This is a Neptune bit on various levels. Movies are Neptune-ruled for starters and the other themes will emerge as I go (I think) In whatever case, Mercury (writing) is trine Neptune at the moment, so this seems a good topic. Jupiter is involved, so this calls for a story, I guess…

We wound up watching that old John Wayne movie, “The Green Berets” this weekend. I didn’t really want to watch it and either did the soldier but it wound up in our hands anyway.

The first third of the movie I ignored. I find it very easy for me to ignore John Wayne and very hard to pay attention to him. I might have been asleep or even putting up blogs during it, I don’t even remember but in whatever case at some point he stopped the movie and we went somewhere. Later when we were back in the motel he said we were going to “finish the movie” which I thought was strange seeing as I did not recall starting the movie. ::smiles::

I asked him if he were sure he wanted to, I could think of other things to do and he said he did. I deferred to this for a strange reason (unless you understand it).

I have come to understand the soldier is tuned into things all the time and he doesn’t necessarily know it. He doesn’t need the antenna, see. The antenna amplifies things for sure. And it gives access to things he can’t get without it but this does not mean he is not guided all the time because I can see that he is.

So consequently I defer to him all the time when he voices a distinct preference because there always seems to come some kind of unintended benefit. But ‘less I sound too mature, I do think this pisses me off on some level which means I will probably scream about something a week later, but whatever. Never mind that, we settled down to watch the last 2/3 of this movie and I glad we did.

Now I don’t recommend this movie. I like war movies but I did not like this one however it was enlightening. Because of everything I have ever seen (including the Unit where they are constantly dining in expensive suits) it was the closest dramatization of the soldier’s recounted experience.

The movie is pretty gritty, for all its “catsup blood” old time effects. The soldiers are in the jungle and you get a real feel for the idea this is not a woman’s world. It’s all business with no distractions. No one is writing home or getting mail or surfing the way you see them do in Apocalypse Now.

People are definitely getting killed though. Many of them are catching hell via booby traps which is what this is about. It started the punji sticks.

“You step on them and they go right through your boot. They put shit on the end of them and you wind up with an infection there is no cure for in the jungle.”

“I see.”

“Yeah, they’re bad. They are as sharp as razor blades if you sharpen them. They finally started putting steel shanks in the boots… in the bottom of them but then you have a new problem. Because if you step on something that blows up, it will blow the steel in the boot up into your leg so you’re pretty screwed regardless.”

“Who uses them?”

“Everyone.”

Later, someone steps in the wrong spot and winds up hanging upside down impaled on some hideous man-sized spiky board.

“Have you ever seen that happen?”

“Oh yeah. Hell yes, I’ve seen that happen.”

“What do you think when you see that happen? How do you feel?”

“You think and feel all kinds of things. One of the things you think, is I am glad that’s not me,” he said. “I am embarrassed to admit it but you do think that.”

“Interesting. I wrote this same thing on my blog last week. (Attraction And Repulsion: The Phenomena of Pluto, Scorpio, and the 8th House) I think people look at me with my daughter sick. They see me having a hard time and think exactly that. Glad it’s not me. This is human nature wouldn’t you say?”

“Probably. But I’m still embarrassed to be thinking that.”

“You sent me a picture of you next to a booby trap.”

“I did?”

“Yeah. You’re somewhere and you’re standing there pointing to it… can you see the booby trap in this picture? As if I could. There was a wire somewhere in the picture, you told me later. I couldn’t see it.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I have uncovered a few of those.”

“Good thing, otherwise you’d be dead.”

“Yeah, otherwise I’d be dead.”

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