Fable

Everything heard about Catch-22 was true.
funny
mesmerising
a masterpiece.
For once, a” brilliantly original” book
that was
brilliant and original.

Catch-22, original title a not catchy, Catch-18
a byword for double jeopardy
the gloom to the bright side of win-win
lose-lose.
Catch 22 compelled Yossarian to remain at war
living through a tour de force of farce.
promotions and medals for cocked up bombing raids
wheeler dealers profiting from misery
commanding officer stunned
commissioned and ranks prayed to one God
pompous colonels and generals
air-conditioned from the frost and heat of war.
Fiction right?

At the back of the kitchen was a storeroom
a long thin rectangle of floor-to-ceiling shelves
with cartons of cleaning supplies
sponges, detergent, scouring pads and powder, wiping towels.
common knowledge.
If cleaning materials were needed for private use
a quick visit to the kitchen storeroom
to collect sponge or wiping towel
decant detergent or scouring powder.
It had been happening for years – unofficially.

It came to the attention of the hierarchy.
this was theft. To be halted immediately.
The store room locked. No exceptions.
No exceptions included the storemen
boxes piled up in the corridor.
The unauthorised still required the unsanctioned
avoidance of detection necessitated speed
time forbade discrete selection
prospectors snatched a carton –  and ran.

For the back story click Backstage