Newsboys cried the tale, and rumors flew like bugs in summer.
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"Newsboys"
Young dudes who carried the news.
"rumors flew like bugs in summer"
We barely have any rumors at all on the West Coast if this is the simile. The Midwest is disgusting. Except for the Fireflies. Those are cool. Put on the right music and it's like a rave driving down the Interstate at night. But be sure to have plenty of wiper fluid!
"A-aw that's nothin," cried Riley, "next to dodgin tornadoes all day! You boys want real electricity, git on out to Oklahoma sometime, get a treat for your ears into the bargain that will sure's hell drownd out any strange voices in your neighborhood."
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Riley easily counters Chick's boring story about static electricity with the suggestion that the Bindlestiffs dodge tornadoes on the daily. I suppose the "real electricity" Riley's talking about here are severe lightning storms like you get in the plains states. That's why the "treat for your ears" addition to the experience, being that Chick would be surrounded by thunder and lightning. Why he's suggesting Chick needs the "strange voices" drowned out when Riley, so far, is the only one admitting to hearing them, I can't say. I suppose I'd have to be a psychologist to understand his projection of an event he's probably been teased or derided about confessing to other aeronauts.
My favorite part of living in Lincoln, Nebraska, for the two short years I was there were the summer lightning storms. Those and the fireflies almost made the humidity worth it. I say "almost" because if they absolutely made the humidity worth it, I'd still be living there. But that humidity drove me out in two summers. Ugh. The worst! Just another reason why the West Coast is the greatest coast!
I know I could have made that rhyme but what do you think I am? Some kind of pop hack?! That, sir, was my father!
Above him, Darby, with a triumphant "Hurrah!" succeeded in closing the valve, and the huge airship accordingly slackened in its downward hurtling to a velocity no more ominous than that of a leaf in autumn.
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The use of the word "hurrah" was most popular in the 1860s with a second wave of popularity (although not quite as popular) in the 1890s. So Darby chooses the right expression to celebrate his success in closing the valve.
I hope with the mention of the leaf on the wind, Darby isn't about to get pierced through the chest in the next line.
Anyway, with the closing of the valve, the slapstick scene of the crashing airship has ended. Oh! Was this a parody of Airplane!? Probably!
I should begin a section for the stupid readers that begins after the main section of my discussion. It would look something like this:
"Pynchon compares the descending airship to a leaf in autumn because autumn is the time of year when the leaves fall from their trees. Unless you're in Australia and then it's when the leaves grow back on the trees. That's because the Earth isn't flat, you idiots. Geez!"
I bet if you surprised a Flat Earther at some point when nobody was arguing about the Earth and you were all, "DRAW A PICTURE OF THE EARTH! QUICK!", I bet they'd draw it round. But then you'd say, "A-ha! You don't actually think it's flat!" And then they'd show you the two-dimensional paper they drew the Earth on and say, "Touché!" (because they're dumb) But then you'd be all, "Oh really? Then why does your dumb round two-dimensional Earth only have three unrecognizable continents on it! I mean, you don't have to explain to me why they're unrecognizable. I get it. You suck at geography, what with being so stupid and all. Where are the other continents?!" Then they'd probably draw them on the back side of the paper and you'd wind up in a huge discussion about why the Chinese don't fall off the world and you'll want to kill yourself when the person replies, "Chinese Magna-Lock Boot Technology. Duh!"
