GIR&L
gi r & l
A play by Kotaro Pond (aka Lucien Cravens, based on the true story of his life)
This is the story of one man’s journey through life’s inherent struggle to find the motivation to go on and on and on.
Time: Present Day
Place: Therapist’s Office
CAST:
Older Man (OM)
Therapist (T)
Boy
Teen, also plays the role of Young Man (YM)
Man
Sis
Mom/Mrs. Pleasant
Terri, the babysitter, also plays the role of Mimi
Stage has 3 doors. Screen shows images of doors and locks. We hear the sounds of knocking, opening, closing, locking and unlocking.
ACT I
Scene I
Older man struggles with an identity crisis and has decided to see a therapist. (couch, chair, bookshelf, coffee table, rug, bongos)
OM: (center stage, lights a candle) Darkness and light, defined by the absence of one another, yet rarely absolute. Unlike doors opened and doors closed. Getting knocked down again and again and again. Getting up and moving on.
(Chuckles, then Sings) This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
(pause) I think I’m ready to shine the light on how I became a GIRL.
(OM blows out candle, moves to the couch. Therapist enters w/file in hand, sits.)
T: By all accounts, you’re not a girl.
OM: I don’t think you understand.
T: No, now don’t get me wrong. I’m not here to judge or argue. I neither agree nor disagree with your personal beliefs and assessments. I’m here to listen, and if I can, offer some sort of guidance.
OM: (tentatively) OK
T: Please. (long pause as OM looks around). Make yourself comfortable. No rush. You don’t even have to speak. It’s your hour and I’m here to listen, if there’s something you’d like to share.
OM: (long pause, shakes his head) What am I doing here? Well, ummm, guess we should start from the beginning.
T: Many people do.
OM: Not birth so much.
T: You’d be the only person alive who could pull that off.
OM: (not amused, folds arms, head down, silent)
T: Do you want to talk about your mother?
OM: (flatly) I do NOT want to talk about my mother.
T: OK, sorry. Anything or nothing at all, whenever you’re ready. (long pause, stands, picks up and brings over bongos)
OM: (adamant) Every single day and every thing we do is our God given choice, or (sarcastic) for those who have yet to accept any responsibility for anything, Satan’s inducement in a moment of weakness.
T: Well, that certainly is an interesting way to begin. I suppose when something good happens we praise God and when something bad happens we blame Satan.
OM: I was taught that it is blasphemy to be angry with God. And let’s face it, it’s a helluva lot easier to imagine some evil must’ve crept up from below rather than to look upwards to blame our glorious lord and savior.
T: There’s no blame here, but just so I have a starting place, do you think you were sent here today by God (4 taps on bongos) or Satan (1 tap)?
OM: I want to know what’s beyond the mirror and if I’ve done all I could at the end of the day. (takes bongos from T) I want to talk about how I became a girl. I want to delve into the darkness and the light (5 taps)
(T and OM tap bongos in rhythm to the following exchange)
T: I see…apathy or care
OM: Good or bad
T: Sweet or bitter
OM: Clean or dirty
T: Compassion or disdain
OM: Cruel or kind
T: Perhaps there are times when it is in our human nature to willingly embrace the dark, (picks up bongos and puts them away) to act without conscience, and with utter disregard to whatever becomes of it.
OM: I think there are those who actively cause harm without even being aware of it. They’re not stupid. They lack … perspective … wisdom. At least I hope that’s true. I’m sure I’ve caused my share of harm. Said hurtful things. I don’t recall ever being one to start a fight. I don’t like to think there are people who actively seek to hurt others unless struggling under some type of mental disorder.
T: There are also those who actively seek to help and in the process inadvertently cause harm.
OM: Some folks actually believe in the power of prayer.
Sis: (lights up opposite side of stage recites the Serenity prayer) “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” (leaves)
T: Wisdom is much more complex, don’t you think? Why do we say old and wise unless wisdom derives from a lifetime of experiences and lessons learned? Isn’t it like ten thousand neurons sparking in your brain to provide a sense of clarity?
OM: Yeah, it’s like ten thousand moments and memories to make us more aware of (pause) what we see, aware of what we hear, aware of what we can be, aware of what we can, and should, or should not do, right?
T: One could say it is knowingly taking action towards something with a reasonable expectation of the outcome. Let’s assume that outcome is intended for good, intended to, say, enlighten or enhance rather than to cause harm.
OM: To evoke light.
T: To make better rather than worse.
OM: (moves across stage to where Sis was standing, turns to face T) I cannot accept the things I know to be wrong just because I am unable to change them.
T: Unable to change them at that time, or moment, in your life. When you first confront them? Ever?
OM: My sister used to say something I think is true.
Sis’s voice: It doesn’t take courage to change what you can. It takes motivation.
OM: It’s not so much courage as motivation.
T: Perhaps it requires both, recognizing the need, having the desire and means to do so, then forging ahead.
OM: And wisdom, right? If God hasn’t granted me wisdom to know what’s what… the road of life will surely (makes fists) pound it into you (sound of door closing; places hands on head palms covering eyes).
(light transition stage/door decorations for Halloween)
Scene II
Older man reflects on childhood trauma.
OM, Boy, Mom/Mrs. Pleasant, Terri/the babysitter, Sis, Therapist
(Boy, Sis, Terri talk & play as lights come up)
OM: (remembering, looks up at nothing and at no one) I’m 5 years old, my big sister is 10, my little brother is just a baby so he doesn’t know anything… (OM turns to watch the scene, may react in subtle ways)
(start Halloween music that plays throughout the scene with varied volume)
Terri: I bet you guys are really excited about Halloween tonight. What are you gonna do for costumes?
Sis: I can wear what I wore last year, see? It’s kinda like a witch.
Terri: That’ll work out great! I’ll help you with some make-up to darken your eyes and give you more of a wicked look.
Boy: What about me? I don’t have a costume? I wanna go too. Pleeeaaase–
Terri: I’ve got an old sheet at home. I’ll just run over and get it. We can cut out some holes for your arms and eyes and you can go as a ghost.
Boy: Will you put some make-up on me so I can be a wicked ghost?
Terri: Of course not silly, your head will be covered, and you’re too nice anyway. You’re going as a friendly ghost.
Boy: Ohhhhh, like Casper!
Terri & Sis: Exactly
Sis: Go get the sheet and come back so we can get started.
Boy: I wish I had a real costume. I could be a firefighter like dad!
Sis: You’ll be fine, and think of all the candy we’ll get.
Boy: Yeah, and when we get back home I can eat it all up.
Sis: Just eat a little bit or you’ll get sick. You gotta save some. It’s a long time between now and Christmas.
