Kurt Vonnegut was the last sane human. I prefer to think that he died not of old age, but of fury. Goodbye, sir.
With any luck, he hasn't really died. Just become unstuck in time.
Regardless, this sucks. Stupid death, always killin' cool people.
From A Man Without A Country (2005):
I am, incidentally, Honorary President of the American Humanist Association, having succeeded the late, great Isaac Asimov in that totally functionless capacity. We had a memorial service for Isaac a few years back, and I spoke and said at one point, "Isaac is up in heaven now." It was the funniest thing I could have said to an audience of humanists. I rolled them in the aisles. It was several minutes before order could be restored. And if I should die, God forbid, I hope you will say, "Kurt is up in heaven now." That's my favorite joke.
... so does death. Ow.
Cool persons are dying everywhere these days now.
Why, oh why are the sane and intelligent people dying??? We're being left with all the dumb ones!!
Mr. Vonnegut was the greatest American writer of my time, hands down. I can't vouch for the rest of the world, but he has touched me in a way that I will never forget. His novels have helped me understand the world as I do now, and helped me find humor and meaning in everything. I will miss looking forward to his next book, his next installation of wisdom.
oh yes, and I am sure that Kurt is up in heaven now. ;)
With the emoticon? Really?
depends whether you believe in heaven or not.
he didn't.
so, the emoticon is for him.
maybe not for you.
Oh, I see. You have learned much from your mentor.
"We humanists, I succeeded Isaac Asimov as president, and we humanists try to behave as well as we can without any expectation of a reward or punishment in an after life. So since God is unknown to us, the highest abstraction to which we serve is our community. That’s as high as we can go, and we have some understanding of that. Now at a memorial service for Isaac Asimov a few years ago on the West Coast I spoke and I said, "Isaac is in heaven now," to a crowd of humanists. It was quite awhile before order could be restored. Humanists were rolling in the aisles. Should I, God forbid, pass on some time, I hope that some of you will say that Kurt is up in heaven now."
-Kurt Vonnegut [albany.edu]
After reading "not of old age," the first phrase that comes to mind is "but of roundhouse kicks to the head by Chuck Norris." I can't think of a more awesome way to die, because the Internet tells me there is none.
