--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pudge/Colonel: \"I am sorry that I have…" description: "\"“Pudge/Colonel: \"I am sorry that I have not talked to you before. I am not staying for graduation. I leave for Japan tomorrow morning. For a long time,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/john-green-12_accident_pudge-colonel-i-am-sorry-that-i-have-not_2648669.jpg" --- # Pudge/Colonel: "I am sorry that I have not talked to you… ![“Pudge/Colonel: "I am sorry that I have not talked to you before. I am not staying for graduation. I leave for Japan tomorrow morning. For a long time, I was mad at you. The way you cut me out of everything hurt me, and so I kept what I knew to myself. But then even after I wasn't mad anymore, I…” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/john-green-12_accident_pudge-colonel-i-am-sorry-that-i-have-not_2648669.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/john-green-12_accident_pudge-colonel-i-am-sorry-that-i-have-not_2648669.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/john-green-12_accident_pudge-colonel-i-am-sorry-that-i-have-not_2648669.jpg) > ““Pudge/Colonel: "I am sorry that I have not talked to you before. I am not staying for graduation. I leave for Japan tomorrow morning. For a long time, I was mad at you. The way you cut me out of everything hurt me, and so I kept what I knew to myself. But then even after I wasn't mad anymore, I still didn't say anything, and I don't even really know why. Pudge had that kiss, I guess. And I had this secret. You've mostly figured this out, but the truth is that I saw her that night, I'd stayed up late with Lara and some people, and then I was falling asleep and I heard her crying outside my back window. It was like 3:15 that morning, maybe, amd I walked out there and saw her walking through the soccer field. I tried to talk to her, but she was in a hurry. She told me that her mother was dead eight years that day, and that she always put flowers on her mother's grave on the anniversary but she forgot that year. She was out there looking for flowers, but it was too early-too wintry. That's how I knew about January 10. I still have no idea whether it was suicide. She was so sad, and I didn't know what to say or do. I think she counted on me to be the one person who would always say and do the right things to help her, but I couldn"t. I just thought she was looking for flowers. I didn't know she was going to go. She was drunk just trashed drunk, and I really didn't think she would drive or anything. I thought she would just cry herself to sleep and then drive to visit her mom the next day or something. She walked away, and then I heard a car start. I don't know what I was thinking. So I let her go too. And I'm sorry. I know you loved her. It was hard not to." Takumi”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A confession of regret and missed chances to help a grieving friend, highlighting the weight of unspoken support. **In simple terms:** Regret over not helping a friend in crisis. Key Takeaway Reach out before it’s too late. Themes regret friendship grief Mood reflective somber Type emotional contemplative When to use this quote - college life - friendship crises - mental health support - unexpected loss Key Concepts empathy communication mental health Questions to Reflect On - What would you have done differently? - How can you be more present for others? A Different Perspective The narrative is fictional, limiting real‑world applicability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) [Falling asleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-asleep/) [Girlfriend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girlfriend/) [Heard Crying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard-crying-454880/) [Letter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letter/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother-s-death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-s-death-125651/) [Next day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-day/) [Person Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-say/) [Pudge Kiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pudge-kiss-2331154/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Takumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/takumi-182819/) [Talked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talked/) [Told Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-mother/) [Tomorrow morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow-morning/) [Too early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-early/) [Truth and lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-and-lies/) ## Related quotes > [“The pigs can't stop the fox; I'm too quick,' Takumi said to himself. 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When the victim is trapped in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-yazawa/have-you-heard-a-story-where-the-victim-of-a-kidnap-falls-in-love/) [Ai Yazawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-yazawa/) > [“People say love can be developed, but in the end only person you love is themselves. that’s why you choose to love someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-yazawa/people-say-love-can-be-developed-but-in-the-end-only-person-you-love/) [Ai Yazawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-yazawa/) > [“Dorinpa, Dorunpa. Now you can't lie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usui-takumi/dorinpa-dorunpa-now-you-can-t-lie/) [Usui Takumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usui-takumi/) > [“I didn’t know what it meant to have a nervous breakdown. I’d heard people jokingly exaggerate that they’d had one. 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A clear droplet splashed on my wrist, but I hadn't heard myself crying with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyn-miller-lachmann/throughout-the-blurry-eyes-i-stared-at-my-trembling-hands-a-clear/) [Lyn Miller-lachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyn-miller-lachmann/) > [“They probably heard me crying. Great. What’s worse than being the Angry Black Girl? The Weak Black Girl.