Boy: Christmas? What’s that got to do with anything.
Sis: You get candy in your stocking, remember?
Boy: Oh yeah, that’s right.
Terri: (to Mrs. Pleasant) My mom said we could cut this up for a ghost costume.
Mom: I’m sorry kids, we can’t participate in Halloween this year.
Terri/ Boy /Sis: Why????
Mom: We didn’t have the money to get any candy to pass out. I’m not even answering the door tonight, and what with your baby brother to deal with I can’t take you around anyway.
Terri: I can, Mrs. Pleasant, and we don’t need anything for costumes. We’re all set.
Mom: I said No, I’m sorry.
Sis: Please let us go, Mom. We won’t go far.
Terri: I’ll look out for them, I promise.
All 3: Please?
Mom: Well…… OK, just around the block and No Further.
Boy /Sis: yay!!!! Thanks Mom!
Mom: And just come right back in the door. I won’t have the light on because I don’t have anything to give the other kids.
Terri: We will Mrs. Pleasant, no problem at all.
Mom: Go get ready then. I’ve got to feed the baby and put him to bed.
Door 1: Trick or treat. (get candy and leave)
Door 2: Trick or treat. (scary monster (T in costume) appears, kids run away)
Door 3: Cautiously. Trick or treat. (get candy and leave)
Terri: See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?
Boy: I’m so scared. I’m not going back to THAT house! (pointing at door #2)
Sis: Mom said just around the block. We gotta go back home.
Terri: Oh, come on, just a couple more then we’ll go.
Sis: OK, those 2 houses over there.
Door 2: Trick or treat. (get candy and leave)
Door 3: Trick or treat. (get candy and leave)
Mom: (enters from off stage) What are you doing here? I told you just around the block. (music stops)
Terri: We were heading back now. We went to a couple more houses, that’s all.
Mom: I said around the block and I meant it. (storm sounds begin low)
Sis/OM: I’m sorry Mom.
Mom: I can’t trust you. I let you go against my better judgment and you disobeyed me. Now you have to be punished. (OM goes to the floor)
Terri: It was all my fault, Mrs. Pleasant, I’m so sorry. Punish me, tell my mom. They didn’t do anything wrong.
Mom: (ignoring Terri) I made myself perfectly clear, and when we get home you kids are getting a beating.
Boy /Sis: (scared/crying) Mom, please don’t. We won’t do it again, I’m sorry! (OM on his knees, holding hands in prayer)
Terri: Pleeeeaaaase (tearful) don’t beat them Mrs. Pleasant.
Mom: Terri, I’ll have a talk with your mother tomorrow. Go home. Let’s go kids.
Boy/Sis: (crying) no Mommy please.
OM: Mommy, please don’t.
Mom: Go get your father’s belt. (low, dark foreboding music begins)
Sis: (kneals in front of mom, extends arms holding up the belt) OK mom, but just beat me, not my little brother. He didn’t do anything wrong.
Mom: You’re both gonna learn that you don’t disobey me. When I tell you something you do it. 10 licks each with the belt. Get undressed and come into the bathroom when I call you.
(knock on the door, Mom opens but is now a wicked witch)
Terri: (nervous, hastily enters door) Mrs. Pleasant, I told my mom that it’s all my fault. Your kids did nothing wrong, nobody got hurt, and she agreed that I should be punished. Please don’t beat them.
Mom: Go home Terri (closes the door).
Terri: (from behind the door, knocks (pause) knocks again, cries) pleeeaaase don’t!
Mom: (to boy) You first. Now bend over and hold on to the toilet.
Boy: (bends over, screams with each strike) Oww! (strike) OWWWW! (jogging in place) please, please, Mommy, don’t hit me again. (foreboding storm sounds)
(Light transitions fades to black on boy, illuminates OM in fetal position on the floor of T’s office stage left)
OM: But she kept going. Five. Six. Seven. 10 licks. Dad’s thick black leather firefighter’s belt. Imprinted welts on my upper legs and bottom. (rubs bottom) owww mommy… I went to my room and cried as Sis got hers. I cried myself to sleep. (head down, shoulders jerk to remembered sound of Sis getting beat)
Boy: (tearfully) It’s not fair! You just wait…
OM: There never was a better day for a beating.
Boy: There never was a better way than a belt.
Boy & OM: A black leather Halloween.
Boy: To let me know
OM: She says what she means.
Boy & OM: A black leather Halloween.
Boy: Make no mistake
OM: The nightmare of my dreams.
Boy & OM: A black leather Halloween.
Boy: Nowhere to hide
OM: From my memories.
Boy & OM: When I grow up I’m gonna make sure people are treated right!
OM: My sis and I remember that day like it was yesterday, (shaking head) totally wrong. (pause) Nothing I could do to change it. Nothing ever became of it. (gets up, shrugs and leaves, gently closing door)
T: Nothing other than the marks nobody ever sees. Deep indelible scars from physical, emotional and psychological abuse.
(lights out, lights come up stage right)
Scene III
Older man wonders if he was/is a good boy who deserves good things.
(OM, Boy, Mom, Sis)
(Boy playing with Lincoln logs, cowboys and Indians)
OM: I’m 6 years old. I love pulling out all my toys and moving them all over the room. I use blocks and Lincoln logs to build a fort. I put the soldiers in cars and trucks to position them in and around the fort in strategic locations to prepare for the Indian attack.
Boy: The Indians sneak around from every direction, they talk to each other through bird whistles (make whistling sounds). A sentry sees them, and signals attack on the bugle (make pretend bugle sound for “charge”). There is an epic battle with arrows flying through the air (zip, zip, zip) guns and cannons firing (battle sounds). When it’s over there is blood and torn up bodies all across the valley. Both sides have suffered mass casualties, and looking around, in fact, no one is left alive. As the smoke clears there is nothing but the faint sound of a single bird (bird sound) easily distinguished from any Indian signals. Maybe someday another group of soldiers will return to rebuild and another tribe of Indians will find there way here. But for now the battle is over. I’m tired and I don’t want to clean up my toys.
Mom: Clean up this mess.
Boy: I’m tired and bored. Isn’t anybody going to help me?
Mom: (shouting offstage) Get in here and help your brother clean up his room.
Boy: I don’t want to clean up my room. I don’t even want to play anymore because I have nobody to play with and all you ever say is clean up your room.
Mom: Don’t talk back to me. Everybody has to do their part. You say you’re bored? Then I’ll give you some things to do.
Boy: I need some new toys.
Mom: Maybe Santa will bring you something, but only if you’re a good boy and do as you’re told.
Boy: I know.
