Rainy California and Catch-22's

What happened to Sunny California? What happened to the glamorous shots of Palm trees swaying in the breeze, the sun shining brightly? I'm writing this from Ms. Fletcher's computer, the sound of rain hitting the pavement continuously is loud enough to be heard through a heavy steel door. But I'm ranting right now. I'm ranting because I get to walk home in the rain today after fourth period. I'm ranting because I want to start looking for a job so I can pay for car insurance, but I can't start looking for a job until I get car insurance. What? Weird how that works out huh? Catch-22 in effect. This is the premise of the book I've been reading, Catch-22.

The book takes place during World War II. The main character in the book is a bombardier named Yossarian. He flies dangerous combat missions, and constantly lives in the fear that he could die at any moment. He also believes that thousands of people that he hasn't even met yet are out to kill him, and is paranoid of everything. The book tells about his attempts to stay alive throughout all the madness. But there are a couple things that thwart his attempts at every turn. One is Catch-22. Catch-22 is a sneaky, underhanded and sinister idea. The idea is that a man is insane if he continually flies dangerous combat missions, and should be grounded from flying. But to be grounded, he must formally request to be grounded and by doing so proves that he is not insane and is therefore fit to fly. This is important because one of Yossarian's Commanding Officers, Colonel Cathcart, is continually raising the number of Combat Missions needed to be flown in order to be rotated back home, and Yossarian is always a couple missions away from being rotated back home, before Colonel Cathcart raises the number of missions again. Yossarian attempts to get a doctor to declare him insane, it doesn't work and Yossarian is stonewalled by Catch-22.

I'm gonna stop here because I'm too lazy to keep typing, and I don't want to give away too much of the story. Some of the dialogue that takes place between characters in Catch-22 is hilarious. I would recommend reading it, but you should probably be paying close attention when you're reading it. There are a lot of colorful characters, and you have to pay close attention to what they say, otherwise you may be hard pressed to understand it. Alright, enough of me talking, don't forget to attend the Faculty-Student Basketball game tonight at 7 P.M.

Edit: Anyone that comes up with a solution to my Car Insurance/Job problem will get a double double, fries and an extra large coke from In N Out, delivered to a Sixth period class of your choice.

-Yvan