God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut

Ah, apologies, Dear Reader(s) - I have been a poor online distraction for you lately. Been busy, which meant no post on Friday. No post on Monday. Which is terrible, as a lot of you are new followers and I have failed you egregiously!

Today, however, I have no choice but to return, as Sunday, Monday, and Today are all important dates (those three are listed in descending order of importance, as Sunday's date was obviously the most important of them all).

Do you have a guess as to what April 11 was? [Hint: The title of the blog might help you guess.]

April 11

Three years ago, on this date, Kurt Vonnegut passed away.

Kurt Vonnegut could make you smile and make you feel alive like nearly no other author in history. If you thought you had difficult problems in your life, you could always pick up a Vonnegut novel and realize that things could certainly be worse.

He gave us words and phrases that stuck in our minds (So it goes).

He gave us a character that we all fell in love with (Kilgore Trout).

He gave us books that we will never forget, and that many of us will read over and over again.

God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut. Thank you for everything you gave us.



April 12

Two summers ago, I was staying with friends on the beach in Plymouth, Massachusetts (my favorite town in America), and I decided to wander along the shoreline with one eye on Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain and another eye on the sand, looking for a rock that I could keep in my pocket from that point forward (you know, just a nice little way to have a piece of Plymouth with me at all times).

I picked up and eventually discarded a number of rocks before I found one that felt just right, and I pocketed this rock, and I kept it with me for several months.

Then...I lost the rock. It was pretty disappointing.

Last year, on April 12, I was in New York City with my brother walking out to get some food at 2 in the morning. I picked up a rock from a flower bed, just to have something to carry, and...holy Lord! The rock was like the identical twin of my old Plymouth rock. The only difference between the two rocks was that there was a small chip in the top of the first rock, whereas the top of this second rock was smooth.

Ever since then, this new rock has been my Lucky Rock. I keep it on top of my notebooks at night. I keep it in my pocket each day.

Happy birthday, Lucky Rock. Thanks for sticking with me.



April 13

A quarter of a century ago, on this date, I was born. I'm not big on birthdays, but I will say...

Thanks, Dad.

Thanks, Mom.

Thanks for April 13, 1985, but also, thank you for everything since then. I love you both to a magnificent degree.



And...thank you, Dear Reader (even though you had nothing to do with my birth).

Hope you're all having a wonderful day.

Go read some Vonnegut.

Go enjoy life.

[The short link to this post - http://bit.ly/dA6OCX - in case you'd like to share with the Vonnegut fans in your world]

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