Never make somebody feel like something the cat drug in

by | May 4, 2023 | Blog

In Kurt Vonnegut’s last novel, Timequake, he left us (or at least me) with a quote for the ages.

I read it in 1999 (only 2 years after it came out!) and then again at University in 2002 (only 5 years before he left us for the great writer’s retreat in the sky…or the sea, or the desert, or wherever).

Nothing particular spurred my wanting to write about it today; it just felt like it was time.

What I remembered is what you see in the subject line above. (I was pretty close!)

What he actually wrote was an anecdote with a lesson (the one I’ve remembered and tried hard to practice all these years).

And no, I have not checked to see if the anecdote is true. (It feels profane to fact-check Kurt Vonnegut.)

Here it is (I’ve bolded the part I love so much):

When the City of London wanted to give George Bernard Shaw its Order of Merit, he thanked them for it, but said he had already given it to himself.
I would have accepted it. I would have recognized the opportunity for a world-class joke, but would never allow myself to be funny at the cost of making somebody else feel like something the cat drug in.
Let that be my epitaph.

Now you know,
James

P.S. Here’s a really nice review of Timequake that I came across while trying to find the quote. (When I started out today, I couldn’t even remember which book it came from 🙂