Heart of Darkness

Spencer introduced me to Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.  At least I think it is Conrad, hard to do reference checks out here.  The book describes the voyage up an un-named river.  If you have seen Apocalypse Now you know most of the story.  The further up the river the more wild, the more primitive, and the more bizarre the behavior.

 

As we have travel the Erie Canal I have had some small appreciation for what it must have been like to be a Swift Boater in Vietnam.  You are constrained on both sides by a narrow channel.  You can’t go particularly fast – of course the combat boats could go much faster than Reboot.  Every grove of trees, every cut thru limestone represents a potential ambush location.  That my brothers in arms did this on a daily basis in pursuit of freedom (as did all the other forces in Vietnam and every other military action by the United States) is beyond my comprehension.