The Marathon Run of Lonesome Ernie, the Arkansas Traveler Summary

In the Lincoln Tunnel traffic jam, the narrator thinks of how much he loves cars. He thinks of women he's known, and suddenly pictures a girl's face. He struggles to place her, and then he remembers. In "The Marathon Run of Lonesome Ernie, the Arkansas Traveler," the narrator recalls his army radar company, Company K, which has just been issued new equipment and ordered to pack. Zynzmeister, the intellectual, verbally spars with Gasser, who stuffs candy bars into his luggage. All the men are nervous about being sent into combat, and Zynzmeister jokes that they're decoys to draw fire, since their radar never works.

The men assemble for Lieutenant Cherry, who informs them that they're shipping out to an undisclosed location on a closed troop train. The...