Thursday, November 3, 2011

SILK AND WAR

CHARACTERS

MAJOR COOK -   40 YEAR OLD BRITISH MAJOR, AN ATTACHE TO SIR WINSTON

PRIVATE ENFIELD -  20 YEAR OLD, BRITISH ARMY PRIVATE

SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL -  PRIME MINISTER, ENGLAND

SCENE I

(The scene takes place in 10 Downing Street, the office of Sir Winston Churchill.  The British are engaged in World War II and are on the eve of Dunkirk when Sir Winston is to speak to the nation.   Major Cook, his personal attache, paces the room waiting for Private Enfield to return with an important task he has ordered him to fulfill on behalf of the Prime Minister.)
                       
Major Cook:    (Pacing.)  Were is that laddie?   It’s been several hours.  Bloody.  If he’s forgotten.

(Enter Private Enfield. He salutes.)
                       
Private Enfield:   They’re boxed, Major!   As you requested.
                     
 Major Cook:  The right size, Private?
                       
Private Enfield:  I believe so, sir.
                       
Major Cook:  It’s important to the Prime Minister.  You certain?
                       
Private Enfield:  Wouldn’t let you down, sir.

Major Cook:  Yes. Yes.  But, it’s highly important.
                       
Private Enfield:  I don’t understand -
                       
Major Cook:   He’s addressing the nation.  He has to be comfortable.
                     
Private Enfield:  Dunkirk?
                       
Major Cook:  The Prime Minister is under a lot of pressure. Don’t want him screwing up now.  Do we laddie?
                   
Private Enfield:  Absolutely not, Major.
                       
Major Cook:   What about color?  Pink, I hope.
                       
Private Enfield:  White, sir.
                       
Major Cook:  Right, oh.  Nothing else?
                       
Private Enfield:   No choice, sir.  War shortages.  Pink dyes are being used for camouflage.  Mountbatten, sir. Royal Navy.
                       
Major Cook:  (Pause.)  Yes.  I see.   Correct.  We all have to make sacrifices, I suppose.   You covered everything?
                       
Private Enfield:  Everything you specified, Major.
                       
Major Cook:  Check.  Let’s see.  Size.  Color.  Comfort’s important.
                       
Private Enfield:   The P.M. will be fine.  He’s sure to rally the nation.
                       
Major Cook:   I wish I could see them.
                     
Private Enfield:  They’re boxed.  I didn’t want to unwrap them.
                     
Major Cook:  What style?
                     
Private Enfield:   Not sure, sir.  Probably boxers.
                     
Major Cook:  Right. Well, he can make do.
                     
Private Enfield:   If you say, sir.
                     
Major Cook:   More importantly. The materials?  If you didn’t get it right, the nation -

(Just then the door opens.  Sir Winston Churchill enters, cigar in hand.)
                     
Sir Winston:  You get them?   Important, you know, Major.
                     
Major Cook:  Private Enfield took charge.  I’m confident.
                     
Sir Winston:   (Opens box. Lifts up a pair of silk underwear. Studies them. Holds them next to his body.)
Almost perfect.  Fine silk.  Our boys...all Britain will be grateful. Where you get the silk?
                   
Private Enfield:  R.A.F., Mr. Prime Minister.
                   
Sir Winston:  R.A.F.?
                   
Private Enfield:  Yes, sir.  Leftover parachute.
                   
Sir Winston:   Bloody hell, parachute, you say!  Great silk.  How’d you know?
                   
Private Enfield:   Rumor, sir.  Just rumor. (Pause.) You proposed creating an airborne force in 1917.  Seemed fitting.
                   
Sir Winston:   Don’t like the color.  Thought I -
                   
Major Cook:  No choice, sir. Navy.
                   
Sir Winston:  I specifically told you I - (Pause.) You’re right. We all have to make sacrifices.
                   
Private Enfield:  Price of war, sir.  No pink.
                   
Sir Winston:  You astound me, Private.  Doesn’t go beyond 10 Downing.
                   
Major Cook:  Yes, Mr. Prime Minister. Got that Private Enfield. Not beyond Downing.
                   
Private Enfield:  Yes, sir. My lips are sealed, Major.

(Lights down.  The end.)