Mom: You kids are gonna start helping out around here, so I have your list of chores. I only have to provide food, clothing & shelter until you turn 18. You, son, are expected to clean supper dishes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Every day you are to take out the trash, help around the house, help in the garden, mow the grass, and whatever else needs to be done around here. Now go sweep the porch (hands Boy the broom).
Boy: OK, how about an allowance?
Mom: You get food, clothing & shelter. That’s your allowance.
Boy: Are you serious?
Mom: Don’t talk back or you’ll get the belt. Spare the rod spoil the child.
Boy: (to myself) spoil the child, so I’m being spoiled unless I’m being beaten? (takes broom over to Mom) I’m done.
Mom: That was fast, let me check your work. Nope. Do it again. Always time to do it twice, never time to do it right.
(Set with Christmas decorations, cross, manger)
(Boy & Sis Sing a few lines from any Christmas song, ie: Adeste Fidelis laeti triumphantes, Venite, venite in Bethlehem)
Sis: (Exhales) Christmas. I’m gonna set up the Nativity Scene. The man born to die so we could have everlasting life. It’s such a wonderful life.
Boy: God bless us, everyone. (calling to Sis) And put up a million lights too!!!
OM: I love lights and the idea of bringing light into the world.
Boy: I know darkness. I’m afraid of the dark and it scares me.
OM: I have a night light in my room.
Boy: I wish I had a strobe light, a lava lamp and a disco ball.
OM: I wrote a letter to Santa!
Boy: I asked him for one of the toys on my list and maybe a bicycle.
OM: Surprise me Santa
(Boy & OM sit on the floor back to back)
OM: I’ve done all that I could
Boy: And I’ve tried to be good
OM: Dear Santa Please bring me a toy
Boy: It’s hard sometimes being a boy
OM: I did what I could
Boy: So do what you should! If only you would…
OM: Dear Santa Please bring me a toy
Boy: I promise to be a good boy.
(to Carol of the Bells)
I’ll clean my room. Take out the trash. I’ll brush my teeth. Go straight to bed.
I’ll sweep the porch. I’ll mow the grass. I beg you please. Down on my knees….
OM: Dear Santa please bring me – A TOY!
Scene IV Boy at Therapist’s office
Older man learns life isn’t all fun and games, and may not even be worth living.
(OM, Boy, Mom, Therapist)
T: It sounds like your Mom wanted to teach you a life lesson. Get a job. Earn money. Save money? Buy what you want. (pause) Buy what you need?
Mom: (voice from offstage) Your father and I are gonna start a family business, and you get to help us. You might even get paid.
Boy & OM: (sitting on couch together) Sounds great, Mom. What’re we gonna do?
Mom: (voice from offstage) Beekeeping. We’re gonna make lots and lots of honey as sweet as my boy.
T: What did you tell people when asked about what you wanted to be when you grow up?
Boy: I wanna be a Boy Scout! What could be more fun than hiking, camping, fishing, and the adventures of scouting?
OM: Nobody ever asked me if I wanted to add another chore to my life.
T: Would you like to add some more chores to your life?
Boy: No! It might be fun for Mom & Dad, but it doesn’t sound like fun to me.
OM: (pause) Sometimes I don’t wanna live anymore. (turns away pouting)
T: Let’s talk about that. (pause, no response, gets up, goes offstage, returns and writes DEAD at 10 on white board) There are many things we take with us to the grave… Well?
OM: (hesitates) Well, there I am. Only made it to the age of 10, apparently.
T: What grade were you in?
OM: Must’ve made it all the way through 4th grade.
Boy: I really liked 4th grade, and was looking forward to the overnight campout with my cub scout troop.
T: Were your parents aware?
Boy: My Mom & Dad were troop leaders, and I loved the projects and activities with my friends. Pinewood derby, birdhouses. I was a pretty good runner, too. I don’t think it’s fair that I had to be picked last every time we played a game, though. Mom & Dad said they had to avoid any favoritism. Just another one of their dumb rules, I guess. Maybe I’ll get to go first every now and then in heaven.
T: Somehow I think that will be the least of your concerns in heaven.
Boy: Dad played basketball with me sometimes, and I know he wanted me to be an athlete. He wanted a son interested in hunting, fishing and football, but that’s just not who I was. I’d rather sing and dance, hang out with Sis doing arts & crafts, baking treats in the kitchen, and going on nature hikes.
OM: We moved out of the city when I was 6, finishing 1st grade…
Boy: … out here in the country. It must be true that you can take the kid out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the kid. I’d always thought of myself as a city kid. My little brother was always a country kid. He loves everything and anything Dad loves, and tried but never could beat me at anything. I know he’s only 5, but I also know he’s never gonna be able to make his own decisions.
T: How many are there now in your family?
Boy: Well if I’m gone, my parents, Sis and little brother. My grandmothers are still alive. My dad’s dad died a few years ago, and is buried up the hill behind grandma’s (Mom’s mom’s) trailer.
T: Did you know either of your grandfathers?
OM: No, I never met either of them.
Boy: We call Dad’s mom Mimi and she spoils us. Dad was her only child so I’m pretty sure she spoiled him too.
T: What’s special about Mimi?
Boy: I loved going to Mimi’s house, and when I was younger I met her mom, my great-grandmother Nona.
OM: I don’t know when she died or where she’s buried. They’ll put me up there somewhere next to my dead grandpa. Nothing I can do about it.
T: What do you want to say to those present?
Boy: (walks to lectern center stage) Thank you for coming to my funeral. I’ve had a mostly happy life, even somewhat extraordinary. The rocky times were few and far between, but certainly jagged and hurtful, think Halloween when I was 5. The first thing I can remember is visiting grandma when she lived in Miami, so the good news is I got to see the ocean. I had the cutest black and yellow striped swimming pants, just like a little bumblebee. The bad news is the ocean waves slammed me down so hard I pretty much decided not to go back in the water. I couldn’t have been older than 3, and I was fascinated by elevators and escalators. I wanted to ride the elevator, so I somehow got out of the apartment and found it. The door closed but I was only tall enough to reach the fire alarm, unable to reach any of the other buttons. So that’s what I hit over and over. (sounds of a buzzer over and over) I got in trouble but Mom blamed Sis for not keepin’ an eye on me. I think SHE should have been watching me especially when I got slammed down by ocean waves. A year or 2 later Sis and I got into trouble because we went beyond the boundary line mom set for Halloween. (pause, sound of a belt). 10 licks. That really hurt. But one time Dad came by and let me ride in his firetruck. He also took me to the station where I got to slide down the pole, and that was fun.
T: What did you think about school?
