--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How many thousands have I spent on…" description: "\"“How many thousands have I spent on perfume and alcohol, cigarettes and Turkish baths, disappointing trips and third-class movies; how many months in s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/ned-rorem-14618_memory_how-many-thousands-have-i-spent-on-perfu_2386331.jpg" --- # How many thousands have I spent on perfume and alcohol… ![“How many thousands have I spent on perfume and alcohol, cigarettes and Turkish baths, disappointing trips and third-class movies; how many months in silent bars or parks, expecting, in a chair with a book not reading, or waiting in line, waiting in line? Who will tell me it’s a loss when I know…” quote by Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/ned-rorem-14618_memory_how-many-thousands-have-i-spent-on-perfu_2386331.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/ned-rorem-14618_memory_how-many-thousands-have-i-spent-on-perfu_2386331.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/ned-rorem-14618_memory_how-many-thousands-have-i-spent-on-perfu_2386331.jpg) > ““How many thousands have I spent on perfume and alcohol, cigarettes and Turkish baths, disappointing trips and third-class movies; how many months in silent bars or parks, expecting, in a chair with a book not reading, or waiting in line, waiting in line? Who will tell me it’s a loss when I know life must be for pleasure? The parks were balanced by museums, the baths by oceans, bars by composition, and the dreaming chair by books finished. Nothing is waste that makes a memory.”” [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He questions how much time and money are spent on fleeting pleasures, yet argues that every experience creates lasting memories. **In simple terms:** All experiences, even wasteful ones, become memories. Key Takeaway Value every moment, even the trivial. Themes pleasure memory life‑balance Mood nostalgic philosophical introspective Type essay reflection When to use this quote - travel planning - budgeting - creative pursuits - mindful consumption Key Concepts existentialism hedonism subjective value Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate waste from growth? - What memories do you cherish from mundane moments? A Different Perspective Pleasure can become escapism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Loss Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss-know-1093861/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Pleasure Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-parks-5927806/) [Spent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spent/) [Spent Perfume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spent-perfume-5927805/) [Waiting in line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting-in-line/) ## Related quotes > [Sorry for your loss...I know what it feels like. Hang in there..He's looking down on you with a giant smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sorry-for-your-loss-i-know-what-it-feels-like-hang-in-there-he-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hyper-focused on loss. But I know it's just the impermanence of being here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-adams/i-m-hyper-focused-on-loss-but-i-know-it-s-just-the-impermanence-of/) [Ryan Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-adams/) > [“At first you may feel shock or disbelief that a loss has occurred or an inability to recognize that it was really a loss.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-j-elliott/at-first-you-may-feel-shock-or-disbelief-that-a-loss-has-occurred-or/) [Susan J. Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-j-elliott/) > [“There would be many that would take back the experience of falling in love if it meant also carrying the pain associated with losing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-cates/there-would-be-many-that-would-take-back-the-experience-of-falling-in/) [Georgia Cates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-cates/) > [The name Downhere comes from a song I wrote after a friend of mine died in college, and it was kind of the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-martel/the-name-downhere-comes-from-a-song-i-wrote-after-a-friend-of-mine/) [Marc Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-martel/) > [Don't we all look back in longing, those of us who had happy childhoods? Because the greatest loss we ever know is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hart/don-t-we-all-look-back-in-longing-those-of-us-who-had-happy/) [Carolyn Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hart/) > [Everything has a purpose. Fake people are here for us to know who the real ones are. Loss is here for us to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everything-has-a-purpose-fake-people-are-here-for-us-to-know-who-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't have to take this abuse from you -- I have hundreds of people waiting in line to abuse me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-murray/i-don-t-have-to-take-this-abuse-from-you-i-have-hundreds-of-people/) [Bill Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-murray/) > [I also find doing the mundane, everyday things in life has a calming, creative influence on me. Some of my best ideas come when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-tsukiyama/i-also-find-doing-the-mundane-everyday-things-in-life-has-a-calming/) [Gail Tsukiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-tsukiyama/) > [“Well, what if we meet new friends waiting in line for one of the shows?” Paige asks. “And we end up staying in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-schurig/well-what-if-we-meet-new-friends-waiting-in-line-for-one-of-the-shows/) [Rachel Schurig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-schurig/) > [“Daemon snatched the yellow packages from my hands. “Oh! Books! You have books!” I laughed as several people waiting in line looked over