                        SCENE II

(Scene two takes place in the same office on 10 Downing Street.  Winston Churchill practices his speech to rally the British nation after Dunkirk.  Major Cook is present as is Private Enfield.)

Sir Winston:  How did it sound?

Major Cook:  Well spoken, Mr. Prime Minister.  Bully! Well spoken.

Private Enfield:  Bully, Mr. Prime Minister.  Inspiring, no doubt!  When you say:

"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender..."

I am especially moved.  You’ll rouse the people, if I may say, sir.

Sir Winston:  Thank you.  Thank you both.  If it wasn’t for your service --

Major Cook:  Duty, sir.  Just our duty.

Sir Winston:  Still, without the comfort of silk, I --

Major Cook:  I suppose we should celebrate.

Sir Winston:  I owe you.

Major Cook:  The nation owes you.

Private Enfield:  I agree with Major Cook, sir.

Major Cook:  I have a thought.  Why not celebrate! I acquired some French  carmel candies.  My gift to you Mr. Prime Minister.

Sir Winston:  I’m at a loss for words, Major.  How did you get them?

Major Cook:   R.A.F., Sir.  Knew some fellows in Hornet Squadron. Served in Normandy.

Sir Winston:  (Pause.) Damn unfortunate men.  Wooden propellers on the planes. Blast! Made the Hun’s work easy.  Far too easy. (Pause) Thank you. (Takes box.)

Major Cook:  Have one in their honor, sir.

Private Enfield:  You have a dinner engagement sir.  Perhaps you should wait.

Major Cook:  Don’t interrupt, Private.  Let the Prime Minister celebrate --

Private Enfield:  It wouldn’t do to spoil his appetite.  After all this is with the Cabinet.

Major Cook:  I don’t see how eating a few -

Sir Winston:  There. There.  Perhaps the Private is right.  He was so helpful with the silk underwear.  (Pause.) Here Private, my gift to you in thanks.

Major Cook:  But...Sir Winston.  They were in honor of Hornet Squadron’s lost men.  You should eat them.

Sir Winston:  I cannot think of how honored they would be than by giving these carmels to an enlisted man...those that deserve our nation’s gratitude.

Private Enfield:  Why thank you, sir.  (Takes the box and opens it.) These look yummie!  Here, Major, have one.  If you hadn’t ordered me to find the silk underwear, Sir Winston wouldn’t be able to address the country.

Major Cook:  I appreciate that Private but I’ll pass.  Diet, you know. Barely fit the uniform.

Private Enfield:  Oh, come on, Major. I insist. One or two won’t hurt.  Besides, you went to all the trouble to get them from Hornet Squadron.

Major Cook: And, I fear I must decline, I’m afraid. (Pause.) My health.

Sir Winston:  Come. Come, Major.  I hear French carmel is the best.  You went to so much trouble getting these.  Have one.

Major Cook:  But, I got them for you and --

Sir Winston:  Now. Now.  I know the sacrifices that you men make.  After all, I served in the Boer War.  You deserve --

Major Cook:  My doctor --

Private Enfield:  Is German. Is he not?

Major Cook:  What!  Bloody hell. What are you implying? You -

Private Enfield:  Your real name is “Koch”.

Major Cook:   (Long pause.)  You know? How?

Private Enfield:  We intercepted a coded message: “Koch’s in the kitchen. Assassination as planned.”  In German, “Koch” translates to “Cook”. Does it not? Raised our suspicions.  A little investigation and --

Major Cook
Bloody.  You’re not an ordinary Private.  I should have guessed.

Private Enfield:  MI5.  Second Lieutenant Enfield, sir.

Major Cook:  I was to kill Sir Winston.  What now?

Sir Winston:  (Draws gun.)  You’re under arrest.  You’ll be in prison for the rest of your life. We’ll defeat Hitler.

Major Cook:  Damn you, Brits.  I think not. Heil, Hitler! (He bites on a pill and dies.  Private Enfield rushes over, kneels by his body and takes his pulse.)

Private Enfield:  Dead sir!  Poison.

Sir Winston:  Damn!  Should have seen that coming.  Now, we can’t interrogate or turn him.

Private Enfield:  He could have eaten the candy, sir. (He takes one and swallows it.)  They’re excellent.

Sir Winston:  What!  You said they were filled with poison.

