The Things They Carried 31-86

• A little boy with a plastic leg (b/c of war) got chocolate "GI number one" Azar. Azar haates everything about war.
• Mitchell Sanders used thumbnails to take off his body lice. He put it in a blue envelope and wrote free on it. Then he addressed it to his draft board in Ohio.
• Norman Bowker and Henry Dobbins played checkers. Unlike war, the enemy in checkers is visible, you can watch the tactics. There was and winner and loser and there were rules.
• Tim is 43 years old and a writer. As he writes his memories become a sort of a rehappening.
• Bad things seem to always replay itself over and over again.
• "We have got a nice mellow war today" -Ted Lavander. When was this?
• An old guy("Poppa-San") guided them through the mine feilds of Batangan Peninsula.
• They followed him foot-to-foot. Rat Kiley made up a chant. They all learned to love Poppa-San.
• 5 Days and no one got hurt.The men felt sad when the chopper came to take them away. Jimmy gave him a hug. Sanders and Strunck loaded him with C rations.
• War was boring, it was boredom with a twist.Anytime they tried to rest they would hear gun fire. They got scared and they felt it deep in there gut.
• He thinks about forgetting about his past but remembering something is that you do not forget it.
• His daughter Kathleen tells him that all of his war stories are an obsession. Also that he should write stories about a little girl finding a million dollars and speands it all on Shetland pony.
• His past is his obsession. His stories were not all bloody but happy and peace stories too.
• A guy "hooks-up" with a red cross nurse in Danang. He gets all he wants and when he goes back to war he realizes that he misses hurting back others.
• Sanders told the story but Tim believes that it is mostly made up. But everything was relative.
• Norman Bowker wishes his dad would write a letter saying he does not have to win any medals.
• Kiowa tought Rat Kiley and Dave Jensen the rain dance. Ted adopted an orphan puppy and Azar shot him.
• The average age was about 19 or 20. The young men were all playful. They made alot of pranks. Like when Azar shot Teds puppy.
• Everything seemed so vivid to Tim. He showed that he was hurt when the chopper carried away dead Ted and would not say a word.
• Remembering leads to a story which makes it forever. stories are for joining the past and the future. Stories are eternity. When memory is erased, you will have nothing but your story. ---- I LOVE THIS PARAGRAPH!
• Tim had a confession he never told anyone about, but is hoping that writing it down will help relieve him.
• June 1968 he was drafted to go to war, a month after he graduated college. He was 21 at the time. He believed that war was wrong.
• He wasnt very sure what the war was about.
• War must have a reason.
• The notice came on July 17,1968. He believed that he was too good for this war. He was no solider.
• He believed that there should be a lawsaying that the ones that they love have to go with them.
• He s[ent the summer of 1968 working as a "Declotter".
• He always needed goggles and ruber apron. It was like standing in a blood shower for eight hours. He always smelled like pig.
• Sometimes he would take his fathers care and think about what his life had come to and feeling very sorry for himself.
• He believes that if there was evil llike Hitler he would go to war without a problem.
• In mid July he began to seriously think about going to Canada.
• He wanted to blame everything on those who do not know much about the war and would clall him names.
• During work he felt sick to his stomache and dropped his water gun and ripped his apron off. He later packed up his suit case and wrote and note to his family telling them that he is taking off.
• When driving he felt the adrenaline. He was off the boarder of Minnesota and Cananda.
• Then he decided that he wanted to stay low so he stayed at the Tip top lodge (an old fishing resort)
• When he got there he though about turning around and forgetting about it. But when the guy opened the door he felt that was was his hero.
• Elroy Berdahl, 81. He felt like the old man was givning him strange looks and acting differnt but it was his own guilt.
• Tim and Elroy did alot together because they were by theirself. The old man never questoned Tim.
• He felt terribly sick thinking about how he abandoned his country forever.
• Elroy knew something was going on but he was just polite about it.
• He was ashamed of his concience. He has 312 dollars and his bill would be about 260. He is thinking about returning tomarrow.
• He began to tell Elroy about his job and how little he got paid.
• Elroy gave him money and labeled it emergency funds. He knew!
• After looking back at ithe felt bad about not talking to his parents about it.
• He writes them a note and lets them know that he will write back when he can.
• On the 6th day the old man took him fishing on the Rainy river.
• At first he did not think of anything, but then it occured to him that the passed the Canadian border.
• He began to feel a sudden tightness on his chest. As they approached the land Elroy stopped the engine.
• He thinks that the old man meant to bring him there to see reality. Taking him to the edge and to see if he will choose a life for himself.
• As he sits there with Elroy he takes in all of his surroundings. His insides are getting a tightness of confusion.
• He began to cry, all he could do was cry.
• Elroy pretended not to notice. He felt that everything came pressing down on him.
• He wanted to jump off the boat and swim to shore but he is afraid of embarrassment. He decided that he will go to war and maybe die because he is afraid not to.
• He starts to cry louder and Elroy keeps fishing. Elroy is just allowing Tim to let it out then heads back to the lodge.
• When Time told Elroy he was leaving, he shaked his head as if he already knew.
• When Tim was getting ready to leave Elroy disappeared and knew it was appropriate that was was not there.
• He felt like a coward, he wnent to war.
• One morning in July, Lee and Dave got into a fist fight over a missing jackknife. Dave broke Lee's nose it took 3 men to pull Dave off. Lee got choppered back and rejoined the rest 3 days later.
• Dave was always on the look out to see if Lee would attack him. He went crazy for a little while. He borrowed someones pistol and broke his own nose with it.
• He asked Lee if they were ok now and he said yes. Lee laughed because he did steal Dave's jackknife.
• They became good friends after a while. They made a pact with eachother that if anyone was totally messed up, the other one would end it.
• In October Lee stepped on a rigid mortar and took off his left leg from the knee.
• He reached as if too massage his missing leg and he passed out. Rat does all he can to help take care of him.
• After Lee wakes up he is groggy and confused and thinks Dave wants to kill him. He makes him swear he won't kill him. After the other put him on the chopper, Lee dies somewhere over Chu Lai.
• Rats pal dies and he writes a letter to his pals sister telling her what a great guy he was.
• The "cooze" never wrote him back.
• The dead guys name was Curt Lemon. Rat and Lemon were taking a break and playing a game they invented.
• When Lemon came out of the shadow, he was blown into a tree.
• Sometimes you see things happen and see other things that did not happen as well.
• Mitchell Sanders was telling a story about 6 patrol men that lay down on the ground for 7 days to listen for enemy movement.
• The guys start hearing gook music, but they cannot report that.
• the guys begin to hear voices , not just human voices but many other kinds of voices. They also heard a cocktail party that was going on.
• They report enemy movement. They spent 6 trillion dollars on firepower.
• Sanders really wanted them to believe him story.
• Tim was thinking about ways he could poosibly die while crossing over the river and mountin the following day.
• Sanders told Tim that he made up a few parts but the guys did hear strange things.
• After Curt Lemon dies they came across a baby water buffalo.
• Rat shot it to hurt it not kill it instantly. He took out his anger, pain and saddness of his friends death on the water buffalo.
• They put the baby water buffalo in the village well.
• war is hell! war is another name for death.
• War is more than just fighting.