--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When my father would come home from the…" description: "\"When my father would come home from the track after a good day, the whole room would light up; it was fairyland. But when he lost, it was black. In our..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/peter-o-toole-3173_black_when-my-father-would-come-home-from-the_960901.jpg" --- # When my father would come home from the track after a good… ![“When my father would come home from the track after a good day, the whole room would light up; it was fairyland. But when he lost, it was black. In our house, it was always either a wake ... or a wedding.” quote by Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/peter-o-toole-3173_black_when-my-father-would-come-home-from-the_960901.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/peter-o-toole-3173_black_when-my-father-would-come-home-from-the_960901.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/peter-o-toole-3173_black_when-my-father-would-come-home-from-the_960901.jpg) > “When my father would come home from the track after a good day, the whole room would light up; it was fairyland. But when he lost, it was black. In our house, it was always either a wake ... or a wedding.” [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A child's perception of their father's success or failure creates stark emotional contrasts at home. **In simple terms:** Success brings light, failure brings darkness. Key Takeaway Recognize how external events shape internal moods. Themes family emotion perception success failure Mood nostalgic reflective Type personal emotional When to use this quote - celebrations - sports events - family gatherings - parental influence Key Concepts psychology emotional conditioning family dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you react to others' successes? - Can you find balance when outcomes change? A Different Perspective Emotions may be deeper than the event itself. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Coming home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-home/) [Fairyland Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairyland-lost-1778058/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Good day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-day/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [House Wake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house-wake-1778059/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light Fairyland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-fairyland-1778057/) [Light up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-up/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Track](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/track/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [Seeing my children makes me come most alive. I come home and I see my kids' faces light up when they see me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-patrick/seeing-my-children-makes-me-come-most-alive-i-come-home-and-i-see-my/) [Richard Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-patrick/) > [Meanwhile someone is shining my head to get it dry to attach my top-hat to my head with toupee tape. I get into microphone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/meanwhile-someone-is-shining-my-head-to-get-it-dry-to-attach-my-top/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) > [Almost all words do have colour and nothing is more pleasant than to utter a pink word and see someone's eyes light up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-taber/almost-all-words-do-have-colour-and-nothing-is-more-pleasant-than-to/) [Gladys Taber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-taber/) > [TV evangelists say they don't favor any particular denomination, but I think we've all seen their eyes light up at tens and twenties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/tv-evangelists-say-they-don-t-favor-any-particular-denomination-but-i/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [Looking back, now, I realize that you only ever need one person who lights up that way when you enter a room. One person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriana-trigiani/looking-back-now-i-realize-that-you-only-ever-need-one-person-who/) [Adriana Trigiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriana-trigiani/) > [Ring the bells that still can ring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/ring-the-bells-that-still-can-ring/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [Ali Woodson was one of the few Iconic Soul-Singers left from the Motown Era that could STILL sell out a crowd, light up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luenell/ali-woodson-was-one-of-the-few-iconic-soul-singers-left-from-the/) [Luenell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luenell/) > [The same regions of the brain light up when someone touches their smartphone as when they touch a family member or a pet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cohler/the-same-regions-of-the-brain-light-up-when-someone-touches-their/) [Matt Cohler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cohler/) > [Do you light up when your kids are coming in the room or do you become the instant critic?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/do-you-light-up-when-your-kids-are-coming-in-the-room-or-do-you/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [In a brilliant fusion of fact and fiction, Jayne Anne Phillips has written the novel of the year. It's the story of a serial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-a-brilliant-fusion-of-fact-and-fiction-jayne-anne-phillips-has/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [A sucker punch came flying from somewhere in the back. As soon as we can see clearly with our big black eye, we're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-keith/a-sucker-punch-came-flying-from-somewhere-in-the-back-as-soon-as-we/) [Toby Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-keith/) > [A need for many candles may arise in every nation's history to light up the darkness in the country. Most of the time, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/a-need-for-many-candles-may-arise-in-every-nation-s-history-to-light/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Mediocre