Indiana Jones

[Terrance F. Flaherty]

Yes, like Indiana Jones. 

Funny, entertaining, adventure, action, action, and how I
love our "foolish hero."  Yes, thrilling adventure, fun,
like when Thank GOD Almighty the racist white devil is
thrown from the train by
Slothrop's fellow DP, an African that tells him he is free,
"We all are. You'll see. Before long...Before long..."



Slothrop blistered up cools his
feet on the wet grass, a tulip in his toes from Katje. 

"Its like going to that Darkest Africa to study the natives
there and finding their quint superstitions taking you
over." That 
Africa, Darkest Heart of Africa, Heart of America, Heart of
V., and all those white saints, and all that...

And now comic Adventure on a train

 "In fact, funny thing, Slothrop just the other night ran
into an African, the first
one he ever met in his life. Their discussion on top of the
freight car in the moonlight lasted only a minute or two.
Small talk for the sudden background departure of Major
Duane Marvy over the side bounce-clatter down the cobbled
fill
into the valley--well, certainly nothing was said then of
any Herero beliefs about ancestors."  

Now what's happened to Marvy? Nothing too funny yet, but
that he just flew off the train. Beliefs about
ancestors? Are these the ancestors that will "reassert
themselves" "her in the zone?" Marvy and the the African
that tosses him from the train? 

We flash around here for a while, Tripping into Slothrop's
double Katje's...vaporized in his arms...skidding,
planchette on a Ouija
board...fingers...Katje's.

 And Pynchon's Politics, and a song, and into the dossier,
recurring dream, maybe we had that one too? and clocks and
calendars don't matter, and
Jamf, and so on, on the train, and Polker, a three four
pages and now Marvy's story 


"action, action--and mounts a ladder to the roof. A foot
from his face, this double row of shiny teeth hangs in the
air. Just what he needs, It is Major Marvy of U.S. Army
Ordnance, leader of Marvy's Mothers, ...and the
Schwarzkommando throws Mary off the train.... Hmm. are you
really a war correspondent?"

"No."

"A free agent, I'd guess.'
"Don't know about that 'free,' Oberst."

A friend, a good omen, a brother? 

Free at last, free at last, thank god almighty, 
Marie, Marie, hold on tight...In the mountains, there you
feel free.