--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Driving home, it's all I can do to keep…" description: "\"Driving home, it's all I can do to keep from crying. Time's come, time's gone, time's never returning, I say to myself. What's here in front of me is a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/russell-banks-7660_can-do_driving-home-it-s-all-i-can-do-to-keep-f_2701549.jpg" --- # Driving home, it's all I can do to keep from crying… ![“Driving home, it's all I can do to keep from crying. Time's come, time's gone, time's never returning, I say to myself. What's here in front of me is all I've got, I decide, and as I drive my car through the blowing snow it doesn't seem like much, except for the kindness that I've just exchanged…” quote by Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/russell-banks-7660_can-do_driving-home-it-s-all-i-can-do-to-keep-f_2701549.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/russell-banks-7660_can-do_driving-home-it-s-all-i-can-do-to-keep-f_2701549.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/russell-banks-7660_can-do_driving-home-it-s-all-i-can-do-to-keep-f_2701549.jpg) > “Driving home, it's all I can do to keep from crying. Time's come, time's gone, time's never returning, I say to myself. What's here in front of me is all I've got, I decide, and as I drive my car through the blowing snow it doesn't seem like much, except for the kindness that I've just exchanged with an old lady, so I concentrate on that.” [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A narrator reflects on fleeting moments, choosing to focus on a small act of kindness amid personal turmoil and the relentless passage of time. **In simple terms:** Focus on kindness despite hardship. Key Takeaway Seek small kindnesses in tough times. Themes reflection kindness time loneliness Mood melancholic reflective hopeful Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Driving in a storm - interacting with strangers - coping with loss - contemplating mortality Key Concepts Existentialism human connection mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you find kindness when overwhelmed? - What does time mean to you in crisis? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize hardship, overlooking deeper systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving/) [Gone time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone-time/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snow/) ## Related quotes > [Enjoy your life as much as you can as once gone the time will never gonna come back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/enjoy-your-life-as-much-as-you-can-as-once-gone-the-time-will-never/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [If the thrill is gone, it's time to take it back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meat-loaf/if-the-thrill-is-gone-it-s-time-to-take-it-back/) [Meat Loaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meat-loaf/) > [“When they were gone, she found her time hung heavy upon her hands...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-lennox/when-they-were-gone-she-found-her-time-hung-heavy-upon-her-hands/) [Charlotte Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-lennox/) > [“Gone as usual in the morning, and me left behind and naked, inner thighs lightly scaled with the dried spoor of our lovemaking: she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathe-koja/gone-as-usual-in-the-morning-and-me-left-behind-and-naked-inner/) [Kathe Koja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathe-koja/) > [When hope is gone, time is punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/when-hope-is-gone-time-is-punishment/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [All yours will be gone by the time except your love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-yours-will-be-gone-by-the-time-except-your-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We cannot take one step in geology without drawing upon the fathomless stores of by-gone time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sedgwick/we-cannot-take-one-step-in-geology-without-drawing-upon-the/) [Adam Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sedgwick/) > [“Recalling those gone times, old memories lit by the fire of the new, I did not this time wonder how long it would last;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathe-koja/recalling-those-gone-times-old-memories-lit-by-the-fire-of-the-new-i/) [Kathe Koja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathe-koja/) > [It will startle you to see what slaves we are to by-gone times-to Death, if we give the matter the right word! ... We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-will-startle-you-to-see-what-slaves-we-are-to-by-gone-times-to/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [We’re here, and then we’re gone, and it’s not about the time we’re here, but what we do with the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/we-re-here-and-then-we-re-gone-and-it-s-not-about-the-time-we-re-here/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [Time is wealth, and unlike money when it is gone you cannot replace it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/time-is-wealth-and-unlike-money-when-it-is-gone-you-cannot-replace-it/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Many are always praising the by-gone time, for it is natural that the old should extol the days of their youth; the weak, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-are-always-praising-the-by-gone-time-for-it-is-natural-that-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We are here, and then we are gone, and it's not about the time we're, but what we do with that time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/we-are-here-and-then-we-are-gone-and-it-s-not-about-the-time-we-re/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [You don't actually get over things… you incorporate them. They become part of everything you are. I don't mean that you walk about crying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-matousek/you-don-t-actually-get-over-things-you-incorporate-them-they-become/) [Mark Matousek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-matousek/) > [Just need you to hold me so tightly, when I'll end up laughing and crying at the same time..lol ..love sucks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumika/just-need-you-to-hold-me-so-tightly-when-i-ll-end-up-laughing-and/) [Bhumika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumika/) ## More by Russell Banks > [The best thing about writing programs is that it rationalized the apprenticeship of a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-best-thing-about-writing-programs-is-that-it-rationalized-the/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“The received truth of history is shot through and falsified by unknown secrets carried to the grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-received-truth-of-history-is-shot-through-and-falsified-by/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Secrets and lies, they eat your insides until all you have left is a hard thin skin that covers you like the shell of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/secrets-and-lies-they-eat-your-insides-until-all-you-have-left-is-a/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [But really, it was reading that led me to writing. And in particular, reading the American classics like Twain who taught me at an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/but-really-it-was-reading-that-led-me-to-writing-and-in-particular/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Let the truth take care of itself, I decided. It's done all right on its own so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/let-the-truth-take-care-of-itself-i-decided-it-s-done-all-right-on/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [What you believe matters, however. It’s all anyone has to act on. And since what you do is who you are, your actions define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/what-you-believe-matters-however-it-s-all-anyone-has-to-act-on-and/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [Although I still occasionally paint and draw, my life has now been shaped by my writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/although-i-still-occasionally-paint-and-draw-my-life-has-now-been/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“my blue eyes peering into their brown eyes and seeing there some essential part of myself, some irreducible aspect of my being, which in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/my-blue-eyes-peering-into-their-brown-eyes-and-seeing-there-some/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [If you dedicate your attention to discipline in your life you become smarter while you are writing than while you are hanging out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/if-you-dedicate-your-attention-to-discipline-in-your-life-you-become/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [So the same cultural and political issues that divided us in 1968 are still dividing us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/so-the-same-cultural-and-political-issues-that-divided-us-in-1968-are/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“They were the only three people I'd chosen on my own to love, and they were gone. But still, that morning in Mobay when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/they-were-the-only-three-people-i-d-chosen-on-my-own-to-love-and-they/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [“Lists of books we re-read and books we can't finish tell more about us than about the relative worth of the books themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/lists-of-books-we-re-read-and-books-we-can-t-finish-tell-more-about/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [First of all it's usually women who run these higher primate sanctuaries, rarely men. They are white. They come from privileged backgrounds. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/first-of-all-it-s-usually-women-who-run-these-higher-primate/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [The United States particularly abandoned Liberia after the end of the Cold War.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/the-united-states-particularly-abandoned-liberia-after-the-end-of-the/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [Storytelling is an ancient and honorable act. An essential role to play in the community or tribe. It's one that I embrace wholeheartedly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/storytelling-is-an-ancient-and-honorable-act-an-essential-role-to/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) [Explore all 85 Russell Banks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) ## More Can do quotes > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [It's nice when you've done enough movies that you can do your own anthology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-nice-when-you-ve-done-enough-movies-that-you-can-do-your-own/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [If people don't have their own vision, all they can do is 'sign-up' for someone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/if-people-don-t-have-their-own-vision-all-they-can-do-is-sign-up-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [The one thing that flies in the face of all human history and experience, is that the government can do a superior job than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-one-thing-that-flies-in-the-face-of-all-human-history-and/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/what-i-can-do-is-offer-myself-wholehearted-and-present-to-walk-with/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/a-professional-is-a-man-who-can-do-his-job-when-he-doesn-t-feel-like/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I'm not an educated man. I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) Browse all 5,673 Can do quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Driving home, it's all I can do to keep from crying. Time's come, time's gone, time's never returning, I say to myself. What's here in front of me is all I've got, I decide, and as I drive my car through the blowing snow it doesn't seem like much, except for the kindness that I've just exchanged with an old lady, so I concentrate on that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Russell Banks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/driving-home-it-s-all-i-can-do-to-keep-from-crying-time-s-come-time-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Can do" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/driving-home-it-s-all-i-can-do-to-keep-from-crying-time-s-come-time-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/russell-banks-7660_can-do_driving-home-it-s-all-i-can-do-to-keep-f_2701549.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/russell-banks-7660_can-do_driving-home-it-s-all-i-can-do-to-keep-f_2701549.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3d/russell-banks-7660_can-do_driving-home-it-s-all-i-can-do-to-keep-f_2701549.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Driving home, it's all I can do to keep from crying. Time's come, time's gone, time's never returning, I say…” — Russell Banks", "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": "Russell Banks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Driving home, it's all I can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/driving-home-it-s-all-i-can-do-to-keep-from-crying-time-s-come-time-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/driving-home-it-s-all-i-can-do-to-keep-from-crying-time-s-come-time-s/#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 } } ] } ```