ATDTDA (14): All for me, huh, 383-385

[Paul Nightingale]

The previous section has ended with Dwayne's reference to Ellmore and Bob in
Telluride. He begins with "Federales've got photos" (382), which Frank knows
how to deal with; however, to say that both Ellmore and Bob think he's the
Kid is knowledge that takes Frank by surprise. And then print the legend
when "some local bad-ass" (383) gets involved: whatever the truth of the
matter, it's what enough people think that's important. So let's stick with
Frank's "general rule" (90): what is meant at the outset is a scientific
principle that makes the world predictable, that allows one to determine
action based on experience (possibly, if not always, a synonym for
experimentation). Hence Frank moves from the knowable/predictable into the
realm of myth.

As an engineer he would expect to lose the individuality that (reliable)
science precludes: when Dwayne challenges him he insists that the relevant
competence is easily found (". you'll be up to your ears in qualified
demolition folks ." etc, 382). Disguising himself as a musician has been one
other way of losing individuality: Ellmore sees him "[a]s a Mex, maybe",
with "the right hat, o' course, and a mustache" (314), hence as a
stereotype. And then, even though Frank can't play the Galandronome, the
noise made by the collective will make his personal contribution
undetectable: ". trust in the good will and bad ear of the gringo
hellraiser" (315), another way of saying people will believe what they want
to believe.

Enter the momias, "keeping dignity and distance, serenely believing
themselves in, but not inescapably of, Mexico" (383), just like Frank the
stereotypical musician (and cf. El Nato's "officer's jacket from the defunct
army of some country not too nearby" (384). The momias are between worlds,
so to speak, their journey paused until family duty kicks in. Like the
momias Frank is unable to complete his journey (eg, he never takes the exam
Reef finds him preparing for, 199 and then 273); at the same time, however,
he feels the pull of family duty.

Dwayne: ". maybe five more minutes for you to brush up on those legendary
dynamite skills" (384). So Frank, having eluded one exam is facing another,
although there are no books involved here.