Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., 1922-2007

If ever there was a novel that influenced my thinking, it was "Slaughterhouse Five." The novel came out when the Vietnam War was always on my mind and spoke to me about the futility of war and the insanity of leaders who wage it. Thirty-eight years later, I still get choked up when I reach the end of the book and read about Bobby Kennedy being shot the day before.

His other works, including "Cat's Cradle" and "The Sirens of Titan," contained great satire, wonderful black humor and thought-provoking social commentary. The world will miss Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., one of the great literary lights of the twentieth century.

So it goes.