Boy: I had a great start as far as education. I graduated (PHOTO on screen) with a cap and gown from Joyland Kindergarten, just like Sis, and started first grade at a Catholic school.
T: Those schools can be really strict.
Boy: Yeah, I got in trouble for running through the crowded porch during a rainstorm. The nun caught me by the collar as I passed by, nearly choking me to death. She really scared the hell out of me.
T: Clearly a woman of God.
Boy: I remember a couple other times I must’ve been running around, fell and busted my head open requiring stitches. When we moved out here to the country, it was called the “white flight” out of the city.
T: Why was it called the white flight?
Boy: As white families moved out black families moved in.
T: How was school in the country?
Boy: Country school was really easy for me, and I made lots of friends. I did not get along with my sister though. She knocked me off her bike one time, threw me in the mud and started wiping it all over me. Dad made us both stand in the yard while he sprayed us off with the water hose. I stood there crying and shivering from the cold. Most of the kids at school knew me as the new kid but I achieved notoriety when crowned King in 2nd grade. (imitates removing and looking at his crown)
T: Congratulations your majesty. Who was your favorite teacher?
Boy: (pause, thinks) My 2nd grade teacher Ms. Parker was my favorite after Ms. Thompson from Joyland Kindergarten, two radiant lights in the world. I remember Ms. Thompson telling us stories of adventure, and learning Spanish phrases like “Yo te amo.”
T: How do you remember that?
Boy: She wrote it in every student’s scrapbook.
T: Is there anyone you didn’t particularly care for?
Boy: I pretty much liked everybody and was looking forward to 5th grade, being in the upper level and all…
T: (closes notebook) That’s our time. (exits).
I really wanted to be a Boy Scout. To “Be Prepared.” That was all I wanted to be.
Boy: (picks up Dead at 10 white board contemplating his dead body)
I wanna laugh
And dance and sing
I wanna run and try most anything
Take out my toys
Like every boy
Let me play
Except I’m dead…
Resting there
Peacefully
Can’t believe this could happen to me
Gone too soon
My spirit will forever stay
In this room
Scene V at Therapist’s office
Older man reflects on learning to earn money as a teenager.
(OM, Teen in BSA t-shirt, therapist)
Teen/OM: (holding up three middle fingers of right hand together recite Scout Oath) On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my Country, and to obey the scout law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.
T: So you did become a boy scout… and a beekeeper. (swats imaginary bees, laughs to himself) Be prepared.
Teen: Yeah, camping, hiking, campfires, stories, check! Beekeeping? Well, at least it was a merit badge.
T: Did you make any money with this bee business?
Teen: My parents paid as promised, fifty cents per frame – no payment unless they were perfect, quality control you know – and with 10 nails per frame that meant I earned a nickel a nail.
(OM enter opposite side of stage, Teen & OM face each other)
I get a nickel a nail
A drop in the pail
It takes time to get a bucket of water.
A penny saved
A penny earned
I trudge along like a factory worker
Sometimes I feel
This can’t be real
So much more I thought life had to offer.
OM:
So beaten down
All I do is frown
Some days I think why do I bother.
Teen:
I gotta believe
Life gets better than this
OM:
I’ll get my reprieve
If fortune gives me a kiss
Teen:
I’ll do more than exist
But till then
Here I’ll spend
My days.
OM:
Without a choice
Without a voice
This way.
A nickel a nail, my pennies I’ll save, and someday
I’ll have a bucket of water.
Teen:
Someday I’ll show the world
All the good I can offer.
T: Were you in any other clubs or sports? (gets up and puts on coach whistle)
OM: Sports? Let’s see… (play lone ranger theme)
T: (now as a coach stands center stage and takes each ball away from boy, throws them off stage right and directs him back off stage left)
Teen: approaches tossing a football up in the air and catching it
Approaches trying to spin a basketball
Approaches with a tennis ball (when it too is taken pulls a golf ball out of his pocket which is also taken)
Approaches with a frisbee also taken but as he heads off stage left again…
T: (coach) hey kid, check this out (hands him flyer AUDITIONS!)
Scene VI
Older man as a teenager works and worries about turning 18.
(OM, Teen in 4-H shirt, Therapist)
(Teen takes center stage, raises right hand and starts to recite pledge)
Teen: I pledge my head my heart, my hands, my health blah blah blah
T: I recognize that oath and the motto: “Learn by Doing.” So you became both a boy scout and a 4-H’er.
OM: I’d focus on one and neglect the other. School work, chores, I was also an altar boy. But more than anything…
Teen: … I wanted to get paid. I wanted a job so I could make money so I could buy things.
OM: I may not have been dead, but I felt like I could never get ahead no matter what I did; it was like I died and went to hell.
T: Why was that?
Mom: (voice) You need good grades to get into college. The world needs ditch diggers too! Do what you’re told. Your father was already an eagle scout at your age. Spare the rod spoil the child. Your chores aren’t done. Get me the belt. We’re not paying for college. Food clothing shelter until you’re 18, then you’re out. You’re getting a beating when your father gets home. If you want something get a job. You want to go to camp, get a job and pay for it. You’re not going anywhere until you mow the grass. You’ve been off having fun at camp while everyone here has been working. The grass needs mowing again so get out there.
T: Sounds like a lot of things happened to hopefully motivate you somehow…?
Teen: The grass was an all-day project, and I’m not kidding, with a push mower.
T: How big was the yard you had to mow?
Teen: The front yard the size of a football field, then the side of the house, the back of the house, grandma’s front and back yard as well as along the driveway that extended from our house, past grandma’s house past the pond up to the mailbox.
T: Sounds like you had the health and strength enough to be good in sports.
Teen: I was great at the free labor sport of grass cutting.
T: I see. Free labor meant you weren’t getting paid and at the same time you needed things that cost money.
OM: You have no idea. Schoolwork, chores, bee business, 4-H, boy scouts, church.
T: How old were you when you got your… let’s see… there were the chores, the bee business…. So when did you get your 3rd job?
Teen: I got a paying gig babysitting for the neighbors’ kids when I was 14.
T: (making notes) Did that mean you’d have to be responsible, caring and loving?
Teen: Play with toys, clean up, change diapers, bathe, brush teeth, read books, put to bed, watch TV.
T: Anything else?
OM: At 15 I helped friends of my parents build a concrete block workshop.
Teen: Manual labor, basic skills mixing cement and carrying the blocks. Physical labor. It only lasted a couple weeks but it was the most money I’d ever made.
T: You seem to have had physical ability for any type of work or activity. What came next?
OM: At age 16 I got my first real job…
Teen: …at an actual business. My neighbor’s sporting goods store, minimum wage part-time after school, weekends and holidays.
