Paper
His grass was always greenerThis, observes Robert Sabbag’s supercool hero, towards the end of his amazing life story, ‘would make a great movie.’ Probably – except that in so many ways it is already an amalgam of movies great and small, TV series ancient and modern. Try Cary Grant in Only Angels Have Wings and Johnny Depp in Blow; try Miami Vice meets The Sopranos. Sabbag, a very superior magazine journalist, specialises in rollicking tales of drug-trafficking days. Snowblind was an exuberant chronicling of early coke; Smokescreen seeks to turn the same trick for pot. Long ago, in the flower-empowered Seventies, a hunky, jaw-flexing film-maker from Richmond, Virginia, called Allen Long needs weed to feed his loaded habit. Nothing ventured, nobody stoned. Off he goes to Mexico to do a little buying and attempt a little smuggling; then he and his mates buy an old DC3 – assembled bit by bit to fool the feds – and begin shipping Santa Marta Gold from Colombia in bulk. Soon he’s the king of the hill (or monarch of the marijuana mountain), running boats and planes heaving with hash. In one 18-month period, he personally nets $8 million. Can this be a scenario modern Hollywood could love? Only – even today – if it’s an old-fashioned morality tale, just like Blow. Thus, as the Seventies turn into the Eighties, hard-faced mobsters move in; Cuban killers and Colombian cartels take over; Long becomes a relic of supposedly kinder, gentler times left to rue the way his sweet revolution turned to ashes. He’s essentially an innocent romantic (Sabbag seems to say): he and his ripely berserk chums were lovable buccaneers before big business took over. They’ve served their time – some of it unconscionably long in an era of Blunkett quasi-legalisation. Now they’re history – and we can giggle and reminisce along with them. Nostalgia is one drug that no one bans. Fair enough. Sabbag has a wonderful ear for dialogue and Long has some wonderfully outlandish yarns to spin. Most of his characters – El Coyote, with his incredible shrinking suit; Miguel, the young Mr Big; Marie and Cherie, Long’s fragrant squeezes – are shrewdly, hilariously sketched. You may not have been there for the high jinks and low cunning – but at least you know what it was like. What is perhaps rather less hilarious, however, is the background of knowledge Sabbag brings to his task. It wasn’t only marijuana that was a cargo problem by boat or plane; the money to pay for it was unblessedly bulky, too. A quarter of a million dollars in $100 bills fits neatly into 50 envelopes holding $5,000 apiece. Five million dollars makes a stack twenty feet high and weighs 110lbs. And one weighty matter, with added fascination, leads to another. We haven’t heard much about the ‘war on drugs’ for months – not since the ‘war on terrorism’ supervened. But almost the only victory in War One – 25 years ago now – was Operation Stopgap, which filled the skies over Colombia with spotter planes and inexorably put the marijuana shippers out of business. But what happened next? America started growing its pot at home. The Colombian connection switched to cocaine, because it was smaller to shift – and that, in turn, created a coke market ‘which would change the cultural landscape of America, inevitably darkening its domestic politics and the geopolitics of the hemisphere… soon the prospect of a drug-free society would become economically unthinkable; in the absence of a war on dope, at $30 billion a year, a large chunk of the nation’s gainfully employed population would be out looking for work.’ Sabbag is more than an entertainer (though he is extremely entertaining). There’s a jolting theme here beneath the hippy fluff. Allen Long and the pioneers were amateurs, unsmooth operators who learnt their trade the scatty way and perished when the professionals took hold. But who were these pros? They were men like Jimmy Alvarez – ‘heart as cold as a New York bank lobby’ – there at the Bay of Pigs and protected henceforth by the CIA. They were the Cuban gangs who took over Miami while Uncle Sam nodded complaisantly. They were double or triple agents playing every end against the middle. Allen Long, perhaps, isn’t quite the hero Sabbag would like to make him: more a creepy Leonardo DiCaprio than Cary Grant. Some of his Faustian dilemmas, too, are overdone. (’If it is OK to sell marijuana, is it not OK to sell cocaine? If it is OK to carry dope in your car, is it OK to carry a gun?’) There is, though, a core of seriousness here among the sniggers and the snorts. Drug cultures don’t just happen. They have to be malevolently contrived. And who’s that setting out now in a jeep for deepest ‘liberated’ Afghanistan? Not Long; he’s gone to retirement and a ‘white picket fence’. But there are always heirs, always successors, in the war of endless retreats and shattered illusions.
