Re: The confused entry of a newbie and Heinlein the childhood tutor
Laughing Man (the_laughing_man@hotmail.com)
Wed, 16 Jun 1999 00:56:00 -0700 (PDT)
>Of course you're welcome! But word of warning: Have a thick skin. Good
>to
>have you on board the Salinger-tanic.
> - Adam
Thanks. I’ll watch out. But Salinger-tanic? As in sinking? From the flood of
e-mails or from some real icebergs?
The advice reminds me of the one Heinlein-novel I do remember from my youth
(I read them all when I was like 10-14). A team of survival trainees did as
an exam, explore a newly found planet. They were all given the advice to
beware of the Gnoff (or something guttural like that), but not told what
this was. The hideous sound coming from up in the trees at night, they
imagined was the sound of the terrible Gnoff. But it did, of course, turn
out to be some nice little pet creature, in the mating season turning into a
monster, like gigantic killer ants, killing everything in their way!
Our hero’s were stranded on the planet, but eventually they were picked up.
They thanked their tutor for his advice. How could he know? Of course he
didn’t. But there was always a Gnoff, he said.
So my equipped with the advice of my survival mentor, I’ll be prepared for
all of you Gnoffs out there! :-)
/Inko, The Laughing Man
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