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0|0|0|||1||book excerpt of the year|Gryphon||23:18:48|06/19/2018|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jun-21-18 AT 05:40 AM (EDT)]In Chapter 4 of %5Bi%5DCarrying the Fire%5B%2Fi%5D%2C Apollo astronaut Mike Collins%27s memoir%2C he discusses the initial round of training his astronaut group %28the third%29 received after they were selected in 1963%E2%80%94in particular the jungle survival training%2C which they had to undergo in the vanishingly unlikely event that they found themselves in one during a mission.%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bdiv style%3D%22border-style%3Asolid%3Bborder-color%3Ablack%3Bpadding%3A5px%22%5D%5Bfont face%3D%22times%22 color%3D%22black%22%5DSo we were off to Panama%2C the fourteen of us plus Pete Conrad %28our den mother%29%2C to the Air Force%27s tropical survival school%2C where we spent a couple of days in the classroom followed by a couple of days living off the land.  The classroom work was most illuminating%2C and this city boy sat frozen into attentiveness as we discussed a few dos and don%27ts.  Our bible was Air Force Manual 64-5%2C entitled %5Bi%5DSurvival%5B%2Fi%5D%2C and it makes jolly good bedtime reading.  In fact%2C I have kept two copies of this little gold mine to this day%2C for one never knows.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe manual opens on a cheery note%3A %22Anything that creeps%2C crawls%2C swims%2C or flies is a possible source of food.%22  Then it gets a bit too specific for my taste.  %22People eat grasshoppers%2C hairless caterpillars%2C wood-boring beetle larvae and pupae%2C ant eggs%2C and termites.%22  Not me%2C babe%21  Oh yeah%3F  Read on.  %22You have probably eaten insects as contaminants in flour%2C corn meal%2C rice%2C beans%2C fruits%2C and greens of your daily food%2C and in stores in general.%22  No wonder the supermarket has been less crowded lately.%0D%0A%0D%0AHow about something for the person of more conventional taste%3F  %22Look on the ground for hedgehogs%2C porcupines%2C pangolins%2C mice%2C wild pigs%2C deer%2C and wild cattle%3B in the trees for bats%2C squirrels%2C rats%2C and monkeys.  Dangerous beasts%E2%80%94tigers%2C rhinoceroses%2C elephants%E2%80%94are rarely seen and best left alone.%22  I%27ll say%21  Besides%2C to hell with all that%2C I%27ll just be a vegetarian. How about a recommendation along that line%3F  %22The taro grows 2%E2%80%933 feet high and has yellowish-green jack-in-the-pulpit flowers.  Cook the large heart-shaped leaves well%2C preferably with lime juice%2C before eating%2C otherwise they will irritate your mouth and throat.%22  Or mushrooms%2C maybe%3F  %22Poisonous fungi cannot be detected by unpleasant taste or disagreeable odor.%22  I had seaweed one time in a great Japanese restaurant%2C so how about that%3F  %22... Some have too much lime carbonate or are too horny to be eaten.  Others are covered with slime.%22  Isn%27t there anything a little closer to home%3F  %22Sweet potato vines are easy to recognize%3B they look like morning glory vines.%22  Now what the hell do morning glory vines look like%3F  Just as I am ready to throw in the towel%2C I get a little encouragement.  %22Poisonous plants will be met with in the tropics%2C but in no greater proportion to the non-poisonous kinds than in the United States.%22  Bully%21  At least there is some solid practical advice scattered about %28%22Don%27t eat toads%22%29 with which I can wholeheartedly agree.%0D%0A%0D%0ASuppose I give up the idea of eating entirely%2C and just sit there and wait to be rescued%3F  Be careful where you sit%E2%80%94%22... will sting you if you touch them%2C and their sting is like that of a wasp.  Avoid many-legged insects.%22  You bet I will%2C but will they avoid me%3F  %22Scorpions are real pests%2C for they like to hide in clothing%2C bedding%2C or shoes...%22  Would they bite a fellow Scorpio%3F  Snakes%3F  Oh%2C no problem there.  %22Poisonous snakes are less abundant than most people think.%22  Than most people think%2C for heaven%27s sake%21  They don%27t have the vaguest idea of what I%27m thinking%2C which is%2C if snakes are so goddamned non-abundant%2C then what is%3F  %22The crocodile... is very dangerous.  It is abundant.%22%0D%0A%0D%0AThat does it.  I%27ll need help%2C and quickly.  %22Call or clap your hands to attract attention.  Don%27t be afraid to be an object of amusement to the natives.  Be ready to entertain with songs%2C games%2C or any tricks of cards%2C coins%2C or string which you may know.%22  They gotta be kidding%21  %22Rock salt%2C twist tobacco%2C and silver %28not paper%29 money should be used discreetly in trade... Someone may understand a few words of English.  If not%2C use sign language%3B natives are accustomed to it because they communicate a lot by signs themselves.  State your business simply and frankly.%22  You bet I will.  Get my ass out of here%21  While waiting for transportation%3A %22Leave the native women alone at all times... always be friendly%2C firm%2C patient%2C and honest.  Be generous but not lavish.  Be moderate.%22  Moderation in all things%2C well%2C almost all things.  %22Don%27t worry about lack of bowel movement%3B this will take care of itself in a few days.%22  On my diet%2C I don%27t see how it possibly could.%0D%0A%0D%0ABut no matter%2C put all fears away%2C leave civilization cheerfully and confidently behind%2C and put your trust in Air Force Manual 64-5.  After all%3A %22You are probably safer from sudden death in the jungle than in most big cities.%22  Armed with this dubious reassurance%2C and a dull machete%2C I stepped briskly off a helicopter and plunged straightaway into the green wall of awaiting jungle.  I had to know for myself%3B there were some things I simply had to confirm%3A %22The sea cucumber can and does shoot out his stomach when excited.%22%5B%2Ffont%5D%5B%2Fdiv%5D%0D%0A%0D%0AFrom this%2C you may get something of a flavor for why I think %5Bi%5DCarrying the Fire%5B%2Fi%5D is the most engaging astronaut memoir I have yet read %28and I%27ve read a lot of astronaut memoirs%29. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
1|1|0|||1||RE%3A book excerpt of the year|MoonEyes||04:13:43|06/21/2018|This seems somewhat fitting%2C here%2C somehow%3A%0D%0A%0D%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fassets.rbl.ms%2F17278357%2F980x.jpg%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A...%21%0D%0AStoke Mandeville%2C Esq %26 The Victorian Ballsmiths%0D%0A%5Bsmall%5D%22Nobody Want Verdigris-Covered Balls%21%22%5B%2Fsmall%5D