Private Enfield:  I lied, sir.  These are quite sweet.  He would have enjoyed one.  (Pause.) MI5 replaced his with replicas in case you accidentally decided to eat one. (Pause.)  For your own protection, sir.  And, we didn’t want you to give away the store.

Sir Winston:  Give away the store!  I’ll have you know - (Pause. Chuckles.) Sandhurst, eh?  Absolute scoundrels!

Private Enfield:  Right, sir.  Class of ‘38.  We need you to rally the country, Mr. Prime Minister.

Sir Winston:  (Pause) Right. Right. Bully. I see your point (Pause), Lieutenant.

Private Enfield:   We must fight on sir.

(Lights down. End of play.)

The Owl

Christmas past, we adorn
our tree with lights and bulbs.
Dad tops it with a star.
Last, we hang a branch
with an owl of paper feathers
and sequined eyes.
Grandma Josephine gifted
this rare bird to mom.

I saw it last some years before.
Right eye missing.  Talons
struggling for a hold.
I thought our feathered friend
extinct with family passings.
Last year, my brother hosted
our holiday.  The owl repaired,
wings intact, dear Beija
places it in the tree.

Family (Continued)

Barbo

Jesse, Habitat volunteer, retires.
Clown wannabe.
She calls cousin Barbo
for advice.

"Barbo's a gentle clown!" she says.
White, broad-faced smile.
Surrounded in yellow folds and flowers.
High squeaky voice
delights kids in parades.

Jessie, gentle clown protege,
cultivates wishes and laughter
in impoverished children
in Guatamala and Costa Rica.

Urban Life

Determination

A greyhead shuffles the crosswalk.
His beard, a thin waterfall cascading
from facial crags to beltline.
He moves.  Slides a single foot forward.
Poises carefully before advancing the other.
Unitl he’s parallel and balanced.
His journey an agonizing grind.  
He crosses safely through the lines.

Desperation

Desperate men and women lounge
the park grass on torn cardboard.
Their mattresses the repository of lost dreams.
They wrap themselves in plastic tarp.
Cover in flannel blankets, tight against today.  
More forlorn watch from surrounding banks
and camp medians between sidewalk and street.
Voices rise from the earth like tall weeds.
Whispered secrets spindle skyward,  
seeking some imagined hope.
Wanting. Waiting.  
We also wait with them.

Family (continued)

We travel 99 north.  Crowd into our '51 Pontiac.
Across the Aurora Bridge, we pass the teepees
and Indian elephant.  After Marysville,
mustard fields and orchards unfold.   Our family
heads for Gramdma Josephine and Aunt Mary's
farms.  We'll clamber cliffs to the Cherry Point beach.
Burma Shave signs accompany our trip,
bringing smiles...dissolving tedium.

The whale
Put Jonah
Down the hatch
But coughed him up 
Because he scratched.
Burma Shave

Billboards push the sky away.
Corona, Cingular Cellular and a Schmirinoff
blonde consume the landscape.
Stylish and sexy,
lacking cadence, they carry a different humor.

We admit our company
name sounds like someone 
getting an erection. - Boeing 


I miss the early days.
Lament the missing moments.
I think of family...
those departed.

A nut at the wheel
A each on his right
Acurve in the road
Fruit salad that night.
Burma Shave


Times change.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Dog Blog - Personalities - August 28, 2011

I have six dog clients and each has a unique personality.  I should say that Puget Pets screens to ensure the dogs are fairly well behaved and not biters.  Probably, the last thing anyone wants is to have a supposedly friendly pet take a chunk out of your hand or leg.  (I won't use their real names in this piece.)

Gina is a young mastiff living in a Pioneer Square condo.  She is such a sweet girl.  During the transition from her previous walker to me, I was a little unsure of a dog that size.  She bounded up wanting to be petted,  recognizing we were going for a walk.   It's probably difficult spending most of your day inside a confined space so Gina is happy to get out into the fresh air.

Over the two months of walks, I discovered what a gentle, shy dog she is.  When I enter the condo, she rushes up wagging her tail enthusiastically.   We  stroll the Pioneer Square area which doesn't have much in the way of large parks.  Our routine takes us through plazas and smaller parks where there are planters and grass which she can smell.  Sometimes we come across small dogs who startle her with their shrill and incessant  yaps.  She has found confidence in a Pepe, a tiny Chihuahua, and bends to rub noses with him in City Park.

