--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Early in 1968, a group of optometrists…" description: "\"“Early in 1968, a group of optometrists, with Billy among them, chartered an airplane to fly them from Ilium to an international convention of optometr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/kurt-vonnegut-41_plane-crash_early-in-1968-a-group-of-optometrists-wi_2160894.jpg" --- # Early in 1968, a group of optometrists, with Billy among… ![“Early in 1968, a group of optometrists, with Billy among them, chartered an airplane to fly them from Ilium to an international convention of optometrists in Montreal. The plane crashed on top of Sugarbush Mountain, in Vermont. Everybody was killed but Billy. So it goes. While Billy was…” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/kurt-vonnegut-41_plane-crash_early-in-1968-a-group-of-optometrists-wi_2160894.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/kurt-vonnegut-41_plane-crash_early-in-1968-a-group-of-optometrists-wi_2160894.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/kurt-vonnegut-41_plane-crash_early-in-1968-a-group-of-optometrists-wi_2160894.jpg) > ““Early in 1968, a group of optometrists, with Billy among them, chartered an airplane to fly them from Ilium to an international convention of optometrists in Montreal. The plane crashed on top of Sugarbush Mountain, in Vermont. Everybody was killed but Billy. So it goes. While Billy was recuperating in a hospital in Vermont, his wife died accidentally of carbon-monoxide poisoning. So it goes.”” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A series of tragic events are presented with a detached tone, highlighting the randomness of fate and the human tendency to normalize suffering. **In simple terms:** Life can be random and cruel, yet we keep moving on. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and find meaning despite loss. Themes fate resilience normalization loss humor Mood reflective somber darkly humorous Type aphorical narrative philosophical When to use this quote - grieving - surviving trauma - finding purpose after tragedy Key Concepts existentialism randomness coping mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning after unexpected loss? - What role does humor play in coping with tragedy? A Different Perspective The narrative may oversimplify complex grief, ignoring deeper emotional processing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“HERE IS HOW Billy Pilgrim lost his wife, Valencia. He was unconscious in the hospital in Vermont, after the airplane crashed on Sugarbush Mountain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/here-is-how-billy-pilgrim-lost-his-wife-valencia-he-was-unconscious/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“As I nodded my head to the beat, I started wondering what had gone through Richie Valens’s head before the plane crashed into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/as-i-nodded-my-head-to-the-beat-i-started-wondering-what-had-gone/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [I grew up in a small town in West Virginia called Kenova. It's the city where the plane crashed from Marshall University. I watched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-d-smith/i-grew-up-in-a-small-town-in-west-virginia-called-kenova-it-s-the/) [Brad D. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-d-smith/) > [I was researching a different World War II story when I came across an article in the 'Chicago Tribune' from June 1945 that knocked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-zuckoff/i-was-researching-a-different-world-war-ii-story-when-i-came-across/) [Mitchell Zuckoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-zuckoff/) > [I always wondered what it would be like to be pretty and popular. Though I'll never get there now. The plane I was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naquitta-faith/i-always-wondered-what-it-would-be-like-to-be-pretty-and-popular/) [Naquitta Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naquitta-faith/) > [“The introduction was meant to be all important and elegant and meaningful and “This summer marks the voyage of discovery of Livia Stowe,” and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-le-vann/the-introduction-was-meant-to-be-all-important-and-elegant-and/) [Kate le Vann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-le-vann/) > [“Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport was one of only three very special airports named for men who died in a plane crash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernhardt/oklahoma-city-s-will-rogers-world-airport-was-one-of-only-three-very/) [William Bernhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernhardt/) > [ By sort of combining the research of a lot of smart people, I came up with an equation for dread \[dread=uncontrollability+unfamiliarity+imaginability+suffering+scale of destruction+unfairness\]. The… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-ripley/by-sort-of-combining-the-research-of-a-lot-of-smart-people-i-came-up/) [Amanda Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-ripley/) > [The more we lose, the more he'll fly in. And the more he flies in, the better the chance there'll be a plane crash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graig-nettles/the-more-we-lose-the-more-he-ll-fly-in-and-the-more-he-flies-in-the/) [Graig Nettles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graig-nettles/) > [You may hate the pilot but you don't want the plane to crash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-johnson-jr/you-may-hate-the-pilot-but-you-don-t-want-the-plane-to-crash/) [Ernie Johnson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-johnson-jr/) > [Statistically, 2012 was the safest year to travel on a plane, in the history of aviation. Not one major passenger plane crashed. It's pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-campbell/statistically-2012-was-the-safest-year-to-travel-on-a-plane-in-the/) [Dallas Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-campbell/) > [“Still, national politics meant little to him: about as much as paper airplanes would mean to the survivor of a plane crash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mulisch/still-national-politics-meant-little-to-him-about-as-much-as-paper/) [Harry Mulisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mulisch/) > [Breaking News! Breaking News!!Breaking News!!! There's another plane crash and nobody survived. The plane was carrying all your Problems, Shame, disappointment, discouragement, Sorrows, Failure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newlove/breaking-news-breaking-news-breaking-news-there-s-another-plane-crash/) [Newlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newlove/) > [I'd