Dear Kurt Vonnegut,
To be honest with you, I've never been much of a fan of science fiction. That's what a lot of people like to call your books. "Science Fiction." I don't know about that, but I know that I have read things that you have written, and the sheer weight of those words have knocked me into a million pieces.
These are the quotes I remember most. I don't remember which books they are from or their particular context. I only remember that they meant (and mean) something to me.
"My brand is Pall Mall. The authentic suicides ask for Pall Malls. The dillettantes ask for Pell Mells." - Dude, I met those dillettantes. They live in Garrettsville, Ohio, and if it weren't for you, I never would have known which carcionogenic box to reach for when I heard that particular affection of pronunciation.
"In the water, I am beautiful." - Me too.
"I tell you, we are here on earth to fart around, and don't let anyone tell you different." - I think of this sentence at least once a day. It helps make everything OK.
Several years ago, Mr. Vonnegut, I had the privilege of watching you speak live at an auditorium at Case Western Reserve University. The office in which I worked hosted your visit, and because of my position in the office, I got to sit in the fourth row from the front, just a few feet from you. I don't remember much of what you said, but I do rememeber being awed by you, even in your short stature and self-effacing manner. I remember thinking that you looked old, and that there might come a day soon when I would hear you had died. But it seemed to me, then, that there was no way that could happen, that you should go on living forever, because you were Kurt Vonnegut, and that was your job. To be Kurt Vonnegut, forever.
I laughed a lot that day. A LOT. Thank you for that. You wowed me in high school when I read 'Harrison Bergeron,' and the introduction to 'Welcome to the Monkey House' still makes me smile, ten years after I first read it.
God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut.
I will miss you.
posted by Kate at 1:05 AM link/comments