T: What types of work did you do there?
Boy: Cleaning, stocking, pricing, inventory, printing sports shirts with a heat press, scrubbing out minnow tanks.
T: That doesn’t sound like fun.
Boy: It was hard work, a character-building kind of experience. Lesson learned: I did not want – wait, strike that – I WOULD not live a life of physical labor.
T: Did you keep that job through high school?
OM: No, moved on to Job 6 at Sonic where Sis had worked.
Teen: Girls made drinks and ice cream stuff, took everything out to cars. The boys took orders, cooked and cleaned. I thought it might open a door as the most popular high school hang out where guys with a car would bring their girlfriend after football practice. I couldn’t imagine being an athlete, having a girlfriend and the money to stop by and order whatever you wanted.
T: Did it open any doors for you?
Teen: Doors. I didn’t even have a window.
OM: Now that I think about it, I learned that some doors only open for other people.
T: Doesn’t that also mean that some doors only open for you?
OM: I guess so.
Teen: Got a job at McDonald’s my senior year.
T: Wait! You left the most popular high school hangout?
Teen: I was so excited to work there. I had 3 classes and then went to work. A half hour drive I could make it for the lunch rush. One of the busiest in the country, I learned to use both hands to prep and multi-task. I did anything and everything to work more hours including scraping the paint off the basement floor.
OM: A high school job for me – others did this for a living. I have no idea how they survived.
T: I thought you had rejected doing manual labor. Interesting that other people among us may never see the doors that you have seen or will see throughout your lifetime.
Teen: Boss wanted to send me to HU in Chicago to move up into McManagement.
T: Hamburger University? You must have really impressed him.
Teen: Yeah, let me crash at his place for the night when my parents kicked me out of the house. (sound of door closing)
T: When you turned 18?
Teen: Two weeks after graduation. Gotta survive, get a job. Left home and went to the university town where I had been accepted to start school in the fall.
OM: No clue what I would do with my life or what to study.
T: I think that’s enough for today.
ACT II
Scene I
Older man reflects on early adulthood and trying to survive on his own.
(OM, YM, Therapist)
(OM & YM enter, OM stands aside watching YM mope around, check out office, start playing with bongos to a self-reflecting chant)
YM:
What does it cost
When you are lost
Out the door I’ve been tossed
To a world cold as frost
What is this day
Nothing to say
God how I’ve prayed
For some other way (puts away bongos and looks towards the door)
Is there a door?
How can I score?
Deep in my core (holds fist in opposite hand)
Life means much more (looks down)
I’ll wear those pants
I’ll take your stance
Give me a chance
To show I can dance (dance movement/spin improvised ending on the floor)
I hear every sound
Here on the ground
Pretend that I’m found
Like I’ve come around
Is this the end
Before I begin
Should I just give in
Not meant to win
T: Did you find a job?
OM: Domino’s Pizza delivery. You’re supposed to make decent money on tips…
YM: … but that was never true. It was good to work in food service though – you don’t go hungry – because there’s always a mistake or canceled order.
T: Not enough to survive, I’d imagine.
YM: No. I kept looking and found Job 9, Kirby Vacuum Cleaner sales, wear a shirt and tie to clean a room in people’s homes in hopes that they would buy one, paid on commission, so no matter how many rooms you cleaned there was no pay unless the customer bought one.
T: Did anybody buy one?
OM: Nobody. Commission sales were not for me.
YM: On to Job 10, grocery deli, pack, price, slice, clean, stretch plastic over and place in the display case.
OM: I remember older co-workers being critical and unfriendly towards a student worker who was not a member of the union.
T: Once school started in the fall then everything went smoothly?
YM: Hardly, I had no sense of direction and after 6 months flunked out (sound of door closing); I had to go back home.
T: I thought there was no going back.
Mom: (voice) My house, my rules, and you can’t live here for free. You’re gonna have to pay rent.
YM: If I pay rent I shouldn’t have to follow any rules. So I left.
T: Where did you go?
YM: The city where I was born, more opportunities where I scored Job 11, a waiter position at Victoria Station (PHOTO?) with hopes of making great tips. A classy bar/restaurant made up of a group of connected railway cars.
T: How did those great tips turn out?
YM: It was hard to get by. Many times I made customer “doggie bags” I saved for myself from the untouched portions from their plates. I had exceptional wrapping skills from my work at the deli.
T: It wasn’t enough then?
YM: No. Not earning enough to live. So I got a day job, Balloon-a-gram where I delivered balloons and sang “Happy Birthday” “You are my Sunshine” or “Zippedy Doo Da” as a punk rock clown. I’d work as a waiter at night. Other waiters had day or overnight jobs earning a good income. I couldn’t seem to get anything above minimum wage. (pause) I was wasting my life. I was a clown.
T: You think so?
YM: (sings to the tune “Send in the Clowns”)
Isn’t it rich?
Isn’t life grand?
I thought that I’d find a good job,
Sorry my dear.
T: (joins in)
But where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns.
YM: Don’t bother, I’m here. (puts away bongos) Just lost. No path. No direction. No destiny. No hope.
T: Some say one makes his own destiny. What did you choose next?
YM: I took the ASVAB (pronounced AZVAB) Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, (sound of door opening) enlisted into the Air Force with a start date the following March.
T: How did you survive in the interim?
YM: I moved in with Mimi and worked in the Holiday Inn Coffee Shop as a waiter. I was a trained fine dining waiter so the work at a hotel diner came easy. It was fun to talk with so many different people just passing through. Living with Mimi I didn’t have to worry about enough to eat or paying rent. I used my spare time to exercise and get myself ready for basic training. (military music/drums)
Scene II
Older man appreciates his experience in the military.
(OM, Therapist, YM, Mom, Mimi)
T: Let’s reflect on where we are now. (Holds up DEAD at 20 white board)
OM: After the last ten years I would welcome death …
YM: …with open arms. Following basic training the Air Force presented a new and more hopeful future, an open door, at least a way forward.
T: Something serious, military service.
YM: I kept spinning around, blindly believing in mystical winds of fate while getting knocked down and
T: getting back up again and again…
YM: until I was slammed down so hard… (lies down on couch) that I couldn’t get back up (door slams shut). It’s over. At rest. Finally, thankfully.
T: (stands) They buried him in uniform with his singular training ribbon, no rank.
YM: My parents just kicked me out and they knew I couldn’t make it on my own.
Mom: (seated in chair in front of podium) Our legal obligation was over. A bird must leave the nest to forge its own way, did what we could, did our best, sent him on his way…
YM: (sits up, looks at her) and all that crap.
Mom: get out, good luck kid.
