Something about literary quotes today? I've been thinking about Weird Wars lately anyway.
Something about literary quotes today? I've been thinking about Weird Wars lately anyway.
The only other thing he notices about them,before he gives up and slinks back into the cargo hold, is that they are fucking armed to the teeth. Like they were expecting to have to kill twenty or thirty people on their way from the airplane to the latrine and back. Bobby Shaftoe has met a few of these paranoid types during his tour, and he doesn't like them very much. That whole mindset reminds him too much of Guadalcanal.
He finds a place on the floor next to the body of PFC Gerald Hottand stretches out. The teeny revolver in his waistband makes it impossible for him to lie on his back, so he takes it out and pockets it. This only transfers the center of discomfort to the Marine Raider stiletto holstered invisibly between his shoulder blades. He realizes that he is going to have to curl up on his side, which doesn't work because on one side he has a standard-issue Colt semiautomatic, which he doesn't trust, and on the other, his own six-shooter from home, which he does. So he has to find places to stash those, along with the various ammo clips, speedloaders, and maintenance supplies that go with them. The V-44 "Gung Ho" jungle-clearing, coconut-splitting, and Nip-decapitating knife, strapped to the outside of his lower leg, also has to be removed, as does the derringer that he keeps on the other leg for balance. The only thing that stays with him are the grenades in his front pockets, since he doesn't plan to lie down on his stomach.
-Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon
I love that passage (and the whole book). A lot of good observations about the military wrapped up in the Bobby sections.
ReplyDeleteThat is such an awesome book. I found myself comparing myself to Randy Waterhouse in the present story arc. I loved Neal Stephenson's literary rabbit holes for a lack of a better term.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember this passage that Casey Garske posted, but I distinctly remember Randy's thought processes of over-analyzing captain crunch and theorizing about nutrient rich grass by observing sheep flock density while flying over in an airplane. That kind of useless over-thinking in an internal monologue is totally me.