--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I left Merle was wearing a bungalow…" description: "\"When I left Merle was wearing a bungalow apron and rolling pie crust. She came to the door wiping her hands on the apron and kissed me on the mouth and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/raymond-chandler-629_aprons_when-i-left-merle-was-wearing-a-bungalow_403084.jpg" --- # When I left Merle was wearing a bungalow apron and rolling… ![“When I left Merle was wearing a bungalow apron and rolling pie crust. She came to the door wiping her hands on the apron and kissed me on the mouth and began to cry and ran back into the house, leaving the doorway empty [...] I had a funny feeling as I saw the house disappear, as though I had…” quote by Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/raymond-chandler-629_aprons_when-i-left-merle-was-wearing-a-bungalow_403084.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/raymond-chandler-629_aprons_when-i-left-merle-was-wearing-a-bungalow_403084.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/raymond-chandler-629_aprons_when-i-left-merle-was-wearing-a-bungalow_403084.jpg) > “When I left Merle was wearing a bungalow apron and rolling pie crust. She came to the door wiping her hands on the apron and kissed me on the mouth and began to cry and ran back into the house, leaving the doorway empty \[...\] I had a funny feeling as I saw the house disappear, as though I had written a poem and it was very good and I had lost it and would never remember it again. (p. 262)” [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels a sudden, unsettling loss as a familiar scene disappears, likening it to losing a cherished poem that can never be recalled. **In simple terms:** Loss of a familiar place feels like losing a treasured memory. Key Takeaway Recognize and honor fleeting moments. Themes loss nostalgia transience Mood melancholic poetic Type literary reflective When to use this quote - personal grief - creative writing - travel - end of relationships Key Concepts memory impermanence Questions to Reflect On - What does this loss symbolize for you? - How can you preserve memories without clinging? A Different Perspective The feeling may be romanticized, overlooking practical coping. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apron Kissed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apron-kissed-3609532/) [Aprons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aprons/) [Crust Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crust-came-3609533/) [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Disappear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappear/) [Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors/) [Doorways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doorways/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Funny Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-feeling-842648/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [House Disappear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house-disappear-3609531/) [House Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house-leaving-3609530/) [Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Mouths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouths/) [Pie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pie/) [Ran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ran/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Rolling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rolling/) [Saws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saws/) [Very good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very-good/) ## Related quotes > [I had a funny feeling as I saw the house disappear, as though I had written a poem and it was very good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-had-a-funny-feeling-as-i-saw-the-house-disappear-as-though-i-had/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“Tonya that is my house! I am not leaving my house!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-lissa/tonya-that-is-my-house-i-am-not-leaving-my-house/) [Lady Lissa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-lissa/) > [Seems like I've been here before, can't remember when I get this funny feeling, we'll be together again; No straight lines make up my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-chapin/seems-like-i-ve-been-here-before-can-t-remember-when-i-get-this-funny/) [Tom Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-chapin/) > [That Funny Feeling You Get When You See Your Crush :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-funny-feeling-you-get-when-you-see-your-crush/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you're out of sight for as long as I was, there's a funny feeling of betrayal that comes over people when they see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-williams/when-you-re-out-of-sight-for-as-long-as-i-was-there-s-a-funny-feeling/) [Esther Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-williams/) > [It's funny how feeling small can make you feel so big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-funny-how-feeling-small-can-make-you-feel-so-big/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There was also another funny feeling that he had for the elder sister. For some unfathomable reason, he was attracted to her knees. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-chong/there-was-also-another-funny-feeling-that-he-had-for-the-elder-sister/) [Nicholas Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-chong/) > [I think being funny had something to do with feeling like an outsider, not feeling cool - insecurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kumail-nanjiani/i-think-being-funny-had-something-to-do-with-feeling-like-an-outsider/) [Kumail Nanjiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kumail-nanjiani/) > [“The butterflies were performing circus tricks now, flying through hoops of fire. Lexi had read about infatuation once. Some writer had doused the romantic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-panayotopulos/the-butterflies-were-performing-circus-tricks-now-flying-through/) [Angela Panayotopulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-panayotopulos/) > [It's a funny feeling, being suddenly airborne. 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Then it hit me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatlip/i-got-a-funny-feeling-like-something-was-real-wrong-looked-at-her/) [Fatlip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatlip/) > [It's a funny feeling to work with people who you consider your colleagues and to realize that they actually are young enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/it-s-a-funny-feeling-to-work-with-people-who-you-consider-your/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [“At the word “elegant,” I got a funny feeling in my… no, of course not my heart. It was just those damned cheesy fries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinnean/at-the-word-elegant-i-got-a-funny-feeling-in-my-no-of-course-not-my/) [Tinnean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinnean/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More by Raymond Chandler > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/there-is-no-trap-so-deadly-as-the-trap-you-set-for-yourself/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ “Hammett was the ace performer... 