The journey from San Francisco to Hawaii proved to be an incredibly frightening ordeal for Greer and Cameron, surpassing even their most harrowing past experience. They recalled a time when they shot a deputy sheriff in Idaho ten times, but he remarkably survived, leading to a bizarre exchange where Greer had to plead for the sheriff to simply die rather than face another round of gunfire. The humorously morbid dialogue encapsulates their grim situation, with the sheriff acquiescing after they promised not to shoot him again.

This darkly comedic memory serves to highlight the absurdity and terror that defines their experiences. Through this recollection, Richard Brautigan illustrates the depth of Greer and Cameron's fear during their Hawaiian voyage, showing how it stands out in their tumultuous lives. The juxtaposition of fear and absurdity in their past reinforces the notion that the journey to Hawaii was not just about travel, but a confrontation with their own psyche and history.