Happy Birthday Kurt Vonnegut

[geardaddy]

[shenmue]

1. I saw him speak once

I miss him.

[geardaddy]

4. I saw him speak once too.

At my college.

I've read almost all of his books. He is by far my favorite author.

[Peacetrain]

2. "I'm a Hoosier" is one of the great lines of all time from his books..

I think it was Cats Cradle.. but that little exchange has stuck with me for decades.. Because that seems to be what people in their very core are looking for.. the group they belong too.. and they keep dividing it down to try and find the smallest group that agrees with them and shutting out everyone else.. I know he probably meant it another way.. but that is how it stuck with me..

Have you ever been out of the country..Large group of people in the airport. You're an American?? (all others step aside) Midwest?? (goodbye east and west coast) step aside... Iowa?? (I don't know about those Minnesotans or South Dakotans step aside)... they keep breaking it down till they find the fewest people and everyone else becomes the OTHER..

He was a genius in that sense

[geardaddy]

3. Agreed.

It was Cat's Cradle. I loved how he explained that concept.

[adirondacker]

5. I had to cancel tickets to see him due to my sister falling ill of cancer.

I read to her my most recent purchase at the time "A Man Without A Country" shortly before she passed. We both enjoyed it immensely. Fond memories of both.