Dolly, another Pioneer Square inhabitant,  is a Wheaton Terrier.  She can be challenging because she doesn't like to stray far from home.  When she decides she doesn't want to continue, she'll sit or lay down on the pavement, digging her heels in like a spoiled child.  She primarily likes walking with George, a wonderful gentleman Corgi.  Together, they play for hours in bursts of energy.  They wrestle, chase and roll over each other giving friendly nips.

When Dolly spots other dogs being walked, she'll rear up and give her high bark.  She's challenging them or often wants to meet.  George meanwhile remains calm and low key, ignoring her.  He's more interested in the details on the ground....how things smell...what they are and what he can find.  He reminds me a bit of a fastidious butler.   He's organized, smart and keeps things on track...Mr. Reliable.

After the walks in Pioneer Square, I drove to Rainier Valley.  The first dog walked is Bee Bee, a very young Golden Lab.  She's a joy and still a pup, not quite a year old.   She loves to chew, as so many pups do. Initially, she was nervous because I was a stranger.  She'd bark when I entered her family home.

Once on leash, her enthusiasm for a walk rises.  She becomes all about learning.  Obedience commands became essential.  During our walks, we practice "sit", "stay", "down", "come", "heel" and "fetch".  She's also allowed a little off-leash time where she'll chase a tennis ball.  Bee Bee is filledwith energy and I like the sparkle in her eyes when she wants to play keep away.   She's mischievous and, off-leash, doesn't alway follow commands.

Bridin, a Setter-mix, prances through the neighborhood. Her long-hair's well-combed and she's very alert.  She remembers yards where she's rousted a cat and trees where she's spotted a squirrel.  On passing them, she assumes a hunting posture before lurching to chase.

She ignores some fenced dogs that bark as she passes.  She recognizes them as no threat.  If she doesn't know the dog, she'll return growls and jump in the air.  Her curiosity doesn't know bounds.  One oddity occurs when we pass a large statue of a horned-owl that the homeowner placed on the steps leading to a house.  It's eyes are wide and glare.  When Briden saw the bird, she sniffed the air and took a hunting stance.  Stonelike, she must have thought it was unfriendly,  growled and barked .

My final dog, Lucy is a German shephard.  For now, she's on hold and doesn't get walked while her family addresses some personal issues.   Lucy is a powerful, free spirit.  She loves going to the local park which is a few blocks down hill from her house.   There, she runs off-leash playing.   On Lake Washington, she dives into the water, rushing back and forth biting each wave.  You throw rocks into the water and she'll pretend to fetch them, diving headfirst into the surf.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Autumn Years

In late August, cool morning air
surrenders to the returning sun.
An elderly Black man lounges
in his front yard facing an avenue.
He angles back in an old recliner,
tending stacks of  straw sombreros,
fedoras and Stetsons...
his lawn a make-shift salesroom.
Though there are few buyers,
he is a confident entrepreneur.
He retires in the lingering warmth,
his employment assured.

No demands are made of his time
and he accepts no complaints. 

Soon, the leaves will fall
and the rains return.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Dog Blog - August 8, 2011

 It's been two years since I retired from Metro.  In January, Ami, my lovely border collie of 14 years, died when her kidney's failed.  It's been a difficult adjustment  as each day, we'd drive to a nearby park where she'd saunter around occasionally chewing grass but generally just enjoying being outside.  She had favorite walks.   We'd circle or meander Roxburg Bog, Lincoln Park, Spirit Ridge or the Larson Lake Blueberry Field.    Ami and Pepper, my other border collie, who also passed a few years earlier, filled my life with their company. When I drive by these places today, empty space and time exist.

I began walking dogs a month and a half ago as an independent contractor.  I work part-time for Puget Pets, a firm that provides dog walks and pet sitting.   I'd looked for a part-time job for a while.  Initially, I focused on areas of expertise....education, government and community services.  I didn't want to return to participating in meetings, managing programs or completing government reports.  I scoured Craigslist looking primarily at these fields but also at the part-time column.

