he-isn-t-dead-maybe-he_2684077.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/jim-goldberg-28596_good-nature_i-don-t-know-why-he-isn-t-dead-maybe-he_2684077.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/jim-goldberg-28596_good-nature_i-don-t-know-why-he-isn-t-dead-maybe-he_2684077.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't know why he isn't dead, maybe he's lucky. Certainly his physical self is dead. Before the streets…” — Jim Goldberg", "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": "Jim Goldberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goldberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I don't know why he isn't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/i-don-t-know-why-he-isn-t-dead-maybe-he-s-lucky-certainly-his/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goldberg/i-don-t-know-why-he-isn-t-dead-maybe-he-s-lucky-certainly-his/#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 } } ] } ```