Comments on Responses to the Question: What Were You Doing When You Learned Kurt Vonnegut Died?

I didn't find out until I got home from class at about 9 pm last night and checked the internet while making dinner. So I guess it wasn't news once I found out.

Still, I was shocked the man lived as long as he did. He's looked haggard and finished with life for the last 15-20 years. Nice to see he still did as much as he did during that time. So it goes.

To the best and the brightest person this world had to offer, to one of the greatest literary minds of our (or any) generation, to a man who believed in the little details that made life bearable, I offer this:

So it goes.

He'd be happy to hear that, I think.

I was downloading email from Vanguard, and one of the list members mentioned Kurt had died (probably Vonda McIntyre), after having spent an evening with my son making strangely shaped white boxes for a pyramid for this year's Fremont Solstice Parade.

Reading it distracted me from the Bush lies on the OnDemand replay of the PBS NewsHour that I was watching, and I thought about what he was like 20 years ago.

I may not have liked much of what he wrote, but I always respected his ability to get thoughts and images into my head, unbidden as they may have been

who flippin cares? old people die every day.

readin' the slog.

True, frederick, but very few of those old people were among the best writers of all time.

Every interview of his that I've seen or read in the past several years made it clear that he was fed up with life. So, rest in peace Mr. Vonnegut. You've earned it.

Here'sis one response, for what it's worth. No one famous, and kind of rambling, but if your interested...

Cienna,

Sorry to hear about your Dad. But it's comforting knowing you were writing something funny (in your pajamas).

Old people die every day reading the SLOG? Hmmm, sounds like something for ECB to write about ... right, Erica?

Vonnegut was an important part of my adolesence -- his work was dark, funny, cynical, and brilliant. Plus, he could draw a great asshole. Somewhere, buried in my storage, is a box with at least a dozen of his paperbacks. I'm going to look for it.

Speaking of assholes, that post by Lawrimore was one of the most pretentious things I've seen in a long time.

I saw the news online (I think on Metafilter) while I was teaching a class last night. I mentioned it to my (college) students and one of them said "who is that?", making me feel very old.