I digress here.   Shortly after retiring, recurring pains in my chest told me that my angina had likely returned after 15 years.  When Catalina and I married in July 2008 and completed our honeymoon, I revisited my condition with my doctors.  After EKGs and CatScans, the cardiologist determined they could not treat my condition surgically.  That my best efforts should be put toward a regime of exercise, dieting and specialized meds. I was overweight and my blood pressure was also too high.  I suffered from stress and some depression.  They also entered me in a program for patients with complex medical issues.


Digression over, I believe in confluence.  By that I mean,  ideas or opportunities sometimes present themselves simultaneously and when recognized they can be combined to help you move forward.  I noticed several job postings for "Dog Walkers" and I was aware that dogs (or animals) have a positive effect on mental and physical health.  I had own dogs for years and, at times, bred and trained them.

This seemed like a potential solution.  I would exercise, be close to dogs and, oddly, make some pocket change.  Since the work would be part-time, I could spend mornings writing my plays and poetry, cleaning house or gardening.  Evenings could be devoted to cooking, taking courses, participating or with Catalina.  Walking dogs opened multiple opportunities for healing.




Thursday, July 14, 2011

Side Streets

I’ve come to admire side streets.
They dissect neighborhoods
filled with dogs rambling fences
and cats napping window sills.
I’ve come to admire side streets
where urban farmers grow
P-patch gardens with vegetables 
and flowers as odes to self-sufficiency.
Some residents have more recently taken to raising
chickens, ducks and honeybees.

Side streets teem with life
different from bustling arterials
and concrete freeways. 
On those, people skitter to work
or shop their hurried lives,
rarely slowing except for coffee,
fast food or congestion.

I admire side streets where
residents rock in porch chairs,
lean fences in hiatus conversations
and young mothers wheelbarrow
infants in tripod strollers.
Here the labyrinth sounds of lawnmowers, 
children and wind rustle through trees.
Here fathers labor over home-remodel
projects, wrestle with car engines or
shoot hoops with sons and daughters. 
There is a tortoise pace of smiles
and acknowledgements…friendly
waves when passing by and a hope
that you may meet again.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Urban Life (continued)

Egress

I brake at an urban corner.
A disheveled veteran hoists cardboard.
“Veteran.  Need help!”

Further along my journey,
another indigent elevates truth.
“Hard times.  Need a beer!”

At a freeway exit, I slow
for an intersection ahead.
A twenties girl in khakis
approaches our anxious car line.
“Anything helps!” her sign.

I consider my ashtray,
full with parking quarters.
My wallet lumps in my back pocket.
I hold my breathe.
Wish the light would turn.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Urban Life (continued)

Prevailing

His arms windmill,
whip the air with street news.
Truth emerges in every rotation.
His hands full sails of hope,
as he hails every person gusting past.

“Real Change!  Real Change!”

The wind swirls.
Its currents waft each passer-by.
He tilts against its force.
Stands his corner flailing papers.
Few stop to listen.
Yet, his spirit presses on.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Runaway

Wearing a sopping sweatshirt,
a teen traverses the transit platform. 
His face a hungery landscape,
hoping for a handout.

A wet chick dropped from the nest
into humanity's downpour,
two fingers extend, begging
a quenching of morning need.

Men and women rush past,
hands full with fresh coffee and pastries.
He climbs the street to a Chinatown
Park.  Sits and shivers the bench alone.

I continue to my appointment.
Wonder why he doesn’t return home.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Nature (continued)

Grasscutter

He mows the hillside,
Left to right.  Right to left.
Switchbacks the overgown terrace.
Familiar terrain, the grasscutter
maneuvers caressing
the seductive landscape…
the ridges and hollows
until reaching the edges.
Unfamiliar borders require patience
and he is more careful trimming.
Reaching the bottom, he looks back,
satisfied at his maintained earth.
Understanding the topography
eases life.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Nature (continued)

Mom and Dad's Fault

Sister Irma's boney finger pierces my chest.
Returning to my second grade classroom following recess,
I flash someone "the bird."
Second grader, I'd seen older boys use the sign.
I ask Joe, a schoolmate, what it meant.

At 51, I dribble up-court.
Sister Irma's finger stabs me again.
"I probably ate too quickly.  It's heartburn."
Game over, I head home.
Pop a half-dozen Rolaids.  Relax in bed.
"It'll be gone in the morning."

