Chapter 3

Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.

Page numbers refer to editions with 369 pages, where the story begins on page 1. Not sure if there are other editions with variant pagination. Please let us know otherwise.

Chapter 3

There are no time cues in this short chapter, so it still must be Thursday, the third day of the narrative.

Page 46

Surfer-Lowrider Wars
Surfers were mostly white boys, middle class. Lowriders were primarily Hispanic and working class. They were not fond of each other. I recall in high school, back in the mid-1960s, it was surfers and "greasers." Same deal, basically class warfare.

Page 47

Endless Bummer
This is a pun on The Endless Summer, an influential 1966 documentary about surfing.

what's behind the door where Carol is standing . . . zonk
Carol Merrill was an assistant on the TV game show Let's Make a Deal in which contestants would have to choose unseen prizes hidden behind doors. Some prizes were valuable, but the "zonks" were the worthless prizes.

Page 48

Art Fleming
Another game show reference (see previous page). Fleming was the original host of the TV game show Jeopardy.

quadrilateral in uniform
A nice joke on "square" (as in the opposite of a hippie).

Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate was one of the victims in the Charles Manson murders.

eleventh-commandment issues
During Reagan's 1966 campaign for governor, Republicans established the "eleventh commandment": Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican. More here. This phrase also appears on pg. 271.

Page 49

Swedish Fish
A gummy candy. See here. Also appears on pg. 270.