Page 485, per our host...TRP layers so much onto one word: "wheeled"

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

          Mark Kohut:

          wheeled

          TRP throws off this trope--of lengthening days and 
          repeating seasons-- with resonances elsewhere in 
          his work and which seems to be a key metaphor in 
          his vision. "Wheeled" as in the 'Wheel of Time', a 
          notion regarding the cyclical nature of time and 
          history originating in Buddhism and Hinduism?

Karma/Justice/Natural Law? Not to mention the eternal return of the 
protagonists of successful Genre Fictions, Like Perry Mason or 
Tom Swift. Also, don't forget the use of the term "Wheelfolk", also 
suggesting a seasonal return of certain outdoor types, much like 
the return of birds in spring.

          Wheel of Time
          The wheel metaphor is used more than once in 
          Gravity's Rainbow [citations needed] 

My understanding is that the structure of Gravity's Rainbow is circular, with 
holy days from the Christian calenders serving as linchpins and points of 
reference. It is of particular importance that Easter fell on April Fools day 
in 1945. False resurrection pervades GR. [1] At the same time, there is an 
acknowledgement of other wheels of the year—"The great cusp—green 
equinox and turning, dreaming fishes to young ram, watersleep to 
firewalking"[P239/V232/B270]—and we first encounter Geli Tripping around 
Beltane as well. Note the pagan wheel of the year: 

http://www.mindspring.com/~stardancer/

          and, maybe, in Vineland?

Say "Prairie Wheeler". Now say "Rich Chocolaty Goodness".

          One can only point to the manifold notions of Time 
          and History in Against the Day to start finding 
          connections.

"Cambridge personality Bertie ('Mad Dog') Russell observed," 
observed Barry Nebulay [2], "that most of Hegel's arguments 
come down to puns on the word 'is'. . . ." 538

          The later similar notion of "Eternal Return", made 
          famous by Eliade and Nietzsche, appear in Against 
          the Day. [citations needed]

page 539: in synopsis, Dr. V. Ganesh Rao of the Calcutta University 
demonstrates the 'Quadrantal Versor Asana', 

          and commenced a routine which quickly became more 
          contortionistic and now and then you'd say contrary-to-fact. . . .   
           . . . .when Dr. Rao abruptly vanished. . . .

He returns with his foot in a tub of Mayonaisse [3] reincarnated 
as another person:

           ". . . .It is just like reincarnation on a budget, without the 
           element of karma to worry about. . . ."

           Further, in TRP's way of alluding to, yet also 
           'playing with' a concept satirically, one might point 
           to the Ferris Wheel motif in Against the Day and 
           maybe even the windmill in Gravity's Rainbow as 
           extensions of 'wheeled' as metaphor in TRP's work.

. . . .not to mention the eternal return of the chorus in the rocket limerick 
sequence:

           Ja, ja, ja, ja!
           In Prussia they never eat pussy!
           There ain't hardly cats enough,
           There's garbage and that's enough,
           So waltz me around, Russky!

[1]: From "A Gravity's Rainbow Companion" by Steven C. Weisenburger

           . . . .Gravity's Rainbow is not arch-shaped, as is commonly supposed. 
           It is plotted like a mandala, its quadrants carefully marked by 
           Christian feast days that happened to coincide, in 1944-45, with key 
           historical dates and ancient pagan festivals. . . . pg.9

. . . .though it's only fair to note that the Christian feast days always 
happened to coincide with the dates of ancient pagan festivals, and 
I'm sure OBA's aware of that. Mason & Dixon was published on 
Beltane, 1997.

http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_m&d_press.html

[2]: from the Pynchon Wiki for AtD:

           Barry Nebulay
           Pun on a term from heraldry, barry nebuly. Barry (rhymes 
           with "starry," not "carry") refers to a shield divided into an 
           even number of parts by horizontal lines. Nebuly signals 
           that the lines are deformed into stylized "cloud" shapes. 
           Here you can see an example. If a British author had a 
           character with a heraldic name, it would suggest a pseudonym.

So the pun of Barry's name is a pun about naming. Quite a hall of mirrors,
and there are varieties and  degrees of reflexivity throughout Against the Day.
Reflexivity—sign and countersign—pervades all of TRP's work, but AtD
bursts to overflowing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_p66HjTweo

[3]: bonus points for anybody that can demonstrate a connection 
between Mayo and Quarternions. I guessing it's either the food 
of the Gods of Industry or the stuff that's fed to Maxwell's Demons.