No such luck.
Days later, cardiologist hover over me.
Announce I need a quadruple bypass.
"But, I don't smoke, eat badly and I work out regularly."

"Genetics."

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Nature (continued)

Apple trees blossom in yard,
September sun will yield fruit.
I shall harvest its riches.
Years pass, deeper grow my roots.

Monday, June 27, 2011

On Station - 1967-68

I lay on my couch
beneath a picture window.
Spend hours scanning Perseid showers
dissecting an August night.

In the South Pacific years earlier,
I witnessed Soviet missiles
knife earth's atmosphere.
Perilous bursts in air.
A thousand cuts in the evening sky.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Nature (continued)

Flocks of geese flew overhead.
Their formation swiftly sped.
Honking loud supportive calls,
Leaders changed.  Flapping wings raised all.

Nature (continued)

Internetted

we surf rectangles
of flawless smiles, hair and skin.
search click-on pics,
seek perfection and proclivities,
eliminate toads and fairy princesses...
discover each other

initial impressions important:
what do we share?  fun, favorite things,
politics...religion.
advanced signs:  libra, acquarius
eastern influences:  horse, ram, monkey

was love in our stars?

honesty and truth from inception.
modesty best!
exchange grettings and meet,
findng a partner and soul mate
seems simple
exciting!

sadder, maybe wiser,
I view your new profile
as you did mine.
we search again

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Nature (continued)




Fireweed Season, WestCrest

Fireweed now rusted,
We ramble past the colored foliage.
Ami and Pepper rush ahead,
kicking dust, sniffing all.

On top branch of a Sumac,
a solitary Ana stands guard.
No sense of passing season.
Others have fled to light,
warmth and greater forage.

My dogs and I remain.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Neighborhood (Continued)

Quiet Day

Warm weather drew me
to my morning's half-mowed lawn.
I brought a novel to read
as I considered yesterday's unfinished chore.
I'd tired after a few minutes
pushing and pulling the cutter
over mole-mounds rutting the uneven earth
and up the bank.

I sat on the wooden sun-warm steps
by the Ceanothus and watched bees
flit the flower blooms.  Nils restocked
his hive and its workers buzz
in and out of this small office tower.
A neighbor squirrel scurries the Japanese maple
scolded by two Stellar Jays.
Ladybugs surf the herb boxes
on leaves of garlic, cilantro and thyme.
Slug trails evaporate near the rocks
beyond the bitten hostas.

Catalina hung wind-chimes above the porch,
silent in this quiet day.
I open my book to another chapter.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

THE FAYTS (Filipino American Young Turks)

AUTHORS NOTE:  THE KICKOFF SCENE IS DRAWN FROM MY PLAY-IN-PROGRESS TITLED "THE FAYTS".  IN IT, BEN ADAMA, THE PROTAGONIST,  GIVES HIS KICKOFF SPEECH AND REVEALS HIS CHARACTER TRAITS.    HE SHOWS HIS MASK, DESIRES, FEARS AND STRENGTHS.   THE SCENE BEGINS WITH JOHN, HIS CAMPAIGN MANAGER, INTRODUCING HIM.  MARA IS A CONSULTANT SENT TO HELP HIM RAISE MONEY AND ORGANIZE.

                                                              SCENE _____
                                                            THE KICKOFF

(A CROWD OF SUPPORTERS HAS GATHERED AT CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS.  CHEERFUL MUSIC PLAYS LOUDLY IN THE BACKGROUND.  IT IS LOWERED WHEN JOHN AND BEN SPEAK.    BEN GREETS PEOPLE.  HE AND JOHN ARE DRESSED IN SPORTCOATS.  MARA DRESSES SEXILY IN A SHORT, RED DRESS AND HIGH HEELS. SHE WEARS A PEARL NECKLACE.)

THE CROWD DRESSES CASUALLY. A SMALL TABLE WITH WINE AND CHEESE IS AVAILABLE.  PEOPLE STAND AROUND EATING AND DRINKING.   THERE ARE A FEW MEMBERS OF THE PRESS.  POLITICAL SIGNS DOT THE WALLS.  A WELCOME AND SIGN-IN TABLE AROUND WHICH A SMALL LINE HAS FORMED IS AT THE DOORWAY. THE TABLE IS STAFFED BY A FEW SUPPORTERS. AVA IS NOT PRESENT.  MUSIC LOWERS.)

