Vonnegut...

I was doing a last flip through the channels prior to falling asleep. I stopped on Google Current where they were listing the top googled searches for the day. #1 was Kurt Vonnegut. There is no other reason why he would be the #1 search unless he had just died. I got up out of bed and swore to myself that my 1st novel would be dedicated to him...

The Google results confirmed it.

"Kurt Vonnegut dies at age 84 - Melbourne Herald Sun - 52 minutes ago"

I would be remiss to say that I am the hugest Vonnegut fan or that i had even read all of his works. I do own all of his books thanks to a free market sale; and what i have read was fucking amazing even though some of it went over my head. I alway sthought of Vonnegut as a bit crazy yet approcahable. I know he openly taught writing classes even through the past years. His style was similar to the Gonzo thought process of Hunter S. Thompson but written in a more formal literary style. I always meant to read the rest of the books i have by him (and to re-read the ones I had read already). I find when i re-read books i pick up on new things and they take on a whole new meaning. I will dedicate my 1st novel to KV... and to my grandmother.

It is amazing how i will alway remember this time. Its always late at night when i'm asleep or about to go to sleep when i hear about a person dying. I remember where i was when i heard Hunter S Thompson died of a self inflicted gunshot wound. I was putting an issue of STS to bed and i was doing my last check of the news for the night. I had to stop and write a eulogy for him. I remember when my mom called at 7 in the morning to tell me my Maw Maw had died. I was listening to Hotel California by the Eagles and it was on the track 'New Kid in Town.' I will never think of that song the same way again.

I don't know why death moves me the way it does. I didn't know Hunter or Vonnegut personally but i am saddened by their passing. I knew my Maw Maw and have not shed a tear for her mainly because i had lost her to Alzheimer's 4 years ago. I never had a chance to lose Hunter or Vonnegut and maybe that is what saddens me.

14 fucking books, Kurt. I have a way to go...


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