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Atma's avatar

@ grisha koshmarov

Not in 8th grade, no. I am ONE of those kids who faithfully practiced "duck and cover" drills in Grade School. The Russians, of course, existed only to BOMB school children every school day @ 9:30 a.m. - (Saturdays and Sundays off)

This started when I was in Grade 1. By Grade 3, even I was starting to wonder about the wisdom of my protectors. The Russians are Hell-Bent to bomb ME, and your clever solution to that fact is that my entire class must roll on the floor and conceal ourselves under *WOODEN desks ??

Thus was I suspicious of Govt. "Ideas" from a very early age. My mother (Navy Court Stenographer), my father, and my grandfather were *all Navy veterans of WWII, and they shared with me stories about the oxymorons of "Military Intelligence" being enacted *long before I was even born !

What *was that - "tradition" ?

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BillPD's avatar

Atma: I had those same feelings about the Catholic nuns and priests at my school very early on...(Nun: "Sing or you'll go to hell...NO NOT THOSE WORDS, now you're going to hell for sure!" Me: So I WAS better off not singing...") but had to wait for Joey Heller and Catch-22 to get it about the military.

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Atma's avatar

@ BillPD

YES ! My sisters and I were "treated to" Dominican Nuns as teachers from fourth to eighth grades ! I know what you mean. However none of us have looked back at *any church since ! I was in the Navy from 67 to 71. Heller was a GAWDSEND wasn't he ?

And note, that no matter how often they *try, they cannot make of *movie of "Catch 22" that makes the *slightest bit of sense even to viewers who *read the book. The book literally takes place *mostly in the brain of the protagonist, Yossarian. Thoughts cannot be filmed. I place "Catch 22" on a long list of the greatest works ever written. AND to *truly understand the book, it is *best if the reader *has been in the military to fully comprehend the *mindless inanity that Yossarian is always *THINKING about !

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BillPD's avatar

Unfortunately spot on, Atma

And while I loved Alan Arkin in The In-laws (serpentine Shelley, serpentine!) I agree Catch-22 the movie was but an attempt. A Might Casey At the Bat swing and miss. The most true to the book scene was the brothel, perhaps.

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