"defecting"

[James A. Landau <JJJRLandau@netscape.com>]

I'm afraid that several list-members guessed wrong at the context of the "defecting to Canada" remark.

A playwright was having her latest play critiqued.  The male lead in the play (which was set in 1982-4) was a drifter.  She stated she had based this character on a man she knew when she lived in Princeton.  In describing the man, she said something to the effect that he did the "normal things" that a man would have done in the 1960's, a list that ran something like "smoking pot, defecting to Canada..."

There was no irony and no attempt to be facetious in what was a serious description of an actual person.

to AM:  what was I doing during the Vietnam War?  Working in the Pentagon.  Yes, I heard many remarks about going to Canada to escape the draft, but I do not recall ever having heard anyone use the word "defecting" in such a context.

OT:
> >> balaclava clad helicopter and small boat-borne troops storm a vessel and
> >> subdue its captors."

To me, if a person is "clad" in something, that something is his/her main garment, e.g. "burkha-clad" is correct since a burkha covers one from head to ground level.  Similarly, an inanaimate object can be "clad" meaning "completely covered", e.g. a Civil War "ironclad".

(I once read a novel in which a deceased good-guy was described as "surrounded by bodies in yellow scarves".  (In this novel, soldiers of the two sides were distinguished by the color scarves they wore).  I immediately thought "were those troops wearing anything else?"  The author should have used "with" in place of "in".)

Another possibility is that the helicopter was wearing a balaclava---plausible, since in the US helicopters are sometimes given square-dance costumes.  That would however require the boat-borne troops to be "small", implying that the Chinese have found that half-liter-sized soldiers, being able to operate more easily in confined spaces, are more proficient at hostage rescue.

OT: soldiers would only wear baklava if they had been engaged in a food-fight.

OT:
The first thing I learned in the Army was that Basic Training was a game, with certain specified rules like standing at attention (with a little practice it is much easier than civilians think).  Follow the rules and the cadre will spend its time harassing the goof-offs and idiots who don't.  I was held over for a week following the end of Basic and as soon as Basic ended all the rules were lifted---the captain quickly discovered that I could out-sass him.

A word of advice to anyone going into the Army---practice in front of a mirror laughing to yourself without cracking a smile.  It's a very useful talent for a soldier.

As for how troops behave in combat, I suggest you watch any episode of MASH.  Note, for example, that Colonel Potter expects instant obedience to any order he gives---and once the order is carried out he expects the orderee to sass him back.

     - Jim Landau

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