R.I.P., Mr. Vonnegut.

Amber just showed me the link to the NY Times article chronicalling the life of one of the most prolific writers that I've read thus far in my short, short life. I remember only two other deaths that affected me in such a way: Jim Henson & Shel Silverstein. Back then, at least I had the excuse that I was a kid--not so much when Shel Silverstein died, but for sure when Henson did.

When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in a bad condition in that particular moment, but that the same person is just fine in plenty of other moments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the ralfamadorians say about dead people, which is ‘So it goes’.

--Billy Pilgrim, Slaughterhouse-Five

Having a hero die is a sad thing. Thinking that someone passed through the world and you didn't get a chance to meet them--but it's different when their words and thoughts are captured in so many separate places. The other thing about a hero dying is that it kind of makes you realise it's time for you to work on becoming one for someone else, to live your life in that utmost manner so that you can also do something big.