---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: EVEN THOUGH I KNEW it was going to be…"
description: "\"“EVEN THOUGH I KNEW it was going to be what she would ask me, Graciela McCaleb’s request gave me pause. Terry McCaleb had died on his boat a month earl..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/michael-connelly-1004_las-vegas_even-though-i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-wh_816116.jpg"
---

#  EVEN THOUGH I KNEW it was going to be what she would ask…

![“EVEN THOUGH I KNEW it was going to be what she would ask me, Graciela McCaleb’s request gave me pause. Terry McCaleb had died on his boat a month earlier. I had read about it in the Las Vegas Sun. It had made the papers because of the movie. FBI agent gets heart transplant and then tracks down his…” quote by Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/michael-connelly-1004_las-vegas_even-though-i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-wh_816116.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/michael-connelly-1004_las-vegas_even-though-i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-wh_816116.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/michael-connelly-1004_las-vegas_even-though-i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-wh_816116.jpg)

> ““EVEN THOUGH I KNEW it was going to be what she would ask me, Graciela McCaleb’s request gave me pause. Terry McCaleb had died on his boat a month earlier. I had read about it in the Las Vegas Sun. It had made the papers because of the movie. FBI agent gets heart transplant and then tracks down his donor’s killer. It was a story that had Hollywood written all over it and Clint Eastwood played the part, even though he had a couple decades on Terry. The film was a modest success at best, but it still gave Terry the kind of notoriety that guaranteed an obituary notice in papers across the country. I had just gotten back to my apartment near the strip one morning and picked up the Sun. Terry’s death was a short story in the back of the A section.””

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A sudden, unexpected request forces the narrator to confront past events and the weight of media narratives.

**In simple terms:** A surprise request makes the narrator think about past stories and fame.

Key Takeaway

Pause and reflect before reacting to sudden requests.

Themes

suspense media identity morality memory

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

literary contemplative

When to use this quote

- reading news
- receiving unexpected requests
- dealing with past trauma
- making decisions under pressure

Key Concepts

consequences fame ethical dilemmas

Questions to Reflect On

- How do media portrayals affect our self‑perception?
- What can we learn from unexpected requests?

A Different Perspective

The quote may overemphasize the influence of media on personal identity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Eastwood Played](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eastwood-played-322832/) [Heart transplant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-transplant/) [Las vegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/las-vegas/) [Mccaleb Died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mccaleb-died-322833/) [Movie Fbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie-fbi-322835/) [Terry Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terry-death-322831/) [Written Clint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-clint-322834/)

## Related quotes

> [ What makes him think a middle aged actor \[Clint Eastwood\], who's played with a chimp, could have a future in politics? ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/what-makes-him-think-a-middle-aged-actor-clint-eastwood-who-s-played/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [“A brick could be used in a heart transplant operation. And for just $25,000 more dollars, that brick could be switched with a real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-in-a-heart-transplant-operation-and-for-just-25/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [“And just before I go to sleep, I'll think of sentences that don't contain words like Hoover, Jogging, and Heart Transplant”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gier/and-just-before-i-go-to-sleep-i-ll-think-of-sentences-that-don-t/)

[Kirsten Gier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gier/)

> [So much goes into doing a transplant operation. All the way from preparing the patient, to procuring the donor. It's like being an astronaut.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denton-cooley/so-much-goes-into-doing-a-transplant-operation-all-the-way-from/)

[Denton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denton-cooley/)

> [I had a 23 per cent blockage in my micro-arteries. At first the doctors thought I needed a heart transplant, then they said I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-braxton/i-had-a-23-per-cent-blockage-in-my-micro-arteries-at-first-the/)

[Toni Braxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-braxton/)

> [ For a dying man it is not a difficult decision \[to agree to become the world's first heart transplant\] ... because he knows he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiaan-barnard/for-a-dying-man-it-is-not-a-difficult-decision-to-agree-to-become-the/)

[Christiaan Barnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiaan-barnard/)

> [“A brick could be surgically inserted in the chest of a man who needs a heart transplant. And for just $20,000 more dollars, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-surgically-inserted-in-the-chest-of-a-man-who-needs/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [The benefits of medical research are real - but so are the potential horrors of genetic engineering and embryo manipulation. We devise heart transplants,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-ryle/the-benefits-of-medical-research-are-real-but-so-are-the-potential/)

[Martin Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-ryle/)

> [I was scared that no one would hire me. At that time, there was still a stigma attached to it. A big stigma. Actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/i-was-scared-that-no-one-would-hire-me-at-that-time-there-was-still-a/)

[Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/)

> [“If I got a new heart with a heart transplant, I’d be forever grateful. Or at least grateful for the next 50 years or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-i-got-a-new-heart-with-a-heart-transplant-i-d-be-forever-grateful/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [The idea of a spiritual heart transplant is a vivid image to me; once you have the heart of somebody else inside you, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/the-idea-of-a-spiritual-heart-transplant-is-a-vivid-image-to-me-once/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [“He directed ... to go to the Georgetown University Medical School library and bring back everything they could find about heart transplants. McGowan became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-woolley/he-directed-to-go-to-the-georgetown-university-medical-school-library/)

[Scott Woolley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-woolley/)

> [Of the many 'firsts' with which I have been involved at the Texas Heart Institute —including the first successful human heart transplant in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denton-cooley/of-the-many-firsts-with-which-i-have-been-involved-at-the-texas-heart/)

[Denton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denton-cooley/)

> [Here's the thing: If you're so far left you actually believe that somebody owes you a job, citizenship and a heart transplant, you're mentally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/here-s-the-thing-if-you-re-so-far-left-you-actually-believe-that/)

[Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/)

> [“If we had always thought from a so-called practical angle – we would’ve never had anything new in this world. We would’ve hidden under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravindra-shukla/if-we-had-always-thought-from-a-so-called-practical-angle-we-would-ve/)

[Ravindra Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravindra-shukla/)

## More by Michael Connelly

> [It's about being fair. It's about Black Lives Matter. Yes, they matter. Everybody counts or nobody counts, and I think if more cops had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/it-s-about-being-fair-it-s-about-black-lives-matter-yes-they-matter/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [“Someone’s coming.” Terry McCaleb looked at his wife and then followed her eyes down to the winding road below. He could see the golf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/someone-s-coming-terry-mccaleb-looked-at-his-wife-and-then-followed/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [I love movies. Movies have influenced me as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-love-movies-movies-have-influenced-me-as-a-writer/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [“There is no end of things in the heart. Somebody once told me that. She said it came from a poem she believed in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/there-is-no-end-of-things-in-the-heart-somebody-once-told-me-that-she/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [I chose deliberately for Harry Bosch to age chronologically with the books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-chose-deliberately-for-harry-bosch-to-age-chronologically-with-the/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [“Are you okay?” he asked. “I’m fine, yeah,” she said. She wiped tears off her cheeks. “Somebody who totally fucked me over died today,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/are-you-okay-he-asked-i-m-fine-yeah-she-said-she-wiped-tears-off-her/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [“At the bottom of the hill, after Boston College, the route passes St. Ignatius Church on the right. It was here that textile worker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/at-the-bottom-of-the-hill-after-boston-college-the-route-passes-st/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [“He said no. He said, in very fine English, ‘I buy, I don’t sell.’ Then he escorted me out. But I think that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/he-said-no-he-said-in-very-fine-english-i-buy-i-don-t-sell-then-he/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [“Living in L.A. sometimes felt like you were riding shotgun with the devil to the apocalypse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/living-in-l-a-sometimes-felt-like-you-were-riding-shotgun-with-the/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [“The paying jobs were few and she was often taken advantage of by the leeches who were part of the entertainment industry. But she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/the-paying-jobs-were-few-and-she-was-often-taken-advantage-of-by-the/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [“Lean in, invade that foot and a half that is all theirs, their own space. Lean back when you get what you want. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/lean-in-invade-that-foot-and-a-half-that-is-all-theirs-their-own/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [I have a large collection of biographies about jazz musicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-have-a-large-collection-of-biographies-about-jazz-musicians/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [I was fired as an actor on 'Bosch.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-was-fired-as-an-actor-on-bosch/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [Maybe it has something to do with being a reporter for a long time that I don't look to newspapers and television and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/maybe-it-has-something-to-do-with-being-a-reporter-for-a-long-time/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

> [I was enamored of detectives as a teenager. I liked what they did - piecing things together, thinking about situations. But to get there?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-was-enamored-of-detectives-as-a-teenager-i-liked-what-they-did/)

[Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

[Explore all 306 Michael Connelly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/)

## More Heart transplant quotes

> [“A brick could be used in a heart transplant operation. And for just $25,000 more dollars, that brick could be switched with a real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-in-a-heart-transplant-operation-and-for-just-25/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [Here's the thing: If you're so far left you actually believe that somebody owes you a job, citizenship and a heart transplant, you're mentally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/here-s-the-thing-if-you-re-so-far-left-you-actually-believe-that/)

[Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/)

> [Of the many 'firsts' with which I have been involved at the Texas Heart Institute —including the first successful human heart transplant in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denton-cooley/of-the-many-firsts-with-which-i-have-been-involved-at-the-texas-heart/)

[Denton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denton-cooley/)

> [“He directed ... to go to the Georgetown University Medical School library and bring back everything they could find about heart transplants. McGowan became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-woolley/he-directed-to-go-to-the-georgetown-university-medical-school-library/)

[Scott Woolley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-woolley/)

> [The idea of a spiritual heart transplant is a vivid image to me; once you have the heart of somebody else inside you, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/the-idea-of-a-spiritual-heart-transplant-is-a-vivid-image-to-me-once/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [“If I got a new heart with a heart transplant, I’d be forever grateful. Or at least grateful for the next 50 years or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-i-got-a-new-heart-with-a-heart-transplant-i-d-be-forever-grateful/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [I was scared that no one would hire me. At that time, there was still a stigma attached to it. A big stigma. Actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/i-was-scared-that-no-one-would-hire-me-at-that-time-there-was-still-a/)

[Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/)

> [The benefits of medical research are real - but so are the potential horrors of genetic engineering and embryo manipulation. We devise heart transplants,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-ryle/the-benefits-of-medical-research-are-real-but-so-are-the-potential/)

[Martin Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-ryle/)

> [“A brick could be surgically inserted in the chest of a man who needs a heart transplant. And for just $20,000 more dollars, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-surgically-inserted-in-the-chest-of-a-man-who-needs/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [ For a dying man it is not a difficult decision \[to agree to become the world's first heart transplant\] ... because he knows he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiaan-barnard/for-a-dying-man-it-is-not-a-difficult-decision-to-agree-to-become-the/)

[Christiaan Barnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiaan-barnard/)

> [I had a 23 per cent blockage in my micro-arteries. At first the doctors thought I needed a heart transplant, then they said I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-braxton/i-had-a-23-per-cent-blockage-in-my-micro-arteries-at-first-the/)

[Toni Braxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-braxton/)

> [So much goes into doing a transplant operation. All the way from preparing the patient, to procuring the donor. It's like being an astronaut.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denton-cooley/so-much-goes-into-doing-a-transplant-operation-all-the-way-from/)

[Denton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denton-cooley/)

> [“And just before I go to sleep, I'll think of sentences that don't contain words like Hoover, Jogging, and Heart Transplant”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gier/and-just-before-i-go-to-sleep-i-ll-think-of-sentences-that-don-t/)

[Kirsten Gier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gier/)

> [“If we had always thought from a so-called practical angle – we would’ve never had anything new in this world. We would’ve hidden under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravindra-shukla/if-we-had-always-thought-from-a-so-called-practical-angle-we-would-ve/)

[Ravindra Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravindra-shukla/)

> [It was like a heart transplant. We tried to implant college in him but his head rejected it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-switzer/it-was-like-a-heart-transplant-we-tried-to-implant-college-in-him-but/)

[Barry Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-switzer/)

[Browse all 28 Heart transplant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-transplant/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“EVEN THOUGH I KNEW it was going to be what she would ask me, Graciela McCaleb’s request gave me pause. Terry McCaleb had died on his boat a month earlier. I had read about it in the Las Vegas Sun. It had made the papers because of the movie. FBI agent gets heart transplant and then tracks down his donor’s killer. It was a story that had Hollywood written all over it and Clint Eastwood played the part, even though he had a couple decades on Terry. The film was a modest success at best, but it still gave Terry the kind of notoriety that guaranteed an obituary notice in papers across the country. I had just gotten back to my apartment near the strip one morning and picked up the Sun. Terry’s death was a short story in the back of the A section.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michael Connelly"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/even-though-i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-what-she-would-ask-me-graciela/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Heart transplant"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/even-though-i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-what-she-would-ask-me-graciela/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/michael-connelly-1004_las-vegas_even-though-i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-wh_816116.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/michael-connelly-1004_las-vegas_even-though-i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-wh_816116.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/michael-connelly-1004_las-vegas_even-though-i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-wh_816116.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“EVEN THOUGH I KNEW it was going to be what she would ask me, Graciela McCaleb’s request gave me pause. Terry…” — Michael Connelly",
                "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": "Michael Connelly",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“EVEN THOUGH I KNEW it was...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/even-though-i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-what-she-would-ask-me-graciela/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/even-though-i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-what-she-would-ask-me-graciela/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
