RIP Kurt Vonnegut

[polywolly]

Here's the story on MSN.

Of all the authors of the 20th century, he was my favorite. Of all the authors in the world, he was the one that I always wanted to meet. Rest in peace, Mr. Vonnegut. You will be missed.

***

In tribute, I post the last few lines of The Sirens of Titan...

“We’re--we’re going to Paradise now?” said Constant. “I--I’m going to get into Paradise?”

“Don’t ask me why, old sport,” said Stony, “but somebody up there likes you.”

***

Here's the best bit of the story on MSN, for those who don't like to follow links.

Vonnegut once said that of all the ways to die, he'd prefer to go out in an airplane crash on the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. He often joked about the difficulties of old age.

"When Hemingway killed himself he put a period at the end of his life; old age is more like a semicolon," Vonnegut told the AP.

"My father, like Hemingway, was a gun nut and was very unhappy late in life. But he was proud of not committing suicide. And I'll do the same, so as not to set a bad example for my children."

[quamp]

Same here.

If you haven't read Slaughterhouse Five, you should.

[Guest Big Samurai]

"You know I'm gonna go out? On my back, with my middle finger sticking up at the sky."

Rest in peace, Mr. Vonnegut. You've been an inspiration.