Never Get Out Of The Boat

Many years ago while on a canoe trip, one of my fellow campers introduced me to a book that would be come a favorite of mine.  I got introduced to this book in the late 1970s.  The book is "Dispatches" by Micheal Herr.  The book is regarded as one of the finest books about the Viet Nam War.  What I didn't realize is that the same Michael Herr wrote all of the narration in the movie "Apocalypse Now." There are many different points of trivia that I could mention about the movie, but please go here for some good tidbits.  When I was in the Army, I would go out to a training ground to support all sorts of units.  In the middle, there was an impact zone where all the rounds from the tanks, artillery, and machine gun fire would end up.  I brought that novel with me once, but because of the live fire in the background, it made it hard to read about war.  A book should not come with it's own sound effects.  In the film, Kurtz reads the poem "The Hollow Men" by T.S. Elliot. Elliot was inclined to write the poem by Joseph Conrad the writer of "Hearts of Darkness" which "Apocalypse Now" is based.  This is the original ending that I saw in the movie theater years ago, but on the DVD releases, it has been changed to a peaceful ending. I still believe that war is hell and that peace is a better alternative.

Music for today:

Grateful Dead
November 22, 1972
Municipal Auditorium
Austin, TX
listen here

Grateful Dead
November 24, 1972
Dallas Memorial Auditorium
Dallas, TX
listen here

Grateful Dead
November 26, 1972
San Antonio Civic Auditorium
San Antonio, TX
listen here