Saturday 9/19/09
Jon Krakauer’s newest narrative starts out as an interesting read. There are a couple of verbal knob jobs, like his “alpha maleness” to a fault, worthy of Ann Coulter, which invoked the “laugh” here. (A gift from Pat.) Remember her virile American manly stuff? Krakauer surpasses it. The early brawling thing as a rite of passage strikes me as such too only a bit over done.
Pat was not short on masculinity and had nothing like that to prove to anyone, ever, not even when he wore a gag frock to a nephew’s christening. Pat’s manliness was never in question and never overtly put out there as Krakauer describes. It is also true that Pat had a more sensitive gentler side, which came across, in reality to some, as a sweet innocence that made you want to hug the big oaf and he might have let you too. Pat was most alive when surrounded by the guys.
As to best extensive research into Pat’s death, IMHO, Mary Tillman still holds that title. However, Krakauer’s writing skills offer a better clearer visual of events.
There are also a few discrepancies. It’s misleading to say Pat and Marie knew each other since the age of 4. Both tykes did participate the local peewee soccer league on opposing teams. In “Boots,” Pat’s Mom, Mary, remembers young Marie but says, “Pat … was oblivious. Except for a crush [on another little girl] in kindergarten, he was more interested in climbing trees and playing sports than in girls.”
Pat and Marie went to different grade and middle schools.
“However,” according to Mary in her book, “when Pat came home from school the first day of his freshman year, 1991, [10th grade] he said, ‘Mom, there is the most beautiful girl in my biology class, and her name is Marie.’
“I remember suggesting,” Mary continues, “that he ask her out, but he said, ‘No, she likes older guys. Besides, she’s taller than me.’” Young Pat didn’t achieve full height until well into his senior year at Leland. At the beginning of the year he was about 5’ 8”. That’s when they started dating. That’s when I got to know him.
Krakauer insists, more than once, that freshman biology was, 1990. [9th grade] I remember, from my olden days, biology, cutting up worms and frogs, was 10th grade. I haven’t checked Leland’s curriculum for that era. Obviously, neither did someone else.
Until this Krakauer offering, Marie’s public words concerning her late “husband/best friend” were limited to something cryptic about Pat’s complicated moral values. In Arkansas, she excused herself from saying more citing a preference for operating below the radar, so to speak. From that position, pronouncements of Pat’s total devotion to her began to emerge, sans reciprocation. Pat did treat Marie like a Queen and, often, she acted like one. There were eye-rolls at Pat’s antics with the guys and expressed frustrations at Pat having to have his way. Krakauer does skillfully maneuver the widow into admitting that just below the public persona of Martha Stewart perfection was a touch of the Cybil Sheppard portrayal.
BTW, Jon, the diminutive of Patrick is Paddy, not Patty and Buckhead is a neighborhood IN Atlanta. Just saying.
Also there was an impromptu interview post enlistment omitted. Phoenix Channel 12 (?) caught up with Pat at Sky Harbor and shoved a microphone in his face. Pat spoke of his intention to return to the NFL after his service contract and if the NFL didn’t want him anymore he’d find something else to do.
Krakauer used a couple of different styles in presenting quotes sometimes switching mid passage. It’s confusing. Is one reading and actual quote or an author’s editorial? In some alleged passages I found a couple of Krakauer signature words like altruistic.
By mid-book it becomes clear Krakauer has two objectives. “Where Men Win Glory” is a well done investigative report, extensively researched, concerning Bush the Younger’s “Global War on Terror.” Although it does not reek of Michael Moore absurdities, it is a left leaning view that likely will not be appreciated in places like socio-phobic Florida or with people who rather young children not be exposed to the words of a sitting president unless reading a story about a goat.
It is a perfectly legitimate literary device to want to attach a face to such a study and Tillman’s is surely a worthy choice. However it appears there was a price to pay for the right to do so.
“The Odyssey of Pat Tillman,” on the other hand, is clearly a vehicle allowing the widow to present a self-serving limited view more chick fantasy than biography. Marie admits to preferring breasts rather than balls on her man. Her approved for publication selected journal entries paint a portrait of a former bad boy so pussy-whipped that his main purpose in life is presented as being in service of Her Majesty. Friends and fans will likely lament the gelding of the quintessential man’s man. Joe Average will probably go limp and maybe consider turning gay rather than face such a humiliating fate.
Krakauer offers some John Madden type game coverage as balance but it’s hard to shake the jellyfish image once installed. Krakauer does recover the fumble towards the end of the book and makes it clear that Pat died with his testicles very much intact.
Of the 10-1/2 years they were a couple, more than half that time was spent apart. Marie was the only girl Pat dated. He pointed out at ASU; his long hair was a kind of built-in chaperone that helped him focus on his studies and his game.
Pat told me he was absolutely closest to his brothers, “especially Kevin.” The “Odyssey” part of the book treats Kevin like a tool, a prop, the muted sidekick void of personality and character who just happens to hang around all the time. That’s a shame. It’s possible Kevin is still not ready to speak about his brother but no accurate biography will be complete without his personal testimony. After his service contract, Kevin kicked in Europe for a year, away from the glare, wrapping his head around the new reality of life without his best friend since birth. Likely the hole in Kevin’s heart has yet to heal.
Grief does affect each differently. Some might come across as wailing banshees. Others might wrap themselves tightly in a cocoon padded with memories and perceptions most important for personal comfort. Marie admits to the latter. As legal inheritor to the legacy, the widow’s perception becomes the official version. There is no doubt her world, the only life she has ever known, was shattered with Pat’s death. Slowly, at first, Marie realized she could capitalize on Pat’s memory and that was of additional comfort.
Eventually, as official gatekeeper, access to the memory, the legacy became directly proportional to the size of the donation. She literally began pimping Pat’s spirit out in connection with his man’s man reputation. With a deal well into the 6 figures, possibly as high as 7, Krakauer is the highest individual tenant so far and was regarded and encouraged as a capable junior partner and favored renter of the legacy.
Krakauer found himself a dream man worthy of his stature. “Glory/Odyssey” is obviously a labor of love for Jon albeit unrequited. There are and always will be other commitments and obligations for Pat even from the afterlife, some better understood than others. I think Jon is coming to see the truth in these words and will recover nicely especially with the help of another possible bestseller.
Marie, on the other hand, continues to don the black dress and an aloof stoic smile. All image. Essentially, she remains cocooned. Her comfort is now derived from A-list fame and a building fortune, two developing characteristics sooooo not Pat. I suspect the widow will end up in a better than El Segundo bungalow yet still surrounded by eucalyptus trees, lots of cats with a complete catalogue of the Pussy Cat Dolls and similar – possibly with a secret lesbian lover.
No Pat. It would seem it dosen't work the same for girls. Sorry
