"Clancy, Tom - Op-Center 05 - Ballance of Power" - читать интересную книгу автора (Clancy Tom)

are doing."
"You used to like a lot of those things," August pointed
out. "Especially the women."
"Well, maybe I'm tired of it," Rodgers
said. "I don't want to live like that any more. I
want to
do
things."
"You always have done things," August said. "And you still
found time to enjoy life."
"I guess I didn't realize what a mess the
country was becoming," Rodgers said. "You face an
enemy like world Communism. You put everything into that
fight. Then suddenly you don't have them anymore and
you finally take a good look around. You see that
everything else has gone to hell while you
fought your battle. Values, initiative,
compassion, everything. Now I've decided I want
to work harder kicking the asses of those who don't
take pride in what they do."
"All of which is very heartfelt," August said.
"It's also beside the point, Mike. You like
classical music, right?"
Rodgers nodded. "So?"
"I forget which writer it was who said that life should be like
a Beethoven symphony. The loud parts of the music
represent our public deeds. The soft passages
suggest our private reflection. I think that most
people have found a good and honest balance between the two."
Rodgers looked down at his tea. "I don't
believe
k tilde his
BALANCE OF POWER 29
that. If it were true, we'd be doing better."
"We've survived a couple of world wars and a
nuclear cold war," August replied. "For a
bunch of territorial carnivores not far removed
from the caves, that ain't bad." He took a long,
slow sip of tea. "Besides, forget about recreation and
weekends. What started this all was you making a joke
and me approving of it. Humor ain't
weakness, pal, and don't start coming down on yourself for
it. It's a deterrent, Mike, a necessary
counterbalance. When I was a guest of Ho Chi
Minh, I stayed relatively sane by telling myself
every bad joke I could remember. Knock-knocks.
Good news, bad news. Skeleton jokes. You
know: 'A skeleton walks into a bar and orders a
gin and tonic . . . and a mop." his
Rodgers didn't laugh.