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doW n T h e c a sT l e Wa l l
What would a man think about as he fell and fell to
earth? Would he think of the people who would miss him?
Would all of his plans and projects fly past him one by one,
crashing before him on the rocks? or would a man’s entire
mind be filled with the sound of his own screaming?
Working with Doe in liberia was exasperating, edward
wrote. i knew that Doe could never retain power. i always insist-
ed on payment in advance for any services i rendered to him, and
i spent as little time on the ground as possible. i conducted most of
our business by telephone or telegraph. it was just an uncommon
bit of bad luck that found me on-site on the very day that Doe’s
government collapsed.
Whenever he thought about that panic-stricken drive to
the airport, edward’s hands got clammy. he had stared at
the back of his driver’s head, watching the sweat soak his
neck and shirt collar as he rammed the sedan down narrow
streets between stacks of burning tires. looters had darted
out in front of the car, carrying the most bizarre swag. one
old man had walked past carrying nothing but dozens of
copies of the same music cd. The car had slowed as the
driver negotiated his way around a convoy of burning gov-
ernment trucks. edward had pressed his nose against the
window and stared at an armored car with a smoking hole in
its side, watching as a pack of feral dogs snarled and snapped
in their eagerness to get at something inside.
The car had finally reached the airport and raced across
the tarmac to his private helicopter. The pilot was already
strapped in and waving at him to hurry up. as he climbed
up into the chopper, edward had glanced back. It was then
that he saw what the pilot had seen. a mob, dressed in ka-
leidoscopic african motley of cotton shirts and jeans, was
blue moon 5
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