Kurt VonnegutMy favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut, died yesterday at 84. My favorite high school English teacher, Alma Anthony, introduced many of us to Vonnegut and we were enraptured. I believe the first Vonnegut book we read was Cat’s Cradle, still one of my favorites. (A year ago, I bought and read it again, and rediscovered what was inside.) Most recently I read his book A Man Without A Country, recommended to me by my friend Eljay. (She was my girlfriend in high school more than 40 years ago, and we still e-mail each other from time to time.) I highly recommend you read that book. It’s not a novel, but more of a commentary on life in America. Other Vonnegut favorites of mine: Player Piano, the short story collection Welcome to the Monkey House, the classics Slaughterhouse Five and Sirens of Titan, the brilliant Mother Night, and the play Happy Birthday, Wanda June. (I know Vonnegut said later that he didn’t like Wanda June, but some of the ideas in it were brilliant nonetheless, particularly the notion that older people play shuffleboard because they are being prepared for the afterlife, where shuffleboard is the all-consuming pastime.) Adieu, Mr. Vonnegut. And thank you, Alma, for giving Vonnegut to us.