note from E.A.Weinstein:Bodine, Thanks, the line, a drink

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Subject: 
            Thank you, Bodine the photographer of the Mason Dixon Line,
Skydive the line, taverns in
            September
       Date: 
            Sat, 02 Nov 1996 06:43:21 -0500
       From: 
            Eric Alan Weinstein <zgta4883 at alpha.qmw.ac.uk>
   Reply-To: 
            E.A.Weinstein at qmw.ac.uk
Organization: 
            University Of London
         To: 
            Pynchon-l at waste.com
 References: 
            1


> > >
> > Vaska asks:
> >
>mild chuckle the other day to see one of Pig Bodine's ancestors make his
> > >appearance on p.21 of _M&D_.  In case you've missed him, the gent in
> > >question is one Fender-Belly Bodine, self-styled Captain of the Foretop of
> > >the "Seahorse".
> >

I'm getting on an areoplane to return to London after three weeks in the
US on a speaking tour. The folks of the p-list
whom I met in person were a great bunch of people, many of whom 
I look forward with pleasure to seeing again soon. 
Thank you all for your grand hospitality.
Also thanks to the folks at Henry Holt for their co-operation and
support.

In the copy of The Journals of Mason and Dixon which Bill Karlin was
kind enough to procure for me, there is a large photograph of a Mason
Dixon
marker taken by a Mr Bodine, on page one. Perhaps its just dumb luck, as
Monte
suggests.

     I visited another marker, a replacment marker, along the Mason
Dixon line, taken by the fine P-folks of NIH who looked after me that
day. You know,
the Underground Pentagon comes very close to a unique part of the line, 
where the high hills of the Penn Pocanos drop down to the gently rolling
hills of Camp David below in Maryland. People sky-dive from this point,
I am
led to believe. Nature marks a strong division here which would require
a 
more flexable & subtle math then any I know of to begin to comprehend, 
a point drilled home as I travelled the unnatural line of divison.

     I would like to apologize to anyone who e-mailed me recently 
and did not get a response;
if anyone would like to discuss their abstracts or other projects for
IPW with me,  please e-mail me again next week when "things get back to
normal."
(Believe me, things never get back to normal, but for arguments sake...)

When I return in September, I would very much like to visit the Francis
tavern, and also the one in Newark everyone talked about. In fact, lets
face it, if
I make  it from now till next September, I'm going to need a good drink.

Eric Alan Weinstein
NYC/London Wed afternoon Newark Airport
E.A.Weinstein at qmw.ac.uk