YM: Then what, fly like a bird from a nest? I don’t have wings. I have scars. I wonder what they’ll say about me. Wait (laughs), who am I kidding? Dad will sit quietly in self-pity and Mom will…
Mom: (hyperventilating) You don’t know what it’s like to lose a child, my baby boy, my first son with so much potential. I just don’t know how I’ll ever get through this.
YM: The body and mind in that uniform, in that casket, as imperfect as he was, was finally on the road to personal recovery and self-discovery. I tried; that’s all any of us can do, and it means everything. There was absolutely nothing I wasn’t willing to try.
Mimi: (walks onstage to confront Mom) Look at him. (basic training photo on screen) He was still a kid. He shaved once a week, if that! He joined the military to do something with his life, for the opportunity to get a college education. The military was a good choice and he committed to it so much that he did facing movements walking through the mall.
Mom: My poor sweet baby boy! What did I ever do to deserve this?
Mimi: He worked. He mowed my yard and helped me with anything I asked of him. He told me how hard he worked in your bee business, that he made 50 cents a frame and saved enough to pay for the family to go to an amusement park, the only “vacation” he ever had, that under your roof if you want something you have to work for it. You used and abused your kids, and threw him out on the street like yesterday’s trash without a pot to piss in. You don’t get to toss him out, and then wallow in self pity – not in front of me! (she exits, pause, Mom gets up, puts tissue in her purse, dramatically looks up, walks offstage – lighting transition back to therapy session)
T: You don’t mess with Mimi.
YM: Nope.
T: Let’s move on to a brighter note, you mentioned self discovery. Here (hands OM a notebook), I want you to start writing your journal.
YM: Job 14, US Air Force assigned to hazardous storage, Misawa Air Base, Northern Honshu, Japan, halfway around the world in a country with its own culture, its own language and its own race.
T: Did you have any issues with people of another race?
YM: I didn’t know what to expect but knew the military runs through a chain of command. None of my superiors were the same race as me. My boss was black, his boss was black, and his boss was black. Even my commander was a different race, a Japanese American, Colonel Matsumura.
T: Did you face any discrimination?
YM: None whatsoever. I was given every opportunity to succeed. I worked hard, took college classes, I learned to snow ski, play hockey, took Judo lessons, played taiko drums and explored Japanese culture as much as I could.
T: You played hockey? An athlete after all.
YM: I was a terrible hockey player and wiped out more times than I can count on the ski slopes.
T: At least you must have found satisfaction in your new job.
YM: I clearly needed the structure of military life. Experiencing another culture was a huge bonus. No longer trying to survive as a waiter, I liked working in the warehouse alright, learned to drive a forklift, with unauthorized use sometimes as a snowplow. But I didn’t want a career in logistics. I wanted something more challenging. I wanted to be in a position to change what I can.
T: Were there opportunities to change jobs?
YM: Yes, I was part of the base honor guard so I applied and got a special duty assignment as a ceremonial honor guard as my next job in Washington, D.C.
T: That must’ve boosted your spirits.
YM: Absolutely! I learned meticulous attention to detail. Mostly funeral services at Arlington, marched in parades, joint service color guard details, ceremonies at the Pentagon and the White House. I’m the Air Force flag bearer in a Winter Olympic commercial and stood on the White House lawn during the historic Reagan / Gorbachev talks.
T: You took some college classes in Japan. Did you take any during this assignment?
YM: Of course, and I worked part time for extra income as a waiter. I once served the 4 star Chief of Staff, provided the Chief and his family exceptional service, devoted my entire shift to that table for hours, and you know what? No tip.
T: Powerful people expect to be served.
YM: Yeah, I guess they have (make hand quotes) “other people” handle insignificant details (sound of door closing)
T: What happened after your enlistment ended?
YM: (sighs) I went back to live with Mimi and try college again. After all that was my only home, my only chance to get ahead in life.
(T leaves, YM crosses stage, lighting change, Mimi’s house, paces back and forth)
Mimi: Wait wait wait, what’s all this?
Come in here and talk to me for minute.
I see you all down in the dumps, moping around.
What’s the problem? Maybe I can help.
What’s got you lookin’ so down in the mouth?
YM: I don’t know. It’s like I fell behind and even if the world stops I’m never gonna
Mimi: Lemme tell you something.
This is just a miniscule moment in time, ok?
This too shall pass.
YM: I hope so.
Mimi: In everyone’s life a little rain must fall.
YM: I know if it weren’t for you I’d be sitting out in the rain.
Mimi: OK, OK, go wash your face, get back in here and let’s play some cards!
Scene III
Older man is determined to achieve something more with his life.
(YM, Therapist)
YM: That summer before school I worked Jobs 17, 18, 19 & 20.
T: An eventful summer, as a waiter?
YM: Waiter in a catering business, Sears tool department, Bartender in a Japanese restaurant, Waiter at a country club.
T: Couldn’t avoid serving the wealthy and powerful.
YM: I am an exceptional servant and no stranger to work. It’s what I’ve always done. I know all too well that I’m closer to being part of the lower class than part of a privileged class. I can pay attention to details and avoid being seen. Mom would always say:
Mom: Children are to be seen and not heard.
YM: A servant is neither to be seen nor heard.
T: Your focus was on providing impeccable service?
YM: I started college, and joined ROTC because I wanted to be sure I had a job after graduation and got hired on as —–
T: Let me guess, a waiter?
YM: Yeah, at another Country Club
T: There was a time not too long ago when those who learned the art of superior service skills were held in high regard; we call them butlers.
YM: I didn’t plan on being a servant my whole life!
T: Sorry, go on.
YM: I lost that job because I was seen. While cleaning up after a wedding party, two of us had a beer. Someone saw us, complained, and
T: You were fired. (sound of door closing)
YM: On to job 22!
T: As what? (exchange looks) Oh, of course.
YM: A member of the club happened to own a Greek restaurant close to campus and thought I did a pretty good job. (sound of door opening) We could even hang out after work spending our tips at the bar. Still young and naïve one night around midnight, I made a bet with the owner, Mr. Katsina on a close basketball game playing in the bar. I didn’t know it was a replay and I was rooting for the team that everyone else seemed to know had already lost.
T: Not many games are still actually playing at midnight.
YM: Exactly, but when I lost and went to pay he just said “Keep your money, kid.”
T: Let’s see, if my calculations are correct, that’s your 7th waiter job. How long did that one last?
YM: Through graduation, and since I completed ROTC I also received my commission.
T: No more waiter jobs then?
YM: So it seemed, except there was a delay in going active duty for at least a year.
T: (hesitatingly) Need I ask about Job 23? A similar role?
