--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ruth tells me at least once a day that…" description: "\"“Ruth tells me at least once a day that old people, or people getting old, tend to disengage, back away, turn inward, listen only to themselves, and ge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/wallace-stegner-1352_aging_ruth-tells-me-at-least-once-a-day-that-o_2167287.jpg" --- # Ruth tells me at least once a day that old people, or… ![“Ruth tells me at least once a day that old people, or people getting old, tend to disengage, back away, turn inward, listen only to themselves, and get self-righteous and censorious. And they mustn't. (I mustn't.)” quote by Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/wallace-stegner-1352_aging_ruth-tells-me-at-least-once-a-day-that-o_2167287.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/wallace-stegner-1352_aging_ruth-tells-me-at-least-once-a-day-that-o_2167287.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/wallace-stegner-1352_aging_ruth-tells-me-at-least-once-a-day-that-o_2167287.jpg) > ““Ruth tells me at least once a day that old people, or people getting old, tend to disengage, back away, turn inward, listen only to themselves, and get self-righteous and censorious. And they mustn't. (I mustn't.)”” [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Older individuals often withdraw, becoming self‑absorbed and critical, but they should resist that tendency. **In simple terms:** Older people may turn inward and become judgmental, yet they must stay engaged. Key Takeaway Encourage openness and humility in later life. Themes aging self‑reflection humility Mood reflective empathetic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - community meetings - senior workshops - personal counseling Key Concepts psychology social dynamics loneliness Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster active participation among seniors? - What practices reduce self‑righteousness? A Different Perspective Self‑absorption can be a coping mechanism for fear of irrelevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Getting old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-old/) [Old people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-people/) [Self righteous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-righteous/) ## Related quotes > [“What should one do? If Ruth had any better luck with him I would have thought that he simply had to attach himself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/what-should-one-do-if-ruth-had-any-better-luck-with-him-i-would-have/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“Peter sighed into the water, and his breath sent a small circle of it into tiny ripples. "It seems cowardly, getting old. Don't you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-lynn-anderson/peter-sighed-into-the-water-and-his-breath-sent-a-small-circle-of-it/) [Jodi Lynn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-lynn-anderson/) > [Old people can make me cry. I worry about getting old, and old people inspire me to live life to the full.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gethin-jones/old-people-can-make-me-cry-i-worry-about-getting-old-and-old-people/) [Gethin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gethin-jones/) > [Human beings can be beautiful. If they are not beautiful it is entirely their own fault. It is what they do to themselves that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/human-beings-can-be-beautiful-if-they-are-not-beautiful-it-is-2/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Never ask old people how they are if you have anything to do that day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-restivo/never-ask-old-people-how-they-are-if-you-have-anything-to-do-that-day/) Joe Restivo > [I must be getting old ... People are beginning to tell me I look so young. They never tell you that when you are young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/i-must-be-getting-old-people-are-beginning-to-tell-me-i-look-so-young/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [“Getting old is like standing in a long, slow line. You wake up out of the shuffle and torpor only at those moments when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/getting-old-is-like-standing-in-a-long-slow-line-you-wake-up-out-of/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“Old Age- You can tell when you're getting old when you stop taking drugs for fun and start taking them to keep you alive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-matthew-nespoli/old-age-you-can-tell-when-you-re-getting-old-when-you-stop-taking/) [J. Matthew Nespoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-matthew-nespoli/) > [Society is so tough and expectations are so unrealistic. Could I take better care of myself? Absolutely. I joke all the time that I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-lyons/society-is-so-tough-and-expectations-are-so-unrealistic-could-i-take/) [Jenna Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-lyons/) > [When getting old, things that are important to your life begin to slip out of your grasp, one after another, like a comb losing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-getting-old-things-that-are-important-to-your-life-begin-to-slip/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Getting older is a lot of fun. Right up there with chewing glass or putting your hand in a blender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/getting-older-is-a-lot-of-fun-right-up-there-with-chewing-glass-or/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [“I'm getting old, thought Eileen Calder. Old and worn out and cynical. And being cynical is a lot worse than being old or worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sheffield/i-m-getting-old-thought-eileen-calder-old-and-worn-out-and-cynical/) [Charles Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sheffield/) > [“... we absolutely