--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For Padilla the shared act of smoking was…" description: "\"“For Padilla the shared act of smoking was basically a staging of loneliness: the tough guys, the talkers, the quick to forget and the long to remember..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/roberto-bola-o-725_broken-dreams_for-padilla-the-shared-act-of-smoking-wa_2844086.jpg" --- # For Padilla the shared act of smoking was basically a… ![“For Padilla the shared act of smoking was basically a staging of loneliness: the tough guys, the talkers, the quick to forget and the long to remember, lost themselves for an instant, the length of time it took the cigarette to burn, an instant in which time was frozen and yet all times in Spanish…” quote by Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/roberto-bola-o-725_broken-dreams_for-padilla-the-shared-act-of-smoking-wa_2844086.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/roberto-bola-o-725_broken-dreams_for-padilla-the-shared-act-of-smoking-wa_2844086.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/roberto-bola-o-725_broken-dreams_for-padilla-the-shared-act-of-smoking-wa_2844086.jpg) > ““For Padilla the shared act of smoking was basically a staging of loneliness: the tough guys, the talkers, the quick to forget and the long to remember, lost themselves for an instant, the length of time it took the cigarette to burn, an instant in which time was frozen and yet all times in Spanish history were concentrated, all the cruelty and the broken dreams, and in that "night of the soul" the smokers recognized each other, unsurprised, and embraced. The spirals of smoke were the embrace.”” [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Smoking creates a fleeting shared loneliness where strangers recognize each other's hidden pain and history. **In simple terms:** Shared loneliness through smoking. Key Takeaway Recognize common humanity in brief moments. Themes loneliness shared experience history empathy Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - bars - smoking breaks - historical reflection Key Concepts existentialism collective memory Questions to Reflect On - What moments have you felt a sudden shared understanding? - How can brief encounters foster deeper empathy? A Different Perspective Such moments can be fleeting and may not lead to lasting change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broken dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-dreams/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Tough Guys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough-guys/) ## Related quotes > [“If there was a bad guy we could appeal to the people because, like it or not, we, the huddled masses, want our public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-carter/if-there-was-a-bad-guy-we-could-appeal-to-the-people-because-like-it/) [Bill Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-carter/) > [We are fighting tough guys to get it on whereas Canelo and GGG have been cherry-picking. They can do that with the profile they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetrius-andrade/we-are-fighting-tough-guys-to-get-it-on-whereas-canelo-and-ggg-have/) [Demetrius Andrade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetrius-andrade/) > [“And they were relieved they found me alive, well and none the worse for wear. They cared and they didn’t mind who knew it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/and-they-were-relieved-they-found-me-alive-well-and-none-the-worse/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [Twitter is like a maximum security prison. There are the tough guys, crazy ones, odd ones & an idiot who tried to escape & failed miserably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/twitter-is-like-a-maximum-security-prison-there-are-the-tough-guys/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [“Like any city, we have assholes with pits who try to put on spur of the moment fights to make these cowards think they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laraine-lebron/like-any-city-we-have-assholes-with-pits-who-try-to-put-on-spur-of/) Laraine Lebron > [I think I've put in some work and I've fought some tough guys early in my UFC career in order for me to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-browne/i-think-i-ve-put-in-some-work-and-i-ve-fought-some-tough-guys-early/) [Travis Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-browne/) > [After doing two years in prison, trust me, I've seen a lot of tough guys pray. They're not just praying for themselves; they're praying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ja-rule/after-doing-two-years-in-prison-trust-me-i-ve-seen-a-lot-of-tough/) [Ja Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ja-rule/) > [I usually play tough guys and stuff like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dean-morgan/i-usually-play-tough-guys-and-stuff-like-that/) [Jeffrey Dean Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dean-morgan/) > [The guys I lost to always challenged the title, because they were, like, title eliminators. I lost to Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Johnson and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glover-teixeira/the-guys-i-lost-to-always-challenged-the-title-because-they-were-like/) [Glover Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glover-teixeira/) > [“I have a weakness for tough guys who read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-have-a-weakness-for-tough-guys-who-read/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [You have to be tough. All these guys are tough. But at some point, you have to outsmart and outhink and outplan these top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-poirier/you-have-to-be-tough-all-these-guys-are-tough-but-at-some-point-you/) [Dustin Poirier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-poirier/) > [The American ideal of sexuality appears to be rooted in the American ideal of masculinity. This idea has created cowboys and Indians, good guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-american-ideal-of-sexuality-appears-to-be-rooted-in-the-american/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [But if you look at a fight, it is anything but comfortable. 