I rarely re-read books, but last summer I pulled Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle off the shelf and was blown away (again) by the story, the writing, and the expression of eyes-wide-open wisdom. I’ve always been a fan, which is why this article jumped out of the stream of bits and bytes and slapped me in the face this morning. It’s called “15 Things Kurt Vonnegut Said Better Than Anyone Else Ever Has or Will.”

I especially like #4 which comes from his novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. It’s part of a speech a character plans to give at the baptism of his neighbors’ twins:

“Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.”

Tags: Cat's Cradle, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, kindness, Kurt Vonnegut