--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I dialed it now, and the machine picked…" description: "\"“I dialed it now, and the machine picked up. I listened to a dead man's voice. I hung up, wondering how long it would be before someone unplugged the m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69a/lawrence-block-6776_computers_i-dialed-it-now-and-the-machine-picked-u_1827565.jpg" --- # I dialed it now, and the machine picked up. I listened to… ![“I dialed it now, and the machine picked up. I listened to a dead man's voice. I hung up, wondering how long it would be before someone unplugged the machine, how long before the telephone company cut off the phone service. You don't die all at once. Not anymore. These days you die a little at a…” quote by Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69a/lawrence-block-6776_computers_i-dialed-it-now-and-the-machine-picked-u_1827565.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69a/lawrence-block-6776_computers_i-dialed-it-now-and-the-machine-picked-u_1827565.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69a/lawrence-block-6776_computers_i-dialed-it-now-and-the-machine-picked-u_1827565.jpg) > ““I dialed it now, and the machine picked up. I listened to a dead man's voice. I hung up, wondering how long it would be before someone unplugged the machine, how long before the telephone company cut off the phone service. You don't die all at once. Not anymore. These days you die a little at a time.”” [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life ends gradually, not in a single moment, as we experience incremental losses. **In simple terms:** Death comes in small pieces. Key Takeaway Recognize and value each moment. Themes mortality gradual loss awareness Mood somber thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - aging - terminal illness - daily routines Key Concepts existentialism time perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you notice subtle changes? - What moments do you cherish today? A Different Perspective Focusing on small losses may overlook larger joys. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Dead man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-man/) [Dialed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialed-416526/) [Dialed Machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialed-machine-2247656/) [Die Anymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die-anymore-2247657/) [Listened Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listened-dead-2247655/) [Telephone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telephone/) ## Related quotes > [You never listened. So when I'm dead will you start to listen and learn to understand?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-laura/you-never-listened-so-when-i-m-dead-will-you-start-to-listen-and/) [Jasmine Laura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-laura/) > [9 saw the first direct-dialed long-distance telephone call, between New York and San Francisco. 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I am up to the challenge of bearing the guilt and the grief, up to facing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-i-don-t-want-to-die-anymore-i-am-up-to-the-challenge-of-bearing/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [In this world, there is life and death; he who misses the life shall never die anymore, because he is already a dead!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/in-this-world-there-is-life-and-death-he-who-misses-the-life-shall/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Either way would give her a shot at covering their most pressing expenses until Malcolm Dyer was found and the remainder of their money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wax/either-way-would-give-her-a-shot-at-covering-their-most-pressing/) [Wendy Wax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wax/) > [“I started to cry as I grabbed the phone and dialed nine-one-one. I don’t even remember talking to the person who’d answered. All I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-middleton/i-started-to-cry-as-i-grabbed-the-phone-and-dialed-nine-one-one-i-don/) [Kristen Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-middleton/) > [A BROKEN HEART is forcing yourself to hang up the phone after you have dialed the first three digits to his number.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanzim/a-broken-heart-is-forcing-yourself-to-hang-up-the-phone-after-you/) [Tanzim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanzim/) > [Myron reached for the phone and dialed Win's number. After the eighth ring he began to hang up when a weak, distant voice coughed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/myron-reached-for-the-phone-and-dialed-win-s-number-after-the-eighth/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“Danny, give me the phone." Isobel thrust her hand out for the receiver. "And you can forget the five bucks." "I was gonna charge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-creagh/danny-give-me-the-phone-isobel-thrust-her-hand-out-for-the-receiver/) [Kelly Creagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-creagh/) > [I call you once...you never dialed back. Twice...you never dialed back. Saturday morning, live, I'm on Soul Train, talkin' to Don Cornelius. Saturday night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kool-keith/i-call-you-once-you-never-dialed-back-twice-you-never-dialed-back/) [Kool Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kool-keith/) > [“I reached for the phone and dialed his number. I listened to it ring. It rang on and on. I imagined the phone crying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-standiford/i-reached-for-the-phone-and-dialed-his-number-i-listened-to-it-ring/) [Natalie Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-standiford/) > [I'm real good with math, with numbers, like my dad was. I'm pretty much dialed in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hulk-hogan/i-m-real-good-with-math-with-numbers-like-my-dad-was-i-m-pretty-much/) [Hulk Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hulk-hogan/) > [“Will on the phone, the sooner you stop bleeding.” Hickey dialed a number and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-iles/will-on-the-phone-the-sooner-you-stop-bleeding-hickey-dialed-a-number/) [Greg Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-iles/) > [ \[Answering the phone\] Hello, this is a recording, you've dialed the right number, now hang up and don't do it again. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra/answering-the-phone-hello-this-is-a-recording-you-ve-dialed-the-right/) [Frank Sinatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra/) ## More by Lawrence Block > [If fate sends you a lemon, use it to make lemonade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/if-fate-sends-you-a-lemon-use-it-to-make-lemonade/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“She made love with the freshness of an impatient virgin and the ingenuity of a sex-scarred whore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/she-made-love-with-the-freshness-of-an-impatient-virgin-and-the/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“that would have hidden the decades of filth that had left their stamp upon the wooden floor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/that-would-have-hidden-the-decades-of-filth-that-had-left-their-stamp/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/serendipity-look-for-something-find-something-else-and-realize-that/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [And, as long as you can make yourself go on choosing the pain over the relief, you can keep going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/and-as-long-as-you-can-make-yourself-go-on-choosing-the-pain-over-the/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I don't plan an awful lot in life just as I don't plan an awful lot in my fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-don-t-plan-an-awful-lot-in-life-just-as-i-don-t-plan-an-awful-lot/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“Your unconscious mind takes the things you can’t handle and plays with them while you sleep until some of the sharp corners are worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/your-unconscious-mind-takes-the-things-you-can-t-handle-and-plays/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Dangerous thing, giving humanity the knowledge of good and evil. And the capacity to make the wrong choice more often than not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/dangerous-thing-giving-humanity-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil-and/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Back then, before it became clear that democracy was best served by a drunken electorate, the bars in New York City were required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/back-then-before-it-became-clear-that-democracy-was-best-served-by-a/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I’ve tried writing and the sentences come out fine, but I write a few pages and I don’t want to go on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-ve-tried-writing-and-the-sentences-come-out-fine-but-i-write-a-few/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [As a friend of mine, herself a writer, says, 'People who spend the most meaningful hours of their lives in the exclusive company of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/as-a-friend-of-mine-herself-a-writer-says-people-who-spend-the-most/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“My crime seemed destined to remain a secret forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/my-crime-seemed-destined-to-remain-a-secret-forever/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“you have a better chance to get pregnant if you keep your knees way up and stay that way as long as you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/you-have-a-better-chance-to-get-pregnant-if-you-keep-your-knees-way/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I can’t persuade myself that one of the problems facing the planet today might be a shortage of books by me,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-can-t-persuade-myself-that-one-of-the-problems-facing-the-planet/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Man, I so sick of dinosaurs. 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