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Plenty of them. There are books for when you’re calm. The best kind, in my opinion. 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What comes of love is always something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/nothing-good-ever-comes-of-love-what-comes-of-love-is-always/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“book on Archimboldi, a book that might be the grand Archimboldian opus, the pilot fish that would swim for a long time beside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/book-on-archimboldi-a-book-that-might-be-the-grand-archimboldian-opus/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Literature is the product of a strange rain of blood, sweat, semen, and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-is-the-product-of-a-strange-rain-of-blood-sweat-semen-and/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The brief sound is like a color swallowed by a crack. But what color?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-brief-sound-is-like-a-color-swallowed-by-a-crack-but-what-color/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“All horrors are dulled by routine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/all-horrors-are-dulled-by-routine/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The fourth dimension, he liked to say, encompasses the three dimensions and consequently puts them in their place, that is, it obliterates the dictatorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-fourth-dimension-he-liked-to-say-encompasses-the-three-dimensions/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Every book in the world is out there waiting to be read by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/every-book-in-the-world-is-out-there-waiting-to-be-read-by-me/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Y después de coger a mi general le gustaba salir al patio a fumarse su cigarro y a pensar en la tristeza poscoito, en…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/y-despu-s-de-coger-a-mi-general-le-gustaba-salir-al-patio-a-fumarse/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I enjoy vegetarian food like I enjoy a kick in the stomach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-enjoy-vegetarian-food-like-i-enjoy-a-kick-in-the-stomach/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) [Explore all 303 Roberto Bolaño quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## More Broken dreams quotes > [“One thing I always admired about Daddy was the way he could bounce back from adversity. 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Someone recently proposed a Wikimorgue - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-think-i-am-done-with-wikipedia-for-the-time-being-but-i-have-a/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Broken dreams are like broken plates: we hang on to them way too long because one day we get around to gluing them back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/broken-dreams-are-like-broken-plates-we-hang-on-to-them-way-too-long/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She reached into the pocket of her dress and threw the small stack of bills at him. They fluttered to the ground like broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/she-reached-into-the-pocket-of-her-dress-and-threw-the-small-stack-of/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [Its not the broken dreams that break us, is the one we don't dare to dream...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-not-the-broken-dreams-that-break-us-is-the-one-we-don-t-dare-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What makes us follow our dreams its happiness that we feel when we make everything in our mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salah-lhouiouri/what-makes-us-follow-our-dreams-its-happiness-that-we-feel-when-we/) Salah Lhouiouri > [Broken Dreams are like broken glass, shattered pieces that weren't meant to last. 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Because friendship dwells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-friendship-is-the-sharing-of-all-that-the-heart-holds-inside-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Green Day~ Boulevard of broken dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/green-day-boulevard-of-broken-dreams/) Unkown > [Broken dreams, New or old, Crumble like dust, Beneath heavens fold, True beauty, Lies within, the saddest tears, of painful sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-dawn-monks/broken-dreams-new-or-old-crumble-like-dust-beneath-heavens-fold-true/) [Victoria Dawn Monks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-dawn-monks/) [Browse all 115 Broken dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For Padilla the shared act of smoking was basically a staging of loneliness: the tough guys, the talkers, the quick to forget and the long to remember, lost themselves for an instant, the length of time it took the cigarette to burn, an instant in which time was frozen and yet all times in Spanish history were concentrated, all the cruelty and the broken dreams, and in that \"night of the soul\" the smokers recognized each other, unsurprised, and embraced. 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