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The letter Kurt Vonnegut sent to The Consumers was one of my most prized possessions. I was proud that my favorite author had listened to a song I wrote about Billy Pilgrim, the main character in Slaughterhouse-Five, and had taken the time to answer. When I was in liver failure and waiting for a transplant that might or might not come, I contacted the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library to ask if they would be interested in the letter. It was dated June 6, 1986, the 42nd anniversary of D-Day. War and Billy Pilgrim were clearly on Vonnegut's mind. He mentions soldiers, cigarettes, mortars, foxholes, and the enemy while responding directly to “Billy Pilgrim Blues.” The museum was interested. They found Vonnegut’s Bob Dylan comment especially notable because Vonnegut had publicly commented on Dylan before. In a 1991 interview, Vonnegut called Dylan “the worst poet alive,” so his mention of Dylan in the letter gave it an extra point of interest. They wanted to use the letter in a museum display, along with a copy of the tape and a photo.
