Slapstick

I found that quote I was thinking of the other day :

"For all sad words of tongue and pen
The saddest are these - it might have been !"

The poet was John Greenleaf Whittier, and I found the quote in Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Galapagos". I haven't finished it yet, but it's as cool as ever - Vonnegut is the nuts. Here's a direct quote from the text of the novel :

"So I have to say that human brains back then [meaning now] had become such copious and irresponsible generators of suggestions as to what might be done with life, that they made acting for the benefit of future generations seem one of many arbitrary games which might be played by narrow enthusiasts - like poker or polo or the bond market, or the writing of science fiction novels. More and more people back then had found ... ensuring the survival of the human race a total bore. It was a lot more fun, so to speak, to hit and hit a tennis ball"

Now that's apposite !