--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She said that it was a mistake to have…" description: "\"“She said that it was a mistake to have made as few superficial friends as I have done in my life, and to have concentrated only on the few things I ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/richard-ford-2097_children_she-said-that-it-was-a-mistake-to-have-m_3071451.png" --- # She said that it was a mistake to have made as few… ![“She said that it was a mistake to have made as few superficial friends as I have done in my life, and to have concentrated only on the few things I have concentrated on--her, for one. My children, for another. Sportswriting and being an ordinary citizen. This did not leave me well enough armored…” quote by Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/richard-ford-2097_children_she-said-that-it-was-a-mistake-to-have-m_3071451.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/richard-ford-2097_children_she-said-that-it-was-a-mistake-to-have-m_3071451.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/richard-ford-2097_children_she-said-that-it-was-a-mistake-to-have-m_3071451.png) > ““She said that it was a mistake to have made as few superficial friends as I have done in my life, and to have concentrated only on the few things I have concentrated on--her, for one. My children, for another. Sportswriting and being an ordinary citizen. This did not leave me well enough armored for the unexpected, was her opinion. She said this was because I didn't know my parents very well, had gone to a military school, and grown up in the south, which was full of betrayers and secret-keepers and untrustworthy people, which I agree is true, though I never knew any of them.”” [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prioritizing a narrow focus on a few relationships and interests can leave one unprepared for unforeseen challenges. **In simple terms:** Limited focus may cause vulnerability. Key Takeaway Broaden your social and experiential horizons. Themes relationships focus vulnerability preparation life choices Mood introspective cautious Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - parenting - personal development - social networking Key Concepts psychology social networks risk management Questions to Reflect On - What relationships are you neglecting? - How can you diversify your support system? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on a few areas may neglect other vital skills. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mistake Superficial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake-superficial-5197905/) [Said Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-mistake-639235/) [South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south/) [South Betrayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south-betrayers-5197906/) [Southerners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/southerners/) [Superficial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficial/) [Superficial Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficial-friends-4624873/) ## Related quotes > [I don't have time for superficial friends. I suppose if you're really lonely you can call a superficial friend, but otherwise, what's the point?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courteney-cox/i-don-t-have-time-for-superficial-friends-i-suppose-if-you-re-really/) [Courteney Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courteney-cox/) > [ Well, you know, once again, Donald \[Trump\] is implying that he didn't support the invasion of Iraq. I said it was a mistake. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/well-you-know-once-again-donald-trump-is-implying-that-he-didn-t/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [What we should have done a long time ago was stand up - players, ownership, everybody - and said: 'We made a mistake.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-giambi/what-we-should-have-done-a-long-time-ago-was-stand-up-players/) [Jason Giambi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-giambi/) > [“When asked why she had tried to kill herself, she said only, "It was a mistake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/when-asked-why-she-had-tried-to-kill-herself-she-said-only-it-was-a/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I said it was a mistake. It wasn't the best choice. But all my emails have been turned over to the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-said-it-was-a-mistake-it-wasn-t-the-best-choice-but-all-my-emails/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [So a mistake magically flew to me and said I had made a mistake. I asked the mistake what mistake I had done. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/so-a-mistake-magically-flew-to-me-and-said-i-had-made-a-mistake-i/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [Every word you said was a lie.every word I said was a mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakare/every-word-you-said-was-a-lie-every-word-i-said-was-a-mistake/) [Bakare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakare/) > [“He kissed me. And then he said it was a mistake." Serena wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Normally, I'd quote that copy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-peacock/he-kissed-me-and-then-he-said-it-was-a-mistake-serena-wrapped-an-arm/) [Kathleen Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-peacock/) > [Their prejudice allowed white Southerners to look the other way when blacks were denied their most basic human rights, and it encouraged the worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-chavez/their-prejudice-allowed-white-southerners-to-look-the-other-way-when/) [Linda Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-chavez/) > [“No matter what a person does to cover up and conceal themselves, when we write and lose control, I can spot a person from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/no-matter-what-a-person-does-to-cover-up-and-conceal-themselves-when/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [For generations, even many otherwise decent white Southerners learned to despise black people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-chavez/for-generations-even-many-otherwise-decent-white-southerners-learned/) [Linda Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-chavez/) > [Even for southerners, Arkansans are amazingly friendly and extend hospitality to all strangers with astonishing openness. You couldn't find a pretension in that state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/even-for-southerners-arkansans-are-amazingly-friendly-and-extend/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Southerners, whose ancestors a hundred years ago knew the horrors of a homeland devastated by war, are particularly determined that war shall never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/southerners-whose-ancestors-a-hundred-years-ago-knew-the-horrors-of-a/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that people live, and have lived here, are so ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-south-is-very-beautiful-but-its-beauty-makes-one-sad-because-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“ “Do Southerners laugh at different things than Northerners do? Yes, I say--Northerners.” Roy Blount, Jr., Roy Blount’s Book of Southern Humor”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/do-southerners-laugh-at-different-things-than-northerners-do-yes-i/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) ## More by Richard Ford > [Something will be there when the flood recedes. We know that. It will be those people now standing in the water, and on those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/something-will-be-there-when-the-flood-recedes-we-know-that-it-will/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [If you lose all hope, you can always find it again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/if-you-lose-all-hope-you-can-always-find-it-again/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [I started reading literature at 17 or 18, and I felt this extra beat to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-started-reading-literature-at-17-or-18-and-i-felt-this-extra-beat/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [I don't hate children. My wife and I just didn't think we would be good parents, and also by the time we got married…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-don-t-hate-children-my-wife-and-i-just-didn-t-think-we-would-be/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [Writing never came naturally and I still have to force my hand to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/writing-never-came-naturally-and-i-still-have-to-force-my-hand-to-do/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [“Conversations with adults other than a person's parents had more of an outcome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/conversations-with-adults-other-than-a-person-s-parents-had-more-of/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [Some people want to be bank presidents. Other people want to rob banks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/some-people-want-to-be-bank-presidents-other-people-want-to-rob-banks/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [In order to write novels for a living - it's not pathological, but I do think and worry and brood and fidget about stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/in-order-to-write-novels-for-a-living-it-s-not-pathological-but-i-do/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [There are more people in America that love guns and want guns for themselves and everyone else than there are not. It is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/there-are-more-people-in-america-that-love-guns-and-want-guns-for/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [That said, being dyslexic, I wasn't a great reader when I was kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/that-said-being-dyslexic-i-wasn-t-a-great-reader-when-i-was-kid/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [I'm an equal opportunity reader - although I don't much read plays. And since I was raised a Presbyterian, pretty much all pleasures are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-m-an-equal-opportunity-reader-although-i-don-t-much-read-plays-and/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [The pace of life feels morally dangerous to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/the-pace-of-life-feels-morally-dangerous-to-me/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [“to sit in the empty stands of a Florida ball park and hear the sounds of glove leather and chatter;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/to-sit-in-the-empty-stands-of-a-florida-ball-park-and-hear-the-sounds/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [“And what there is to learn from almost any human experience is that your own interests usually do not come first where other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/and-what-there-is-to-learn-from-almost-any-human-experience-is-that/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [“It was on such a night as this that the unhappy things came about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/it-was-on-such-a-night-as-this-that-the-unhappy-things-came-about/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) [Explore all 184 Richard Ford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. 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Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She said that it was a mistake to have made as few superficial friends as I have done in my life, and to have concentrated only on the few things I have concentrated on--her, for one. My children, for another. Sportswriting and being an ordinary citizen. This did not leave me well enough armored for the unexpected, was her opinion. 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