Другие работы по теме:
Turf Essay Research Paper Tough StuffEvery Saturday
Turf Essay, Research Paper Tough Stuff Every Saturday college football players line up and dig their cleates and hands into the playing surface. Some playing fields are hard while others are soft, some are bone dry while others are pure mud. There have been some great advances in college football over the years but I think one of the greatest inventions is the creation of Field Turf.
Billiards Essay Research Paper BilliardsBilliards is a
Billiards Essay, Research Paper Billiards Billiards is a game played on a rectangular table half as wide as it is long. There are several games that can be played with a variation of three to twenty-one balls. Tables may also have either no pockets or up to six pockets.
Compare And Contrast The Thrill Of The
Grass And The Balek Scales Essay, Research Paper Jan. 29 1999 Pettit 3rd period The two stories I am comparing and contrasting are, “The Thrill of the Grass” and “The Balek Scales.” The reason I chose these two stories is because out of all the stories that we have read this year these two were my favorites. In this paper I am going to be contrasting more than comparing because these stories have little in common.
Robert Frost Essay Research Paper It has
Robert Frost Essay, Research Paper It has been said many times that all men have a common bond, or a thread that joins them together. Robert Frost?s poem ?The Tuft of Flowers? explores the existence of such a bond, as experienced by the speaker. In the everyday circumstance of performing a common chore, the speaker discovers a sense of brotherhood with another laborer.
Teen Drug Use Essay Research Paper Teen
Teen Drug Use Essay, Research Paper Teen drug use is on the rise in the 90’s. But one of the most popular drugs is marijuana beacause it is so easy to get and usually cheap. But there are many other kinds of drugs, you got PCP, LSD, Hash, and many others that come from the same plant but all of them are hazardous to your body and your health.
Where Would I Be Without Freedom Essay
, Research Paper I walk upon the earth and marvel at the ability to let the grass cushion my wandering feet. What if my feet could not wander? What if I were a slave to this rich soil, then where would
A Christmas Memory Vs The Grass Harp
Essay, Research Paper The two stories, A Christmas Memory and The Grass Harp are strikingly similar due to the fact that Truman Capote wrote both stories. The settings of both stories are very similar. In The Grass Harp the setting is very sullen: the season is fall, the days are always cloudy, and it is very slow moving in a small southern town.
Dodo Birds Essay Research Paper Dodo BirdThe
Dodo Birds Essay, Research Paper Dodo Bird The dodo bird is a large, flightless bird, now extinct. The Mauritius dodo once inhabited the forests of the island of Mauritius. About the size of a turkey, the bird had a large hooked bill, undeveloped wings and tail, and short, thick, yellow legs. It laid a single, large egg in a ground nest made of grass.
Guy De Maupassant
’s The Necklace Essay, Research Paper I believe that Mathilde is materialistic and selfish. She took away happiness both from herself and her husband because “she burned with the desire to please, to be envied, to be attractive and sought after.” This desire led to her downfall and her husband;s misery. I am in no way able to show compassion for this lady.
Death 2 Essay Research Paper There are
Death 2 Essay, Research Paper There are many “popular” topics used frequently by authors. Love, religion, and war are some favorites. Two other such topics we typically read about are nature and death. The two can be discussed separately or they can be related to each other. Walt Whitman, a lover of nature, tackled these subjects in “Song of Myself” from Leaves of Grass.
Grass Essay Research Paper GrassI always like
Grass Essay, Research Paper Grass I always like to watch the grass grow, in summer is pretty green, but in winter is pretty ugly, and you could see really the difference, is because of the weather hot and cold. Now the grass is ugly is like brown, but in summer is very pretty and I al
Saw Wheat Owl Essay Research Paper The
Saw Wheat Owl Essay, Research Paper The saw whet is rarely heard at night, unless it is during mating season. During it?s mating season it can be heard easily from the woods. It?s breeding season in between March and April. Usually the nest in is a hollow tree. Decayed wood fibre matted with owl?s feathers is supplemented with a small quantity of soft, dry grass.
American Education A Disgrace Essay Research Paper
America?s educational infrastructure is the embodiment of all social programs plagued with fundamental flaws. All one must do to come to this concise conclusion is to view the many aspects of America and its international federalism. After all, education is the platform for success on all levels.
Drugs Essay Research Paper DrugsMarijuana is widely
Drugs Essay, Research Paper Drugs Marijuana is widely available in the black market. It has a slew of names, the most popular being pot and grass. It is in actuality a weed and will grow anywhere. An example of this is in New York a special kind of pot grows there its called New York White. It gets its name from the white hue in its leaves.
