And speaking of Father's Day, Merle...

[bandwraith at aol.com]

Pynchon, ever the painterly artist, often suggests rather than screams,
and often poignantly, especially in the second phase of his career. It
occurs to me that he has some interesting things to say about 
fatherhood.

Fatherhood, always somewhat of an uncertain situation- even in these
days of DNA determinism- lends itself to the spiritual, a note which is
sometimes overlooked in Pynchon...perhaps due to his mastery of, and
attention to, the detailing of the scientific and the technical.

Some of the best fathers in Pynchon's work are those with no children of
their "own," or who find themselves in midst of that role unexpectedly, 
and
rise to the occassion.

Pynchon finds ways to subtly contrast these types with those who would
command and control, both on the small scale or the grandiose- like the
those who have their images stamped on the national coinage, but might
neglect the real value of being a good, if imperfect, dad.

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=1202&msg=162626&sort=date