men often have the most acquired knowledge. It is in the darker. It is in the darker regions of science that great men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/mediocre-men-often-have-the-most-acquired-knowledge-it-is-in-the/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [What is meant by reality? It would seem to be something very erratic, very undependable - now to be found in a dusty road,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-is-meant-by-reality-it-would-seem-to-be-something-very-erratic/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I'm over smoking. You know, I feel like I've gone on long hikes and gotten to the top of the mountain and I'm looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-vedder/i-m-over-smoking-you-know-i-feel-like-i-ve-gone-on-long-hikes-and/) [Eddie Vedder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-vedder/) ## More by Peter O'Toole > [I'm a professional and I'll do anything - a poetry reading, television, cinema, anything that allows me to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-m-a-professional-and-i-ll-do-anything-a-poetry-reading-television/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [Actors have to stay optimistic. The moment we start thinking otherwise, we're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/actors-have-to-stay-optimistic-the-moment-we-start-thinking-otherwise/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [I'm not working-class: I come from the criminal classes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-m-not-working-class-i-come-from-the-criminal-classes/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [It grieves us to produce work that is not perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/it-grieves-us-to-produce-work-that-is-not-perfect/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [I love working with the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-love-working-with-the-young/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [I have no intention of uttering my last words on the stage. Room service and a couple of depraved young women will do me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-have-no-intention-of-uttering-my-last-words-on-the-stage-room/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [I saw a man killed in front of my eyes just before my eighth birthday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-saw-a-man-killed-in-front-of-my-eyes-just-before-my-eighth-birthday/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [Everyone praises Sachin Tendulkar. He may be a genius in his own right but in my book, Rahul Dravid is the artist. Dravid's defence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/everyone-praises-sachin-tendulkar-he-may-be-a-genius-in-his-own-right/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [I'm not a French singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-m-not-a-french-singer/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [When I work with young people, I grab energy from them by the handsful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/when-i-work-with-young-people-i-grab-energy-from-them-by-the-handsful/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [My own favorite is something called Rogue Male.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/my-own-favorite-is-something-called-rogue-male/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [I'm a working stiff, baby, just like everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-m-a-working-stiff-baby-just-like-everybody-else/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [It was a mistake and I made the mistake because I was conservative and played safe. And that way lies failure." "Must do it...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/it-was-a-mistake-and-i-made-the-mistake-because-i-was-conservative/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [I woke up one morning to find I was famous. I bought a white Rolls-Royce and drove down Sunset Boulevard, wearing dark specs and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-woke-up-one-morning-to-find-i-was-famous-i-bought-a-white-rolls/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [I found him perhaps the least terrifying man I've ever met in the theater—because at first glance I could see through him and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-found-him-perhaps-the-least-terrifying-man-i-ve-ever-met-in-the/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) [Explore all 138 Peter O'Toole quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) [Frank B. Wilderson III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-b-wilderson-iii/) > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) [Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When my father would come home from the track after a good day, the whole room would light up; it was fairyland. But when he lost, it was black. In our house, it was always either a wake ... or a wedding.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter O'Toole" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/when-my-father-would-come-home-from-the-track-after-a-good-day-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/when-my-father-would-come-home-from-the-track-after-a-good-day-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/peter-o-toole-3173_black_when-my-father-would-come-home-from-the_960901.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/peter-o-toole-3173_black_when-my-father-would-come-home-from-the_960901.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/360/peter-o-toole-3173_black_when-my-father-would-come-home-from-the_960901.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When my father would come home from the track after a good day, the whole room would light up; it was…” — Peter O'Toole", "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": "Peter O'Toole", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When my father would come home...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/when-my-father-would-come-home-from-the-track-after-a-good-day-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/when-my-father-would-come-home-from-the-track-after-a-good-day-the/#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 } } ] } ```