Is it just me, or do today's newspapers suggest a couple of brilliant Woody Allen scripts?
As a lover of "Bananas" (from his classic period) I couldn't help but think of the battling rebels of San Marcos as I read of the intrigue surrounding Colombia's faux revolutionaries. There they are — actually government troops in disguise — tricking the FARC forces into turning over 15 hostages. "Despite the deceptiveness of our appearance, Senora Betancourt, we are not really from the FARC. You are FREE!"
Could even Woody have thought of such a scenario? (Of course he could — at least back in 1971. It is in "Bananas," after all, that the freedom-minded rebel leader, having finally assumed power, declares in his inaugural speech that the entire populace must now change underclothing every half-hour — and "underwear will be worn on the outside, so we can check.")
Then, perhaps fitting for Allen's more-nuanced modern comedy period, comes the tale of fugitive Bayou Group hedge-fund manager Samuel Israel III, riding his Yamaha motor scooter up to a police station in the Berkshires to turn himself in, and face charges in a $450-million fraud case.
Having faked his death — writing "Suicide Is Painless," the title of the "M*A*S*H" theme song, in the hood dust of his SUV, parked on a Hudson River bridge — he takes refuge in a $40-a-night RV camp, using the alias David Clapp.
Then, his mother apparently talks him into facing the music.
What a couple of plot lines!
So, Happy Independence Day to the American contractors, Ingrid Betancourt, and the 11 other former Colombian hostages.
And to Samuel Israel, well, congratulations on doing the right thing — even if it puts you in bondage.
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