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-thomas/they-probably-heard-me-crying-great-what-s-worse-than-being-the-angry/) [Angie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-thomas/) > [“I heard you in the other room asking your mother, 'Mama, am I a Palestinian?' When she answered 'Yes' a heavy silence fell on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ghassan-kanafani/i-heard-you-in-the-other-room-asking-your-mother-mama-am-i-a/) [Ghassan Kanafani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ghassan-kanafani/) > [You can tell more about a person by what they say about others than you can by what others say about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyga/you-can-tell-more-about-a-person-by-what-they-say-about-others-than/) [Tyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyga/) > [“I get sad every time I hear a person say "I don't read." It's like saying "I don't learn," or "I don't laugh," or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alafair-burke/i-get-sad-every-time-i-hear-a-person-say-i-don-t-read-it-s-like/) [Alafair Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alafair-burke/) > [“But if I had to pick another person for her, I'd have to say you, Jess, since I hold you in such high regard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-brendan/but-if-i-had-to-pick-another-person-for-her-i-d-have-to-say-you-jess/) [Maggie Brendan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-brendan/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Accident quotes > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-went-to-school-at-night-in-l-a-to-brush-up-on-my-engineering-while/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [“The accident in your rearview mirror already happened. The one in front of you is still preventable. Pay attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nakia-r-laushaul/the-accident-in-your-rearview-mirror-already-happened-the-one-in/) [Nakia R. Laushaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nakia-r-laushaul/) > [People dont get married by accident and they dont get divorced by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/people-dont-get-married-by-accident-and-they-dont-get-divorced-by/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [My father had Parkinson's, though he actually died following a bicycle accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/my-father-had-parkinson-s-though-he-actually-died-following-a-bicycle/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [A tragic car accident put me in a wheelchair and dashed my hopes and dreams for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-cawthorn/a-tragic-car-accident-put-me-in-a-wheelchair-and-dashed-my-hopes-and/) [Madison Cawthorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-cawthorn/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [The spirit in the body is like wine in a glass; when it spills, it seeps into air and earth and light….It’s a mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/the-spirit-in-the-body-is-like-wine-in-a-glass-when-it-spills-it/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-universe-except-the-chambers-of/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [There is a French expression that says: to be exposed to an accident, to cross a street without looking at the cars means exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-is-a-french-expression-that-says-to-be-exposed-to-an-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [“I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed reading accident. I hit a book mark and flew across the room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-just-got-out-of-the-hospital-i-was-in-a-speed-reading-accident-i/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [However, I met with a horrible accident while riding my bike in Sangla Valley. The accident was a wakeup call for me stop getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhinav-shukla/however-i-met-with-a-horrible-accident-while-riding-my-bike-in-sangla/) [Abhinav Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhinav-shukla/) > [“Because the core of my personal philosophy is that everything that happens to us benefits us, I was also spared the futility of cursing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-the-core-of-my-personal-philosophy-is-that-everything-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 922 Accident quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Pudge/Colonel: \"I am sorry that I have not talked to you before. I am not staying for graduation. I leave for Japan tomorrow morning. For a long time, I was mad at you. The way you cut me out of everything hurt me, and so I kept what I knew to myself. But then even after I wasn't mad anymore, I still didn't say anything, and I don't even really know why. Pudge had that kiss, I guess. And I had this secret. You've mostly figured this out, but the truth is that I saw her that night, I'd stayed up late with Lara and some people, and then I was falling asleep and I heard her crying outside my back window. It was like 3:15 that morning, maybe, amd I walked out there and saw her walking through the soccer field. I tried to talk to her, but she was in a hurry. She told me that her mother was dead eight years that day, and that she always put flowers on her mother's grave on the anniversary but she forgot that year. She was out there looking for flowers, but it was too early-too wintry. That's how I knew about January 10. I still have no idea whether it was suicide. She was so sad, and I didn't know what to say or do. I think she counted on me to be the one person who would always say and do the right things to help her, but I couldn\"t. I just thought she was looking for flowers. I didn't know she was going to go. She was drunk just trashed drunk, and I really didn't think she would drive or anything. I thought she would just cry herself to sleep and then drive to visit her mom the next day or something. She walked away, and then I heard a car start. I don't know what I was thinking. So I let her go too. And I'm sorry. I know you loved her. It was hard not to.\" Takumi”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/pudge-colonel-i-am-sorry-that-i-have-not-talked-to-you-before-i-am/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accident" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/pudge-colonel-i-am-sorry-that-i-have-not-talked-to-you-before-i-am/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/john-green-12_accident_pudge-colonel-i-am-sorry-that-i-have-not_2648669.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/john-green-12_accident_pudge-colonel-i-am-sorry-that-i-have-not_2648669.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/john-green-12_accident_pudge-colonel-i-am-sorry-that-i-have-not_2648669.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Pudge/Colonel: \"I am sorry that I have not talked to you before. I am not staying for graduation. I leave…” — John Green", "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": "John Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Pudge/Colonel: \"I am sorry that I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/pudge-colonel-i-am-sorry-that-i-have-not-talked-to-you-before-i-am/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/pudge-colonel-i-am-sorry-that-i-have-not-talked-to-you-before-i-am/#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 } } ] } ```