Kurt Vonnegut, R.I.P.

Like every writer and comedian, I must record the passing of the patron saint of modern irony, Kurt Vonnegut. He died a week or so ago, and the hordes of detached, smirking ironists have to say farewell. Yes, I read Vonnegut along with everyone else in the seventies, and after the first one or two books, bought and devoured everything the man ever wrote afterward. And I loved them. And I loved him...Until the ironic edge became sharper, and his smile was only for his author photo, because it was slashed out of his writing. It's always sad to me when an ironic smile becomes jaded, and suddenly it's not irony at all, but a bitter sneer.

I found the bitter sneer a sad end for him. He's certainly not the first person to get crankier and crankier in his later years because nobody seems to be listening closely enough. But it was a reminder to me that life goes on no matter what I think about it, and I can only do my best to be kind, and good, and funny, so I might as well try to keep my chin up.

"Life is short, misery sure, mortality certain, but on the way, why not carry those two inflated pig bladders labeled zest and gusto." - Ray Bradbury

The Tense Generation

The story made the cover of LOOK magazine in 1963. "The Tense Generation" is all about a generation of American teenagers who were aimless, apathetic, hanging out, wearing the uniform of blue jeans and white socks, destroying property and wasting their lives. Here are a few quotations from August, 1963:

"Across the country, from cities down to small towns, a novel note of tension, even of danger, has lately been added to the normal strains of life. It's as if a new population element had seeped into residential America, at odds with the old settlers and implacably determined to show its malice."

"To describe those who engage in these and many similar activities, it is necessary to use a terrible judgement: They are the 16 year old failures in American life."

"Many come from middle class, or even well to do homes. Their common denominator is that they have lost their way."

"Affluence itself is part of the problem."

"Experience shows that once normal middle class values are relaxed, the descent is rapid. The National Education Association has noted that there is a curious tendency these days for middle class youths to imitate the slum dweller, to speak his language, to wear his clothes, to act as they imagine he acts."

That was 1963, during the Kennedy administration. Keep your chin up, because a sixteen year old in 1963 is now 60 years old. Next time you see Grandpa, ask him why his generation was so tense, destroying things and making nothing of themselves.

Even a 16 year old tense failure like me can pull it together...

...eventually.

Love from Wilson World,
Tom