their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/daemon-snatched-the-yellow-packages-from-my-hands-oh-books-you-have/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [ I once recommended \[in a San Francisco Chronicle column\] that a third arm - a plastic arm - be sewn at the base of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/i-once-recommended-in-a-san-francisco-chronicle-column-that-a-third/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [“ACTION WILL BE YOUR LEGACY “He who has a vehement desire for posthumous fame does not consider that every one of those who remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-eschenroeder/action-will-be-your-legacy-he-who-has-a-vehement-desire-for/) [Kyle Eschenroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-eschenroeder/) > [“Waiting for a late friend. Waiting in line at the movies. Waiting for the phone to ring. Waiting for the mail. Waiting at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyo-maclear/waiting-for-a-late-friend-waiting-in-line-at-the-movies-waiting-for/) [Kyo Maclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyo-maclear/) > [I was so shy. Instead of waiting in line with other kids at lunch, I'd go to a corner and buy a pretzel and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-facinelli/i-was-so-shy-instead-of-waiting-in-line-with-other-kids-at-lunch-i-d/) [Peter Facinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-facinelli/) ## More by Ned Rorem > [Greatness is not the effect of which inspiration is the cause. We are all inspired, but we are all not great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/greatness-is-not-the-effect-of-which-inspiration-is-the-cause-we-are/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Intelligence is silence, truth is being invisible. But what a racket I make in declaring this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/intelligence-is-silence-truth-is-being-invisible-but-what-a-racket-i/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [If a composer could state in words what being a composer means, he would no longer need to be a composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/if-a-composer-could-state-in-words-what-being-a-composer-means-he/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Perfection is no more a requisite to art than to heroes. Frigidaires are perfect. Beauty limps. My frigidaire has had to be replaced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/perfection-is-no-more-a-requisite-to-art-than-to-heroes-frigidaires/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Anyone can be gay - it's no accomplishment - but only I can be me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/anyone-can-be-gay-it-s-no-accomplishment-but-only-i-can-be-me/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Inspiration could be called inhaling the memory of an act never experienced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/inspiration-could-be-called-inhaling-the-memory-of-an-act-never/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [The Great don't innovate, they fertilize seeds planted by lackeys, they leave to others the inhaling of the flowers whose roots they've manured. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/the-great-don-t-innovate-they-fertilize-seeds-planted-by-lackeys-they/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [If music could be translated into human speech, it would no longer need to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/if-music-could-be-translated-into-human-speech-it-would-no-longer/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [As a lifelong pacifist, Quaker, and a gay man, I despair that gays and lesbians are expending energy trying to get into the military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/as-a-lifelong-pacifist-quaker-and-a-gay-man-i-despair-that-gays-and/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [“We endow our poor lovers with godly traits, and then destroy them for being mortal. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/we-endow-our-poor-lovers-with-godly-traits-and-then-destroy-them-for/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [All men are forced into one of two categories: those with eleven fingers and those without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/all-men-are-forced-into-one-of-two-categories-those-with-eleven/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Art's the biggest vanity: the assumption that one's view of peace or fright or beauty is permanently communicable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/art-s-the-biggest-vanity-the-assumption-that-one-s-view-of-peace-or/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [In music the present is extended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/in-music-the-present-is-extended/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [“Sooner or later you’ve heard all your best friends have to say. Then comes the tolerance of real love. The same holds true for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/sooner-or-later-you-ve-heard-all-your-best-friends-have-to-say-then/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [To start writing about your life is, from one standpoint, to stop living it. You must avoid adventures today so as to make time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/to-start-writing-about-your-life-is-from-one-standpoint-to-stop/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) [Explore all 46 Ned Rorem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) ## More Memory quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) [Trunxbeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trunxbeats/) [Browse all 12,248 Memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How many thousands have I spent on perfume and alcohol, cigarettes and Turkish baths, disappointing trips and third-class movies; how many months in silent bars or parks, expecting, in a chair with a book not reading, or waiting in line, waiting in line? 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