YM: No. Assistant English teacher at 2 high schools, 6 months each, on 2 islands in Japan.
T: Then back in the Air Force?
YM: Yes, also back in Japan and also back in logistics.
T: Nice familiar place and even better as an officer I might think?
YM: Yeah, instead of grunt work with fellow 2 stripers, I was working with Master Sergeants who called me SIR! I sometimes had to leave the room to keep from laughing.
T: I think this is a good place to try our exercise again. (Holds DEAD at 30 white board)
YM: Well, there I am, formal dress uniform, the nicest clothing I’ve ever owned, 4 medals all in a row. Not bad for a lieutenant.
(Taps plays quietly in the distance)
Honor guard.
Whenever I was struggling or having a bad day it was good to have had that experience as a ceremonial guard. It reminded me that I had become somebody, that I didn’t have to live a life of insignificant, invisible servitude, that I could not and would not accept anything less than what I truly wanted to be. Military service provided focus, discipline and motivation to keep going.
T: Where we’ve come from helps define who we are, as well as who we become.
YM: That and the people who helped you get where you are.
The military gave me the chance to travel, see and experience another country, another culture – more than that – other Americans and other parts of our country.
T: What is your message to those here today?
YM: Appreciate the people and things you have in life. Travel if you can. Share your kindness with people from anywhere.
T: Is there anything you remember about Japan and the culture there?
YM: Soooo many things.
T: Just pick one.
YM: (thinks for minute) I visited friends in Takasaki-City and learned the tradition of climbing to the highest point to watch the sunrise on New Year’s Day. It seemed a helluva lot more meaningful, spiritual even, than staying up till midnight, drinking too much and waking up with a hangover to start the new year.
I hope you give it a try and I hope you can convince some people to get up and go with you.
T: Do you think you could have considered your life complete if it ends here?
YM: Definitely a somewhat satisfying journey, but …. (T leaves, lighting change)
Scene IV
Older man thinks about what he would tell his younger self.
(YM, OM)
OM: (paces, starts writing in notebook/journal)
No! not complete.
(OM & YM read to each other from respective identical journals)
OM:
I just came by
To ask you why
You keep runnin’ around like you do
Is there somethin’ you’re trying to prove?
I know your pain
Standin’ out in the rain
Wonder how you’ll become a man
When you don’t even have a plan?
YM:
I’m so confused
And sometimes abused
They say there’s nothing that I can’t do
When the signs tell me that’s not true
I’m here on the ground
With my head in the clouds
Don’t know what will become of me
What does this world have in store for me?
OM:
Your day will come
With all that you know
Up Mountains you’ll climb
Down Rivers you’ll flow
YM:
One day I’ll shine
One day I’ll go
The long road takes time
A long row to hoe
OM:
Keep a light in your eyes
A fire in your blood
You’ll find other doors
Just as you should (opens a door)
YM: (turns to look at open door)
I see a light in my eyes
I feel a fire in my blood
I’ll find other doors
I’ll make this life good
(lighting change, back to therapy session)
Scene V
Older man reflects on becoming a lawyer and then what?
(OM, Therapist, YM, Man, Sis)
T: What were you seeking?
YM: I wanted to stand up for people.
I kept being reminded that I was expendable, that I didn’t matter, that I didn’t have a voice, that I should just accept being a number.
T: You came to realize that many times in your life it would seem you didn’t deserve to have a voice
YM: I know and I couldn’t accept that, not for me or anyone else. I decided one day I would become a lawyer.
T: (emphatically) Ahh, the definition of a voice.
YM: It was crazy unbelievable that I got a 2nd chance to go to college.
I had been on track to climb the enlisted ranks, but I knew I’d have power to do more good, to fight for the voiceless lower ranks if I became an officer.
T: And…
YM: I was motivated to do something more with my life. Logistics didn’t challenge me enough; it wasn’t my real dream.
T: And then…
YM: Job 25, my last military assignment, still in logistics a kind of budget officer for the aerial combat training exercises known as Red Flag, and then off to law school (sound of door opening)
T: Why not become a military lawyer.
YM: I applied but didn’t get selected.
T: Let me see if I understand this correctly. You left a promising and distinguished military career to go to law school? What about work?
YM: I jumped all in to work at law firms to gain some practical experience.
Job 26 at law firm OM: You’re fired. (sound of door closing)
Job 27 at law firm OM: You’re fired. (sound of door closing)
Job 28 at law firm OM: You’re fired. (sound of door closing)
T: Law firms aren’t exactly nurturing places I take it. How about Job 29? Another try with a law firm?
YM: No, I had to survive … and eat! I became a waiter at an Italian restaurant.
T: You knew from 7 prior waiting jobs that’s not enough to survive, right?
YM: Right, so I also worked at Blue Man Group (job 30) and as a designated driver (31) – good tips!
T: What happened to legal jobs?
YM: What happened to legal jobs? Weren’t you even listening to me? I went 3 for 3 (gets up shaking his head and leaves, Man enters shaking his head)
Man: 3 for 3, and not in a good way. My priority was getting through law school and after graduation I got job 32 as a law clerk for a judge.
T: Because you can’t actually practice as a lawyer without a license, can you?
Man: No, and when I didn’t pass the bar…
OM: You’re fired. (sound of door slamming shut)
T: The judge fired you?
Man: Yeah, she took my not passing the bar as a personal embarrassment without any concern as to how I would get by.
T: There are truly awful people in the world. Sometimes they’re unavoidable. So…. Job 33?
Man: Yeah, another judge hired me on and I was able to stay until I passed the bar the following year.
T: Finally! Fruition in your chosen vocation? Leading to Job 34?
Man: Yep, law firm, license to practice, real attorney work.
T: And?
Man: Fired for not generating enough income for the firm. (sound of door closing)
T: Well that’s 4 for 4, then what? Back to waiting tables?
Man: No, I had a license, so onto Job 35 in another law firm.
T: How did that work out?
Man: It didn’t. I had a billing requirement which meant accounting for every minute of my day. Other attorneys taught me how to lie.
T: How so?
Man: You work on any given project for 2 hours, you bill for 4. I couldn’t do it and I decided they didn’t deserve any notice. I just got up and left. (gets up, walks to edge of stage)
There must be something more to life,
Than worry, work and constant strife,
There must be something more to me,
Even with a law degree, (sound of door closing)
Doors still close on me…
T: Come back over here. Let’s have another go at our exercise (holds up DEAD AT 40 white board)
T: It’s hard to imagine that one has fulfilled his purpose when it seems like life was just beginning. You finally reached that unreachable goal, that unreachable dream to become an attorney, and for what?
