u.s.w. & 'South West Africa'

[Hartwin Alfred Gebhardt]

Steve asks:

> this may sound stupid, but i tried to figure out what u.s.w. stood for 
> and i couldn't.  could someone please enlighten me.  i kept seeing it in 
> GR and now now i saw it in someone's message.  my best guess is that it 
> something like using etc. or ...

It stands for "und so weiter", German for 'and so forth'. Don't feel 
"stupid", I only know because I happen to be a Namibian of German 
origin. Can you imagine how I was blown away when I 'innocently' read V 
and suddenly found myself smack bang in the middle of a place I 
instantly recognized as 'home'? Phew! 
I'm actually quite convinced Pynchon must have been to Nam (Namibia) 
- but then, his research is always impeccable, so maybe not. 
Sometimes I imagine him standing in the museum in Swakopmund, though, 
notebook in hand, staring at my grandfather's 'Schutztruppen' 
uniform they put on display there decades ago, wrinkling his 
forehead, taking notes.... 
Idle thoughts, I know - but I assure you, I can't help myself.

hg
hag at iafrica.com