"Why you? Why anybody?" I remember that line from some great novel or other,

[Redstone]

but I can't remember which one it was. I'd appreciate any help from anybody who recognizes the quotation, because here it is, for Christ's sake 2:30 in the morning, and I have work to do tomorrow (actually today), but here I am with the pain that won't let me sleep, and wondering why it's happening again, when I know damn well that the answer is "why anybody?"

Forgive me for carrying on.

Redstone

[Heidi]

1. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut.

"Why you? Why us for that matter? Why anything?"

:hi:

[bridgit]

3. Why you...

smarty pants you :hi:

[Heidi]

4. I love Vonnegut.

Here's the full passage:

"That is a very earthling question to ask, Mr. pilgrim. Why you?
Why us for that matter? Why anything? Because this moment simply is. Have
you ever seen bugs trapped in amber?"

"Yes." Billy, in fact, had a paperweight in his office which was a
blob of polished amber with three ladybugs embedded in it.

"Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this
moment. There is no why."

[bridgit]

7. yep, there is no 'why'; Happy Birthday Wanda June...

http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Happy_Birthday_Wanda_JUne.html :party:

[hfojvt]

10. That's on page 76 of my edition

but there is an earlier passage, as it were, before Billy gets kidnapped, on page 91

"As the Americans were waiting to move on, an altercation broke out in their rear-most rank. An American had muttered something which a guard did not like. The guard knew English, and he hauled the American out of ranks, knocked him down.
The American was astonished. He stood up shakily, spitting blood. He'd had two teeth knocked out. He had meant no harm by what he'd said, evidently, had no idea that the guard would hear and understand.
'Why me?' he asked the guard.
The guard shoved him back into ranks. 'Vy you? Vy anybody?' he said."

[Heidi]

11. RIP, Mr. Vonnegut.

:cry:

Hi, friend! :hug: :*

[hfojvt]

14. Just stumbled across this

"The most important thing I learned on Tralfamador was that when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to cry at his funeral. All moments, past, present, and future, always have existed, always will exist." :o

That seems like nonsense though. Only the present really exists, doesn't it? The past always will have existed, once it is passed, but the future does not exist yet. At this point, I have not typed my next line. At least not as I write it, but by the time you read it, I will have. I may even have written several, deleted them, and cleaned them up for typos as I just removed a superfluous 'e' from the word 'typos'.

Who knows what I may type next? Will it be coherent? Will I make an analogy of a string of numbers where the next number is unknown, or will I decide to quote the Boston song which is now playing on my computer 'you know it's now or never, take a chance on rock and roll.' I guess I went with the Boston. I hope everyone is 'feeling satisfied' (that, of course, being the name of the song I just quoted).

Some almot nameless member of Boston is now ('now' not 'not' tanjit!!) dead as well. So it goes, and so many people I can say that about when once, in my lifetime, it was not so. But I don't want anyone to 'Rest in peace'. Maybe they can have a little nap, but then it is time to get up, move faster, and battle evil in another dimension.

Did you notice how I combined a reference to 'Robin Hood' and 'The Last Starfighter' in that last line? Am I trying to show off, or just having fun babbling? Or both, and neither. (I always liked that line, but cannot remember where it is from.) :pals:

[hfojvt]

5. Why not me? OTOH

is a book by Al Franken, but not a very good one.

Slaughterhouse Five is correct, and it appears in several places there.

Chronic pain sucks though, and so does the sleep deprivation that it leads to.

[Redstone]

6. Thank you, Heidi, I had suspected it was KV, but am too beat up to do the research.

Hey, one good thing about being up this late; I get to see how the Late Night Club conducts its business here in the Lounge when the rest of us aren't watching.

Redstone

[Heidi]

8. Prego, Redstone.

Nice to see you. :hug:

[reyd reid reed]

2. Vonnegut?

That's ringing bells...but it's 12:30 a.m. here and I ain't exactly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the moment.

[Redstone]

9. Deep into the agate, are you? That'll dim any bright eyes, won't it? So good to

"see" you again, m'dear; we haven't talked in a while.

Maybe I'm just apprehensive, if you don't mind me burdening you with this stuff. I'm going to the hand surgeon tomorrow to find out if I need a finger-joint replacement, and you probably know how I feel about letting doctors cut me. That didn't work out too well for me the last two times, but this bone spur is interfering with my ability to type (and therefore to work).

Enough maundering on my part.

Redstone

[hfojvt]

12. Probably you started typing before Heidi's answer appeared

Thus you ended up as reply #2 while I, a slower and more prolix typist ended up as #5. Speaking of trapped in amber and simultanaity, all around the globe, people were seeing Redstone's thread, clicking on it, reading it, and typing replies, ultimately to be put into a chronological order by some program, but when did the reading start, and when did the typing begin? :crazy:

[Redstone]

13. Good question, but what I'd like to know is this: when does the AMBIEN begin?

It's been a boon for me in the past, giving me the opportunity to shut off the day when I've had enough of it.

But tonight it's weak, and the pain burns through its ability to profide that relief.

Not that I'm complaining.

Redstone

[hfojvt]

15. "When do the good things start?"

As Charlie Brown asked when Schroeder or Linus told him that life had good and bad in it.

Perhaps ibuprofen is necessary too, or is that a bad combination? It's a good pain reliever for me, better than the vicodin. I use something else for a sleep aid.

I kinda like for people to complain. When they tell me 'I can't complain.' I think something like, 'yes, you can. Give it a shot. At least try!'

I probably get carried away. I think this is my theme song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC_Nu3qXUNA

[fleabert]

16. I don't know, I just want to say hi.

this is another of my drive-by visits, but I saw your name and had to say hello-

hello. (((hug)))