Man: I thought as a veteran I’d be able to get a federal position to continue working towards a retirement, building on my years of service perhaps as a federal public defender.
T: The unavoidable question seems to be: Was it a mistake to leave active duty military service to follow your dream?
Man: I guess most people give up on their dreams just trying to survive. Maybe death would have been better at this point, free from student loans and credit card debts, having reached a goal only to reveal new difficulties, new obstacles, and the old and way too familiar feeling of being beaten down again.
T: You obviously had no plan or direction for what to do or how to do it. It presents the inevitable question if you could start all over, would you still follow your dream?
Man: Here lies the poster boy for going to trade school or learning to accept your lot in life early enough to know you can succeed right where you are. He struggled with how to get his head out of the clouds, believing that sheer determination and a document would land him on easy street. Forget. All. About shooting for the moon and the stars.
T: Is that your message to those left behind?
Man: (pause) No. No one should live a life of regret. That just makes you bitter and resentful. (pause) I want my message to be that you try. If you fail, so be it. You find the motivation. You keep going. Believe in yourself, your abilities and your potential as you continue to strive for a better life.
T: Something more than mere existence.
Sis: He’d say that every person is an inspiration, that we have inspired him in unknown ways, and he hopes to have inspired others during his life. He’d ask us to care for one another, to avoid causing harm, to try to know better so that when we speak or act, we do so with kindness in our hearts.
Man: Don’t take yourself too seriously. Look for reasons to laugh. Move on.
(T closes notebook and leaves, sound of a door opening)
Man: There’s an open door! Law firm. Helping people through bankruptcy in federal court, lot of work, not much pay. Add Job 37 public defense attorney for criminal cases in municipal court, great work, decent pay.
T: What’s the latest?
Man: That criminal defense job I loved?
T: Yes, sounds quite promising. What became of it?
Man: (holds up yellow slip of paper) Contract expired.
T: Knocked down again huh? (sound of door closing)
Man: But not out. I opened my own practice. The ABC firm, Accidents, Bankruptcy, Criminal Defense, Job 38 (uses hand like a gun) pow pow pow!
T: Get knocked down 4 times…
Man: Get back up 4 times!
T: There you go! Some would say success is in the attempt, of course in your case in the attemptssssssss.
Man: Paid off my student loans….
T: What’s troubling you?
Man: I got scammed, internet company I agreed to pay monthly for “leads” that didn’t exist. I was barely getting by and couldn’t afford to renew my office space.
T: Let’s evaluate one more time. (holds up DEAD at 50 white board)
Man: I didn’t go to my 5-year high school reunion because I was just starting college when others would have already graduated, Maybe I spent my life trying to catch up, trying to find a single open door of opportunity like the doors I ignored through the chaos of my youth. I kept hanging on to that limb on the side of a cliff in the hope that I might be able to climb back up, to somehow get back in line.
T: It’s a struggle to survive.
Man: It is a struggle. It’s paralyzing. It’s desperation like being miles from shore out in the ocean as exhaustion slowly but surely begins to overtake your ability to stay above water, to take the next breath. You work and work to try to get ahead of the game, bleeding more than breathing until there’s nothing left. Cremation.
T: I don’t get it.
Man: There’s nothing more to give; I want to be cremated.
T: OK?
Man: Is it even possible to cremate a negative equity?
T: You’re not a negative anything.
Man: No urn either. Maybe plant a tree with my ashes next to a park bench.
T: Any memorial inscriptions?
Man: Lemme think. (pause) OK. Year of birth on the left, year of death on the right. No name. No dash. A curving non-symmetrical line to depict the ups and downs.
T: The long and winding road of a life.
Man: I like that; those letters and those words could be the line.
T: That’s our time. (gets up to leave) Are you gonna stick with it or…..? (leaves)
Man: long AND winding (leaves)
Scene VI
Older man realizes his true calling.
(OM, Therapist)
OM: I had to go. Moved across the country and came here.
T: (reading from Man’s notebook)
New place, new life
You start all over again,
Another town,
You make new friends,
Another change, another life,
Another chance to make things right.
Another knock from another door
Another world to explore
You’ll never know if you don’t go
And so you go.
T: Job 39. A waiter right?
OM: No (laughs) believe it or not, a law firm as a legal assistant until I got my license in this state.
T: And then?
OM: Law firm closed. (sound of door closing)
T: “Nor dread nor hope attend a dying animal a man awaits his end dreading and hoping all.” William Butler Yeats.
OM: “In everyone’s life a little rain must fall.” Mimi. I made a decision. I’m not taking just any law job. I want to be a public defender, so I apply and apply and apply and in the meantime:
Job 40: temp work at a warehouse over the holidays
Job 41: Substitute teacher
T: Any luck?
OM: I don’t know how but I finally became a girl, or public defender.
T: Girl?
OM: Guardian of Individual Rights & Liberties, the military implants a device in everyone’s brain forcing us to make acronyms
T: Think it’ll catch on?
OM: It works for me.
T: (picks up bongos both share in reciting the following)
As a child he hoped to be a scout,
Explore the world, run and sing and shout,
OM:
No other way to find what life’s about,
Now old and grey, of this I have no doubt:
T:
So many doors,
Who’s knocking there?
OM:
A helping hand?
Someone who cares?
T:
Behind the door,
Can’t be aware,
Promise of hope,
Threat of despair.
OM:
A knock again,
What shall I do?
Will I stay here?
Or run right through?
T: (shrugs shoulders, pats him on the back, puts away bongos, exits)
OM: (walks over to candle in holder, lights it)
(Sings) This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
OM: I think it’s true that hurt people, damaged goods so to speak, hurt other people. I don’t know what my parents went through in their lives before I came into being. I don’t think any one of us are free from damage, free from having been hurt in some profound way. (pours a drink)
OM: I don’t think any one of us can ever accept things we know to be wrong.
Sister’s voice: It doesn’t take courage to change what you can. It takes motivation.
OM: (laughs) Motivation …. to get out there, find a door, walk through and see what’s on the other side.
(sound of wind, a door blows open, walks over, sound of a gentle rain)
OM: It helps when someone opens their door to you.
(Mimi’s voice) Here’s to you, and here’s to me, and here’s to ever after. I’ll be true to you, if you’ll be true to me… and in life let’s find some laughter!
OM: That’s right. Here’s to you, Mimi … (takes a drink) I think about you every day – Maybe a little more when it rains!
END
Cast
Older Man (OM) Therapist (T) Boy Teen, also plays the role of Young Man (YM) Man Sis Mom/Mrs. Pleasant Terri, the babysitter, also plays the role of Mimi
Authors
Kotaro Pond aka Lucien Cravens