I probably should be doing more of this thing, writing about topical items that occur that catch my attention, and I’m a bit sorry that I’m doing so on the occasion of someone’s death, but I was touched by the death of Kurt Vonnegut. (Here’s the NY Times obit which I highly recommend.) I was touched by his books, his writing, his thoughts too, as I’m sure most of you reading were. I once had the opportunity to see hear him speak, and to be honest, I can’t remember a damn thing he said. (I also had the chance to hear Jorge Luis Borges speak and can’t remember a damn thing he said, either.) But he (and Borges, come to think of it) was just like his picture and his writing. A lot of times you see someone famous in person and think “Hmm, he doesn’t look like he does in his picture,” but Vonnegut did, with his hair and his cigarettes and his glasses and rumpled clothes and his crankiness. I always wanted to write like him, he seemed to be able to do it with ease and to make it natural and true. Living through the firebombing of Dresden will do that to a guy, I guess.
The other person whose death touched me recently was Molly Ivins. I loved her wit and charm and ability to turn a phrase and her sexy-smokey Texas voice. The fact that she was so often right about what she said was a bonus.
I will miss them both.
Do me a favor, go read a book (or two) by either one of them and have a beer and think a good thought of me. Here’s a little advice from Vonnegut for you from "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine":
"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ "
So, have a beer, read a book.
And be kind.
The other person whose death touched me recently was Molly Ivins. I loved her wit and charm and ability to turn a phrase and her sexy-smokey Texas voice. The fact that she was so often right about what she said was a bonus.
I will miss them both.
Do me a favor, go read a book (or two) by either one of them and have a beer and think a good thought of me. Here’s a little advice from Vonnegut for you from "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine":
"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ "
So, have a beer, read a book.
And be kind.