rather grind slow because when it land in my lap and when I get it, it's going to last longer than just shooting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moneybagg-yo/i-d-rather-grind-slow-because-when-it-land-in-my-lap-and-when-i-get/) [Moneybagg Yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moneybagg-yo/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Plane crash quotes > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I'd rather grind slow because when it land in my lap and when I get it, it's going to last longer than just shooting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moneybagg-yo/i-d-rather-grind-slow-because-when-it-land-in-my-lap-and-when-i-get/) [Moneybagg Yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moneybagg-yo/) > [Breaking News! Breaking News!!Breaking News!!! There's another plane crash and nobody survived. The plane was carrying all your Problems, Shame, disappointment, discouragement, Sorrows, Failure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newlove/breaking-news-breaking-news-breaking-news-there-s-another-plane-crash/) [Newlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newlove/) > [“Still, national politics meant little to him: about as much as paper airplanes would mean to the survivor of a plane crash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mulisch/still-national-politics-meant-little-to-him-about-as-much-as-paper/) [Harry Mulisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mulisch/) > [Statistically, 2012 was the safest year to travel on a plane, in the history of aviation. Not one major passenger plane crashed. It's pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-campbell/statistically-2012-was-the-safest-year-to-travel-on-a-plane-in-the/) [Dallas Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-campbell/) > [You may hate the pilot but you don't want the plane to crash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-johnson-jr/you-may-hate-the-pilot-but-you-don-t-want-the-plane-to-crash/) [Ernie Johnson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-johnson-jr/) > [The more we lose, the more he'll fly in. And the more he flies in, the better the chance there'll be a plane crash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graig-nettles/the-more-we-lose-the-more-he-ll-fly-in-and-the-more-he-flies-in-the/) [Graig Nettles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graig-nettles/) > [ By sort of combining the research of a lot of smart people, I came up with an equation for dread \[dread=uncontrollability+unfamiliarity+imaginability+suffering+scale of destruction+unfairness\]. The… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-ripley/by-sort-of-combining-the-research-of-a-lot-of-smart-people-i-came-up/) [Amanda Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-ripley/) > [“Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport was one of only three very special airports named for men who died in a plane crash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernhardt/oklahoma-city-s-will-rogers-world-airport-was-one-of-only-three-very/) [William Bernhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernhardt/) > [“The introduction was meant to be all important and elegant and meaningful and “This summer marks the voyage of discovery of Livia Stowe,” and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-le-vann/the-introduction-was-meant-to-be-all-important-and-elegant-and/) [Kate le Vann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-le-vann/) > [I wouldnt mind dying in a plane crash. Itd be a good way to go. I dont want to die in my sleep, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/i-wouldnt-mind-dying-in-a-plane-crash-itd-be-a-good-way-to-go-i-dont/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [Never have doubted it, even when the plane crash happened. I wasn't mad at God. I just knew that there was a reason that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/never-have-doubted-it-even-when-the-plane-crash-happened-i-wasn-t-mad/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [I wouldn't mind dying in a plane crash. It'd be a good way to go. I don't want to die in my sleep, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/i-wouldn-t-mind-dying-in-a-plane-crash-it-d-be-a-good-way-to-go-i-don/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [“I know I said this before, but it bears repeating. You know Tate won’t like you staying with me.” “I don’t care,” she said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-palmer/i-know-i-said-this-before-but-it-bears-repeating-you-know-tate-won-t/) [Diana Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-palmer/) > [We are strangely biased, as individuals and media institutions, to focus on big sudden changes, whether good or bad - amazing breakthroughs, such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/we-are-strangely-biased-as-individuals-and-media-institutions-to/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) Browse all 111 Plane crash quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Early in 1968, a group of optometrists, with Billy among them, chartered an airplane to fly them from Ilium to an international convention of optometrists in Montreal. The plane crashed on top of Sugarbush Mountain, in Vermont. Everybody was killed but Billy. So it goes. While Billy was recuperating in a hospital in Vermont, his wife died accidentally of carbon-monoxide poisoning. So it goes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kurt Vonnegut" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/early-in-1968-a-group-of-optometrists-with-billy-among-them-chartered/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Plane crash" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/early-in-1968-a-group-of-optometrists-with-billy-among-them-chartered/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/kurt-vonnegut-41_plane-crash_early-in-1968-a-group-of-optometrists-wi_2160894.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/kurt-vonnegut-41_plane-crash_early-in-1968-a-group-of-optometrists-wi_2160894.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/kurt-vonnegut-41_plane-crash_early-in-1968-a-group-of-optometrists-wi_2160894.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Early in 1968, a group of optometrists, with Billy among them, chartered an airplane to fly them from Ilium…” — Kurt Vonnegut", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Early in 1968, a group of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/early-in-1968-a-group-of-optometrists-with-billy-among-them-chartered/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/early-in-1968-a-group-of-optometrists-with-billy-among-them-chartered/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```