Apr 12 2007
Kurt Vonnegut — 1922-2007
As the man wrote in Slapstick every time someone died: “Hi ho.”
He was the best writer to ever live in Barnstable — my home town. He defined American Literature in the late 60s and early 70s with Slaughterhouse Five. I loved his work and will miss him. He also had a character in God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater die in Cotuit Bay in a sailing accident. I like to believe it was by being hit in the head with the boom of a Cotuit Skiff.
“Eunice also wrote an historical novel about a female gladiator, Ramba of Macedon, which was a best-seller in 1936. Eunice died in 1937, in a sailing accident in Cotuit, Massachusetts. She was a wise and amusing person, with very sincere anxieties about the condition of the poor. She was my mother.”
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“So it goes” with a farewell “Poo-tee-weet”.
Nice post Dave. I loved that book. I think old man Peck is also mentioned if I recall.
As a tribute to Kurt, we tracked down some of the myths surrounding his ownership of a SAAB dealership in Barnstable. This was a collaboration with http://www.saabhistory.com
See:
http://capecodliving.blogspot.com/2007/04/kurt-vonneguts-saab-cape-cod-update.html
My memory with Vonnegut: One evening, while I was working at Forbes (where I met Dave), Vonnegut was scheduled to be on the podium for a New School Seminar on something or other. My job was to babysit him and Peggy Noonan, of all people, while they waited to go on. That is another story! But when I first met Vonnegut that evening, I was so excited (I mean this was Kurt Vonnegut!!!) that I blurted out “I’ve written everything you’ve read!!” He looked at me with this deadpan expession. The silent moment was laden with a twinkle and then he said, “That’s quite impressive,” and we laughed. He was a very cool, down-to-earth regular guy who happened to have a brilliant take on things. I’m lucky to have spent a couple of hours with him. — Vicki