Hmmm...

So I’m standing at the bathroom sink last night getting ready for bed and, for no reason I can fathom, the name “Kurt Vonnegut” pops into my head. I have not thought about him, nor had his name pop into my head, in years — probably a decade or more — nor would I have any reason to.

And I think, what must he be up to? Seriously, I spent about ten minutes thinking about this guy and what his daily routine must be as what I assumed is a “retired” or “elderly” writer. How does he spend his days? What does he think about? And so on…

It was a curous set of thoughts; I waded through them, and then, just as quickly as they came, I let them pass.

Then, this morning when I got to the office, this:

“Influential Author Vonnegut Dies at 84”

I may have some set of undefined special powers. I must explore this further…

Anyway, I met him once, a little over 20 years ago. He spoke at my university, and agreed to do a “meet-and-greet” immediately afterward. For some reason, I was the first one to show up, and we had a few minutes of inconsequential chitchat (and an autograph) before the horde found the room. It was special to me.

So it goes.

Update on Thursday, April 12, 2007 by Joe Fusco

If you’re reading this because you saw the link on Buzzfeed, well, first — welcome.

Second, you really ought to back right up and click the next link down. This certainly deserves a higher ranking than my weak little entry, even if it is on the Huffington Post. Seriously, it’s a really nice essay.

Thanks for visiting.

Update on Thursday, April 12, 2007 by Joe Fusco

The internets are just.

This post is now ranked above mine, as it should be.

Comments

[Peter McEwen]

I had a similar experience last night. For some reason his name kept popping out at me and I begun to ruminate on the periods of my life when his books were so influential.

[Joe Fusco]

I gotta tell ya, it was weird, and a little unsettling when I read the news this morning.

You raise a good thought -- thinking about the time of your life when the impact of his writing made such a strong impression. I enjoyed being young, and his books were a big part of that.

Thanks for visiting, Peter.

[M Dolan]

Odd...last night i fell asleep thinking about how all Malachai Constant had to do was flip his spaceship over...
The first thing I heard in the morning was of Vonnegut's death. I guess he has broader reach than we could ever really know.
I live in Cohoes NY by the way, and I thank him for making it exist in other people's minds.

[Joe Fusco]

M Dolan: Thanks for visiting, and for your insight.

These coincidences (yours, mine and the commenter above) almost seem -- eerily -- like they could have occurred in one of his novels.

I went to college in Albany, N.Y. and lived there for almost a decade afterward. His brother, Bernard, taught meteorology at the University at Albany, as you probably know. I, too, was always proud of those and other connections the region had to him.