Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 18:34:51 -0400
From: Steve Smith <sgs at aginc.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Grit and Punk
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

"Strong, Lee" wrote:
>
>         I didn't see the 30th Reunion Show but know what my Dad said.  He
> was on the south side of Hamburger Hill when the Communist Chinese were on
> the north side with a line of GI's in the middle.  Not a lot of fun.  Not
> much time for practical jokes in the operating theater, chasing the nurses,
> or cross dressing during off hours.  Not much time for off hours.  Doctors,
> especially surgeons, are under a lot of stress in peacetime.  "Controlled
> craziness" under those circumstances is a recipe for disaster.

Humans cannot run on "full overload" 100% of the time.  The higher the
pressure, the harder the steam has to blow off at some point.  The
medical professions have probably the highest pressure possible, and the
stories I've heard about medical students get pretty weird.

The book version of MASH makes it clear that the craziness happens only
during slack times -- it's strictly business when the casualties come
in.  Thry tried to maintain this in the movie, with, IMHO, less than
total success.  I didn't watch the series enough to notice more than all
the craziness and bickering end instantly when Radar says "choppers".

--
Steve Smith                                           sgs at aginc.net
Agincourt Computing                            http://www.aginc.net
"Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense."