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Crude and often nonsensical, these stories of Rochlin's WWII experiences were written as monologues for his one-man show. In his 70s, Rochlin, a former B-24 navigator, took a storytelling workshop with Spalding Gray, and this is the result. Noting that the older I get, the more I remember things that never happened, he tells eight tales of varying credibility and tastelessness. In the title story, Rochlin, nicknamed Rockets, bails out over Yugoslavia, suffering a fractured jaw and broken ribs. Rescued by partisans, he is, without explanation, cheerfully asked to execute three German prisoners. His only comment: It didn't take any courage, you just pulled a trigger.'' His escort for the 400-kilometer stroll back to Italy, the earthy Maruska, following dual bouts of diarrhea, asks, You think I no beautiful? I don't want to die virgin. Why don't you put your hand on my siski?'' Following the first night of fig-fig,'' he complained his hooey was on fire and it started to drip stuff.'' Several of Rochlin's stories involve a glamour boy'' pilot and the colonel he's discovered in bed with, “in that head-to-toe 69 position . . . Hell, I didn't even know guys did stuff like that.” When the pilot is killed, the inebriated, grieving colonel tries to rape Rockets; he fends him off and, with the local priests help, fixes him up with a gay portrait painter. In another, quite detailed piece, he assists in a drunken cesarean section on a 14-year-old girl. The final entry has him having sex with his uncle's wife, who later tells him how much she loves her husband and will never betray him.'' Huh? Perhaps as staged monologues, in Rochlin's voice, these at least have some semblance of believability and sense. Here, they come off as simply careless, pointless, and offensive.
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Subjects
Flight crews, United States. Air Force, United States, American Personal narratives, American Aerial operations, World War, 1939-1945, Biography, Military Flight navigators, Large type books, World war, 1939-1945, personal narratives, american, World war, 1939-1945, aerial operations, american, Air pilots, biography, United states, air forcePeople
Fred Rochlin (1923-)Places
United States, ItalyTimes
second world warShowing 6 featured editions. View all 6 editions?
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1
Old Man in a Baseball Cap: A Memoir of World War II
November 1, 2000, Harper Paperbacks
in English
0060932279 9780060932275
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2
Old Man in a Baseball Cap: A Memoir of World War II
November 1, 2000, Harper Paperbacks
Paperback
in English
0060932279 9780060932275
|
zzzz
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3
Old man in a baseball cap: a memoir of World War II
2000, Thorndike Press
Large Print
in English
0786223715 9780786223718
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4
Old man in a baseball cap: a memoir of World War II
1999, HarperCollinsPublishers
in English
- 1st ed.
006019426X 9780060194260
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5
Old Man in a Baseball Cap: A Memoir of World War II
25 Aug 1999, Harper, HarperCollinsPublishers
Hardcover
in English
- Largeprint edition
006019426X 9780060194260
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6
Old man in a baseball cap: a memoir of World War II
1999, HarperCollinsPublishers
in English
006019426X 9780060194260
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Book Details
First Sentence
"IN DECEMBER 1942, I FINISHED my cadet training, was commissioned a second lieu , and was ordered to Mather Field near Sacra , California, to meet the crew I was to be assigned to."
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First Sentence
"IN DECEMBER 1942, I FINISHED my cadet training, was commissioned a second lieu , and was ordered to Mather Field near Sacra , California, to meet the crew I was to be assigned to."
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