mustn't forget it. We mustn't forget old people with their rotten bodies, old people who are so close to death, something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/we-absolutely-mustn-t-forget-it-we-mustn-t-forget-old-people-with/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [Elderly people are like plants. Whereas some go to seed, or to pot, others blossom in the most wonderful ways. I believe beauty competitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-simpson/elderly-people-are-like-plants-whereas-some-go-to-seed-or-to-pot/) James Simpson > [Most people think that aging is irreversible and we know that there are mechanisms even in the human machinery that allow for the reversal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/most-people-think-that-aging-is-irreversible-and-we-know-that-there/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) ## More by Wallace Stegner > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“within yourself, you became a grave for her as you were a grave for Chet, and you carried your dead unquietly within you. —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/within-yourself-you-became-a-grave-for-her-as-you-were-a-grave-for/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Towns are like people. Old ones often have character, the new ones are interchangeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/towns-are-like-people-old-ones-often-have-character-the-new-ones-are/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [By his very profession, a serious fiction writer is a vendor of the sensuous particulars of life, a perceiver and handler of things. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/by-his-very-profession-a-serious-fiction-writer-is-a-vendor-of-the/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“The creative writer is compulsively concrete . . . . His fictional house should be haunted by ideas, not inhabited by them; they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/the-creative-writer-is-compulsively-concrete-his-fictional-house/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Hard writing makes easy reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/hard-writing-makes-easy-reading/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [You married me...but you didn't marry what you could make out of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/you-married-me-but-you-didn-t-marry-what-you-could-make-out-of-me/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Wisdom. . .is knowing what you have to accept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/wisdom-is-knowing-what-you-have-to-accept/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“His mouth is full of ecology, his mind is full of fumes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/his-mouth-is-full-of-ecology-his-mind-is-full-of-fumes/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [I gave my heart to the mountains the minute I stood beside this river with its spray in my face and watched it thunder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-gave-my-heart-to-the-mountains-the-minute-i-stood-beside-this-river/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“Poetry ought to be a by-product of living, and you can't have a by-product unless you've got a product first .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/poetry-ought-to-be-a-by-product-of-living-and-you-can-t-have-a-by/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed; if we permit the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/something-will-have-gone-out-of-us-as-a-people-if-we-ever-let-the/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“Some people, I am told, have memories like computers, nothing to do but punch the button and wait for the print-out. Mine is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/some-people-i-am-told-have-memories-like-computers-nothing-to-do-but/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [ “\[Y\]ou were too alert to the figurative possibilities of words not to see the phrase \[angle of repose\] as descriptive of human as well… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/y-ou-were-too-alert-to-the-figurative-possibilities-of-words-not-to/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) [Explore all 251 Wallace Stegner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) ## More Aging quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Ruth tells me at least once a day that old people, or people getting old, tend to disengage, back away, turn inward, listen only to themselves, and get self-righteous and censorious. And they mustn't. (I mustn't.)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wallace Stegner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/ruth-tells-me-at-least-once-a-day-that-old-people-or-people-getting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/ruth-tells-me-at-least-once-a-day-that-old-people-or-people-getting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/wallace-stegner-1352_aging_ruth-tells-me-at-least-once-a-day-that-o_2167287.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/wallace-stegner-1352_aging_ruth-tells-me-at-least-once-a-day-that-o_2167287.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/wallace-stegner-1352_aging_ruth-tells-me-at-least-once-a-day-that-o_2167287.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ruth tells me at least once a day that old people, or people getting old, tend to disengage, back away, turn…” — Wallace Stegner", "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": "Wallace Stegner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Ruth tells me at least once...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/ruth-tells-me-at-least-once-a-day-that-old-people-or-people-getting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/ruth-tells-me-at-least-once-a-day-that-old-people-or-people-getting/#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 } } ] } ```