Peoms Essay Research Paper English 3
Peoms Essay, Research Paper English 3 The Sky is Filled With Laughter The sky is filled with laughter Like a little kid at a fair With streaks of blue and white
Gunter Grass Essay Research Paper Gunter GrassGunter
Gunter Grass Essay, Research Paper Gunter Grass Gunter Grass is a German poet, novelist, playwright, sculptor, and printmaker. Grass describes himself as a “Spataufklarer”, a belated apostle of enlightenment in an era that has grown tired of reason (“Gunter”). He was born in Danzig, Germany (currently Gdansk, Germany) on October 16, 1927.
Prairie Essay Research Paper PRAIRIE An ecoysystem
Prairie Essay, Research Paper PRAIRIE An ecoysystem is all the biotic and abiotic components of an environment. The prairie is located in North America. The tempaturevaries greatly and the environment doesn’t get enough rainfall to support trees.
The Role Of Women In Gunter Grasss
Cat And Mouse Essay, Research Paper The role that women played in Nazi Germany was a small one, one in which they were expected to do small things to help the war effort. The role women play in Cat and Mouse is not much better that those in Nazi Germany. It can?t be completely determined if these are Grass?s personal views of women, or if he is trying to make a point about how unfairly women were treated in his time, but there were two basic roles that women played in this novel.
The Great Avenger Essay Research Paper My
The Great Avenger Essay, Research Paper My story starts from the great avenger?s home deep within the forest of Brazil. He lived in a grass hut and wore grass skirts all day long, which leads me to the story at hand. Once when the great avenger was doing some work for his country he ran into the great villain Derek the all mighty.
Leaves Of Grass Essay Research Paper The
Leaves Of Grass Essay, Research Paper The incredible Walt Whitman was a man with many talents. One of these talents being that he could see the world in a view that very few of us could comprehend. He saw the world for what it was and what it could be, nevertheless he saw people for who we are and what we could be. In many people s opinion the world has never seen a more talented and dynamic writer.
10 Business Opportunities Essay Research Paper 10
10 Business Opportunities Essay, Research Paper 10 Possible Business Opportunities 1. Graveyard for the elite in Defense Phase 8 2. CNG Gas station in Hyderabad (with installation of kit facility) and on Super highway
Enkidu Friendship Essay Research Paper Friendship with
Enkidu Friendship Essay, Research Paper ?Friendship with Enkidu? In the beginning Enkidu was created out of nature (clay). The Gods created him so that Gilgamesh would not be so powerful. The Goddess created Enkidu to be exactly like Gilgamesh. This made it easy for them to become friends. Enkidu used to live with the animals and he also ate grass, but because of the woman Enkidu becomes civilized.
Themes In Carver Essay Research Paper John
Themes In Carver Essay, Research Paper John W Mcgall Lit To Film Carver Essay In Short Cuts, by Raymond Carver, characters experience trials and problems in their lives, whether extreme such as in “ A Small, Good Thing” and “Lemonade” or nominal such as in “ Vitamins”. They all seem to depict these struggles as uphill battles which the characters cannot and mostly do not overcome.
Big Green Trees Essay Research Paper Big
Big Green Trees Essay, Research Paper Big green trees Is what I see, Looking at me happily Bright green grass As thick as can be, Feels so very soft to me Birds and squirrels are playing around
The Tree Essay Research Paper My most
The Tree Essay, Research Paper My most vivid memory of my grandparents? farm is the sloping crabapple tree that graced their back yard. There was nothing particularly special about the tree to anybody who passed by it, but to me it was a fortress. The petite, green crabapples that cluttered the tree weighed down the arching branches, producing a fountain of vibrant leaves that spilled to the ground.
Updike Essay Research Paper All poets have
Updike Essay, Research Paper All poets have a certain structure in order for their poem to be understood in an artistic and unique way. Through the use of organization, diction and
Tennis Essay Research Paper tennisindoor or outdoor
Tennis Essay, Research Paper tennis indoor or outdoor game for two players (singles) or four players (doubles). Although originally lawn tennis was played only on grass courts, today the surfaces are more often of clay, asphalt, or synthetics. The court measures 78 ft by 27 ft (23.8 m by 8.2 m) for singles play; it is 4.5 ft (1.4 m) wider for doubles.
Bathing The Dog Essay Research Paper Bathing
Bathing The Dog Essay, Research Paper Bathing the Dog Dear Janet, Today my mom and I bathed our new dog. We had a hard time trying to get him to stay still but we did. So let me tell you how we accomplished this task.