Jim; I was and remain a huge fan of KV, just to clarify; and have taught Slaughterhouse 5, Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle and other novels many times. I certainly did not mean to imply I dislike or disregard KV"s power as a writer by circulating that little humorous piece. It is probably not going too far to say that Vonnegut's work (along with Catcher in the Rye & Gatsby) probably changed my life's direction & calling... Nevertheless, Vonnegut fanatics -- like those of Phish, or David Foster Wallace, or JK Rowling, etc-- can be somewhat monomaniacal.
Bonus fact: my dad went to high school with Vonnegut, at Shortridge HS on Indy's near north side. Dad was one year behind KV; at the same time the school had Sid Collins, who became the legendary "voice of the 500"; as well as Madelyn Pugh, one of the lead writers on the I Love Lucy show in the 50s! Pugh & KV were co-editors of the HS paper at Shortridge, the Daily Echo, which became famous at the time (the Great Depression) as supposedly being the first daily high school paper in America.
Dr. Hal Bush
Dept. of English
Saint Louis University
[log in to unmask]
314-977-3616
http://halbush.com
author website: halbush.com
________________________________
From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Jim Leonard <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2018 2:05:39 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Welcome back to the semester! REMINDER: renew your degrees!
I hope you'll pardon my digression in a discussion of Mark Twain and Andy W=
illiams, but I think Slaughterhouse-Five is a delightful book. Sure Billy =
Pilgrim's wife and about 135,000 other people die in the novel, but Billy f=
inds an effective way to come to terms with it--with an incredibly goofy ef=
fort to change the way his fellow earthlings (mistakenly?) think about such=
things. As Kurt Vonnegut would say, "I love that; it's so human." --Jim=
L.
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Hal Bush
Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2018 7:02 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Welcome back to the semester! REMINDER: renew your degrees!
John, I love the Andy Williams reference! as for the billiards claim, are =
=3D there witnesses??
Dr. Hal Bush
Dept. of English
Saint Louis University
[log in to unmask]
314-977-3616
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__halbush.com&d=DwIBAg&c=Pk_HpaIpE_jAoEC9PLIWoQ&r=f7i-Uq4rMQU8-TBe45qVLg&m=KCSIDUNlH-eth3S0KqHiCUc5O2DLKQ8jXEejEIKHxH0&s=OoruA2EAoc14KbAUm40hIHED9msAsCiouA_gr07mFPY&e=
author website: halbush.com
________________________________
From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of John R. Pascal <alph=
=3D [log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, August 17, 2018 9:01:19 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Welcome back to the semester! REMINDER: renew your degrees!
Excuse me, Dr Bush,
It=3D3DE2=3D3D80=3D3D99s a good thing my dear parents are in heaven. Since=
they =3D =3D3D paid for my B.A. in English, I think they might raise an ey=
ebrow or two =3D3D and wish a private word with you concerning the need to =
renew my degree.
Also, I have taught Slaughterhouse-Five (not my choice) to my high =3D3D sc=
hool juniors for several years. It was the summer reading for =3D3D Septem=
ber discussion.
It made them needlessly more depressed beyond returning to school no =3D3D =
matter how many different times I tried to explain it and put it into =3D3D=
context as an important work in American literature.=3D3D20
=3D3D20
So much better to have shortened SL-5 book discussion and jump right =3D3D =
into the mighty Mississippi River with Huckleberry Finn, which they =3D3D a=
bsolutely love each year;=3D3D20
It certainly is our favorite time of year. I do play Andy Williams=3D3DE2=
=3D3D=3D 80=3D3D99=3D3D =3D3DE2=3D3D80=3D3D9CThe Most Wonderful Time of th=
e Year=3D3DE2=3D3D80=3D3D9D every Se=3D ptember =3D3D on the first day of c=
lass and it gets even the most emotionally hardened =3D =3D3D of students t=
o smile and grin. But hey, what do I know? I=3D3DE2=3D3D80=3D3D99m=3D =
=3D3D still learning myself.
I do know that you graciously let me win a round of billiards against =3D3D=
you at Elmira last year.
:D
John Pascal
> On Aug 17, 2018, at 5:30 PM, Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>=3D3D20
> Colleagues; I was reminded of this by another colleague, and =3D3D
especially fo=3D3D3D
> r the younger folks on this LIST: don't overlook the very crucial =3D3D
need to =3D3D3D
> RENEW your degree before the start of class.
>=3D3D20
>=3D3D20
>=20
>https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=3D3Dhttps-3A__www.mcsweeneys.n
>et=3D
_articles_how-2Dto-2Drenew-2Dyour-2Denglish-2Ddegree&d=3D3DDwIBAg&c=3D3DPk_=
HpaI=3D
pE_jAoEC9PLIWoQ&r=3D3Df7i-Uq4rMQU8-TBe45qVLg&m=3D3Ds0tUscpxPGJmaaUYK-uY8lYN=
HN1V=3D
xNIwPlhPqZIte0k&s=3D3DeE2UoskW-tXy-PzSEWf5UiGSP6nXwremTg9eUDMV3Ac&e=3D3D
>=3D3D20
>=3D3D20
> O yeah, one other thing -- just in case you meet one of those Vonnegut=20
>=3D
=3D3D
stal=3D3D3D
> kers at the welcome back cocktail party on campus:
>=3D3D20
>=3D3D20
> =3D3D
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=3D3Dhttps-3A__www.mcsweeneys.net=
_a=3D
rticles_what-2Dto-2Ddo-2Dwhen-2Dsomeone-2Dasks-2Dif-2Dyouve-2D-3D&d=3D3DDwI=
BA=3D
g&c=3D3DPk_HpaIpE_jAoEC9PLIWoQ&r=3D3Df7i-Uq4rMQU8-TBe45qVLg&m=3D3Ds0tUscpxP=
GJmaaU=3D
YK-uY8lYNHN1VxNIwPlhPqZIte0k&s=3D3D_rkMzW0yVjoSZo9k-Vq0ujVft4voqLrR2kD6FiMX=
2l=3D
M&e=3D3D
e=3D3D3D
> ver-read-vonnegut
>=3D3D20
>=3D3D20
> cheers, my friends!! The earth has yet again returned us to our =3D3D
favorite t=3D3D3D
> ime of year...
>=3D3D20
>=3D3D20
>=3D3D20
> Dr. Hal Bush
>=3D3D20
> Dept. of English
>=3D3D20
> Saint Louis University
>=3D3D20
> [log in to unmask]
>=3D3D20
> 314-977-3616
>=3D3D20
>=20
>https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=3D3Dhttp-3A__halbush.com&d=3D3D=
D
>wI=3D
BAg&c=3D3DPk_HpaIpE_jAoEC9PLIWoQ&r=3D3Df7i-Uq4rMQU8-TBe45qVLg&m=3D3Ds0tUscp=
xPGJma=3D
aUYK-uY8lYNHN1VxNIwPlhPqZIte0k&s=3D3DJ4F8tyqDtJk0M7ehsv3UdAgzuBFAJ9wba5dMqH=
7w=3D
KCo&e=3D3D
>=3D3D20
> author website: halbush.com
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