James Thurber's story "Secret Life of Walter Mitty", begins like this: "WERE going through!" The Commander's voice was like thin ice breaking. He wore his full-dress uniform, with the heavily braided white cap pulled down rakishly over one cold gray eye. "We cant make it, sir. Its spoiling for a hurricane, if you ask me." "Im not asking you, Lieutenant Berg," said the Commander. "Throw on the power lights! Rev her up to 8500! Were going through!" The pounding of the cylinders increased: ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa. The Commander stared at the ice forming on the pilot window. He walked over and twisted a row of complicated dials. "Switch on No. 8 auxiliary!" he shouted. "Switch on No. 8 auxiliary!" repeated Lieutenant Berg. "Full strength in No. 3 turret!" shouted the Commander. "Full strength in No. 3 turret!" The crew, bending to their various tasks in the huge, hurtling eight-engined Navy hydroplane, looked at each other and grinned. "The Old Manll get us through," they said to one another. "The Old Man aint afraid of hell!" . . . Did President Kalam have a need to act out the Secret Life of Walter Mitty?
