Goodbye, Mr. Vonnegut

A sad thing happened last night. A wonderful and sensitive and funny and creative author, by the name of Kurt Vonnegut, died. In “Timequake,” Vonnegut talks about being a Humanist, that organization of people who do not believe in God or an afterlife, and who try to ‘behave decently and honorably’ as he said, in this life. He relates,

“I spoke at a Humanist Association memorial service for Dr. Asimov a few years back. I said, “Isaac is up in Heaven now.” That was the funniest thing I could have said to an audience of Humanists. I rolled them in the aisles. The room was like the court-martial scene in Trout’s “No Laughing Matter,” right before the floor of the Pacific Ocean swallowed up the third atomic bomb and Joy’s Pride and all the rest of it.
When I myself am dead, God forbid, I hope some wag will say about me, ‘He’s up in Heaven now.’” - Kurt Vonnegut, Timequake [pp 83].

Leafing through my Vonnegut books, I find a few other quotes to remember this wonderful man by….
“Live by the foma* that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy.
The books of Bokonon I:5
*harmless untruths”
-Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle"

On the topic of why bother writing in today’s movie and TV saturated world:

“Still and all, why bother? Here’s my answer: Many people need desperately to receive this message: ‘I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people don’t care about them. You are not alone.’”
-K.V., Timequake [pp 221]

(See my 'Why Blog' post for similar comments from my thinking and Buddhist thought)

And I wonder Mr. Vonnegut, did you have, as Robert Frost famously said, "A lover's quarrel with the world"? Since I have only read your books I never knew you well enough to say, but that feels like it might be the case. In any case, you're in Heaven now, and I'm very sad to see you go. But, as you so famously said, so it goes.....