Pages 208-233

Pg. 218
"The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and in this way memory and imagination and language combine go make spirits in the head. There is the illusion of aliveness. In Vietnam, for instance, Ted Lavendar had a habit of popping four or five tranquilizers every morning. It was his way of coping, just dealing with the realities, and the drugs helped to ease him through the days. I remember how peaceful his eyes were. Even in bad situations he had a soft, dreamy expression on his face, which was what he wanted, a kind of escape."

I thought that this quote did a great job of explaining how these soldiers felt towards one another. No one made judgments about Ted Lavendar, because they accepted the tranquilizers as his way to escape. Every soldier had their own way of coping. I think that Tim O'Brien's way of coping or escaping is writing!  The quote begins with him explaining his hope for an audience to dream along with him. I think that any person who publishes material (music included) would want their listeners to form a connection. What is found within those connections is very strong, which he describes as "the illusion of aliveness." I'm sure many people could relate to this because when you find a series of books or a musical artist in common with someone there is a sudden friendship. Which then turns into memories and imagination just as Tim O'Brien explained.

Pg. 223
"It's now 1990. I'm forty-three years old, which would've seemed impossible to a fourth grader, and yet when I look at photographs of myself as I was in 1956, I realize that in the important ways I haven't changed at all. I was Timmy then; now I'm Tim. But the essence remains the same."

I hope that when I am 43 years old that I think the same way as Tim O'Brien does in this quote. We all see changes in ourselves over a few years, but sometimes they may slip past us and we don't notice them. I hope that my "essence remains the same" as well and that I will be proud of who I was and who I have become.