VLVL 4: Surfing ... Zoyd's Love of Death, the Man & Machines

[Terrance]

Don Corathers wrote:
> 
> The text of the inquiry is: "I'm not going to have to punch you out, am I?"
> Moonpie's cheek on RC's hand was her pre-emptive, reassuring reply to the
> question she knew was in the air. This doesn't seem very dark at all to
> me--just basic boy-girl-boy stuff in a bar.

Yeah, but what happened to free love? Man? 

Zoyd, like so many in his generation had a conflict with the Old Man and
so he was attracted to Death and the Man and Machines. 



Surfing, even though Pynchon equates it with driving a machine off a
cliff is not really a dangerous sport. It's not a death defying stunt
and it rarely involves the Man or endangers anyone. I've been surfing
for nearly twenty years. I got knocked out once by my brother because 
he wasn't paying attention and he hit me in the head with his board, but
other than some minor cuts and bruises, tit-rot and frost bite (actualy
got frozen toe because I couldd never wear wet suit booties and then
went skiing in Vermont directly afterward) I never got hurt surfing and
I don't know of  anyone who ever died surfing (although I've heard
plenty of stories and read about guys breaking their necks). I know a
surfer who broke his neck. He was a life guard on Long Island and a
great surfer. He dove into a swimming pool. I know a female surfer who
was attacked by a shark in Florida. She was pregnant. My mother was her
midwife. But surfing is not like driving a car into the fog while
drinking. Some surfers like to light up and surf. On a slow day it's
cool to just straddle a board and sit over the waves like a bird and
gape or gawk.  But if some asshole shows up drunk he's asking for
trouble. Surfers are pretty cool but they don't have unlimited patience. 

In any event, this surfing shit Pynchon ties in here doesn't work to
well.