At a Reverend Billy's Peace event in 2003 at St Mark's on the Bowery I ran into Kurt Vonnegut. A reading was taken there from our "Good Book":"Slaughterhouse-Five," the excerpt read by a young boy as part of the "service." I passed out fliers to a Peace Rally at the UN, which was to take place within a very few days - to the participants, including Mr. Vonnegut, on their way out of the Church. Vonnegut showed, but very few others did, as you can see by the picture below. The police apparently were expecting more. Look at all the empty barricades. Pathetic.
I took Vonnegut's picture with my placard "Impeach the Deserter." "Deserter" since W. Bush was known by researchers to be a deserter from his post at the National Guard during the Vietnam War. After my comment on the very light turn-out he said, "This country has perfected the art of brainwashing. Here I am [at an anti-war rally] and all I can think of is 'who killed Chandra Levy..?'"
Rev Billy's Eulogy 'Champion of the Planet - A Saint In This Church'
"There is nothing like death to say what is always such an artificial thing to say: The End"
-Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
R.I.P. (1922 - 2007)
1 comment:
The best of us keep dropping off.
Slaughterhouse 5 was the only book of Vonnegut's I have read. I always meant to read more but so far haven't gotten around to it. So many books in the world to read you know.
Slaughterhouse 5 had a major impact on me. The Tramalfadoreans (spelling?), real or not, had a lot to teach. War is horrible but what really matters if time is an illusion? I often think of this. And the old saying, "so it goes", so tragic, so true.
Kurt will be missed, and he'll be remembered.
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