Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

"Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before," Bokonon tells us. "He is full of murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by their ignorance the hard way." from CAT'S CRADLE

My father graduated with Vonnegut from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1940, which is why I have Vonnegut's senior picture (right). It was in my father's high school yearbook from 1940, as were the other photos on this page.

Born: November 11, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana American novelist and short story writer

Vonnegut was in the Student Council, he was in the "UGLYMAN" club (whatever that was...I think it was the cool guys or the ones with the most money), he was on the Tuesday staff of the high school newspaper (a daily!), but, and 'so it goes,' he was not in the "FICTION CLUB."

"Anyone who cannot understand how a useful religion can be based on lies will not understand this book either." CAT'S CRADLE

VONNEGUT ON SMOKING CIGARETTES: "Let us be perfectly frank. For practically everybody, the end of the world can't come soon enough. [Cigarettes are] a fairly sure, fairly honorable form of suicide." * * * "In spite of chain-smoking Pall Malls since I was 14, I think my wind is still good enough for me to go chasing after happiness, something I've never really tried."

"The two real political parties in America are the Winners and the Losers. The people don't acknowledge this. They claim membership in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead." WAMPETERS, FOMA AND GRANFALLOONS

"Before you kill somebody, make absolutely sure he isn't well connected." SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE

POSTSCRIPT "The intelligent man finds almost everything ridiculous, the sensible man hardly anything." JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

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