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A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/it-was-a-blonde-a-blonde-to-make-a-bishop-kick-a-hole-in-a-stained/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“I had been stalking the bluebottle fly for five minutes, waiting for him to sit down. He didn't want to sit down. He just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-had-been-stalking-the-bluebottle-fly-for-five-minutes-waiting-for/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“A three-piece Mexican band was making the kind of music a Mexican band always makes. Whatever they play, it all sounds the same. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-three-piece-mexican-band-was-making-the-kind-of-music-a-mexican/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Mostly I just kill time," he said, "and it dies hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/mostly-i-just-kill-time-he-said-and-it-dies-hard/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The book was not new. Dates were stamped on the front endpaper, in and out dates. A rent book. A lending library of elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-book-was-not-new-dates-were-stamped-on-the-front-endpaper-in-and/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Without magic, there is no art. Without art, there is no idealism. Without idealism, there is no integrity. Without integrity, there is nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/without-magic-there-is-no-art-without-art-there-is-no-idealism/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The homicide skipper that year was a Captain Gregorius, a type of copper that is getting rarer but by no means extinct, the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-homicide-skipper-that-year-was-a-captain-gregorius-a-type-of/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) [Explore all 430 Raymond Chandler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## More Aprons quotes > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I was born imagining myself with an apron on, with pies cooling on the window sill and babies crying upstairs. I thought that all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/i-was-born-imagining-myself-with-an-apron-on-with-pies-cooling-on-the/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [I had a bag of Fritos, they were Texas grilled Fritos. These Fritos had grill marks on them. They remind me of summer, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-had-a-bag-of-fritos-they-were-texas-grilled-fritos-these-fritos-had/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [The conventional explanation for Jewish success, of course, is that Jews come from a literate, intellectual culture. They are famously "the people of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-conventional-explanation-for-jewish-success-of-course-is-that/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [...Ivy’s COOK THE STEAK, DON’T STAKE THE COOK apron...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/ivy-s-cook-the-steak-don-t-stake-the-cook-apron/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [Nine out of ten English chefs have their names on their chests. Who do they think they are? They're dreamers. They're jokes. Just ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/nine-out-of-ten-english-chefs-have-their-names-on-their-chests-who-do/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [... safety that depends on an apron-string is very unsafe!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/safety-that-depends-on-an-apron-string-is-very-unsafe/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) > [Approaching the stove, she would don a voluminous apron, toss some meat on a platter, empty a skillet of its perfectly cooked a point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-greene/approaching-the-stove-she-would-don-a-voluminous-apron-toss-some-meat/) [Bert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-greene/) > [I was a daughterless mother. I had nowhere to put the things a mother places on her daughter. The nail polish I used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/i-was-a-daughterless-mother-i-had-nowhere-to-put-the-things-a-mother/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [Mechanic slaves With greasy aprons, rules, and hammers, shall Uplift us to the view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/mechanic-slaves-with-greasy-aprons-rules-and-hammers-shall-uplift-us/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The diagnosis of drunkenness was that it was a disease for which the patient was in no way responsible, that it was created by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-swisshelm/the-diagnosis-of-drunkenness-was-that-it-was-a-disease-for-which-the/) [Jane Swisshelm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-swisshelm/) > [Many authors write like amateur blacksmiths making their first horseshoe; the clank of the anvil, the stench of the scorched leather apron, the sparks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/many-authors-write-like-amateur-blacksmiths-making-their-first/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [They sewed fig-leaves together and made themselves aprons. -Genesis iii. 7.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/they-sewed-fig-leaves-together-and-made-themselves-aprons-genesis-iii/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [What do we look for as reward? Some little sounds, and scents, and scenes A small hand darting strawberry-ward A woman's aprons full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-pitter/what-do-we-look-for-as-reward-some-little-sounds-and-scents-and/) [Ruth Pitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-pitter/) > [Slowly he took out the clothes in which, ten years beforem Cosette had left Montfermeil; first the little dress, then the black scarf, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/slowly-he-took-out-the-clothes-in-which-ten-years-beforem-cosette-had/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Browse all 53 Aprons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aprons/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I left Merle was wearing a bungalow apron and rolling pie crust. 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