                            JOHN

WELCOME TO THE KICKOFF FOR OUR FRIEND BEN ADAMA WHO'S RUNNING FOR STATE SENATE.   YOU'VE KNOWN BEN AS A FRIEND, A NEIGHBOR…A TIRELESS WORKER IN OUR COMMUNITY WITH AN ESTABLISHED RECORD FOR SUPPORTING EQUALITY, HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT.

BEN'S ONE OF US.  HE BRINGS A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE DEVELOPING PROGRAMS.   HE'S DECIDED TO RUN FOR OFFICE.   WHEN HE WINS, HE'LL BE THE FIRST FILIPINO TO ACHIEVE THIS IN THE STATE.

(APPLAUSE AND NOISE FROM THE AUDIENCE.)

BEN WILL TELL US WHY HE'S RUNNING AND THEN TAKE QUESTIONS.    I GIVE YOU THE NEXT SENATOR FROM THIS DISTRICT….BEN ADAMA!

(MORE APPLAUSE, HOOTING.  SOME NOISEMAKERS.)

                           BEN 

THANKS, JOHN!   THANKS EVERYONE FOR COMING OUT.   SOMEONE ASKED ME WHY I WAS RUNNING.   (PAUSE)  THAT'S EASY…TO WIN!  (APPLAUSE.) 

SERIOUSLY, I'M RUNNING BECAUSE I CAN IMPROVE YOUR LIVES. I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO GROW UP WITHOUT HAVING OPPORTUNITIES.

I  GREW UP IN CHINATOWN.  MY FATEHR WAS POOR. MY MOTHER LEFT. WE LIVED IN A ONE-BEDROOM APARTMENT FILLED WITH COCKROACHES. DAD SLEPT IN BED AND I SLEPT ON THE FLOOR. THE COCKROACHES NEVER SLEPT.

I HAD TO GUIDE MY FATHER,  MAX  AROUND THE CITY. HE'D GONE BLIND WHILE BOXING. HE WAS ALL BUT FORGOTTEN EXCEPT FOR A FEW FRIENDS.

ONE DAY, I TOOK HIM TO HIS FAVORITE POOL-HALL.  DAD OVERHEARD A GUY BULLYING HIS FRIENDS.  HE SAID, "BEN, TAKE ME OVER AND STAND ME IN FRONT OF THE GUY.   I HELPED HIM OVER.  

HE ASKED THE GUY, “WHY DON' YOU PICK ON SOMEONE WHO ISN'T AFRAID OF YOU?”

THE GUY RESPONDED, “WHO'S THAT?  YOU?  YOU OLD BLIND MAN!”  JUST AS HE FINISHED, DAD HIT HIM  WITH AN UPPER CUT.  COLDCOCKED HIM.  DAD TURNED TO ME AND SAID, “BEN, WE GOT TO GET OUTTA HERE.  RUN.” WE RAN…DAD TAPPING WITH HIS CANE. TAP, TAP, TAP… ME, SCARED SHITLESS.  

A COP YELLED:  “MAX, STOP.  THERE'S BEEN SOME TROUBLE AT THE POOL-HALL.  SEE ANYTHING?  WHAT'S UP?”

DAD RESPONDED, “ME NO SEE NOTHIN'!”   HE LET US GO.  HE KNEW MY FATHER. I LEARNED: WE GET PLACES IN LIFE BECAUSE OF WHO WE KNOW."  
    
(LAUGHTER FROM THE CROWD AND LOTS OF APPLAUSE.)

THIS STORY REMINDS ME OF MY ROOTS AND WHAT SO MANY  FILIPINOS EXPERIENCED.   DAD WAS A FIGHTER.  WHEN HIS DAYS IN THE RING ENDED, HE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING.

HE WAS POOR...ABANDONED...UNRECOGNIZED.  I DETERMINED THAT I WOULDN'T BE FORGOTTEN.  THAT WOULD NOT HAPPEN TO ME.  I WOULD MAKE MY MARK.

I WANTED TO MAKE DAD PROUD.  SHOW HIM I'M A FIGHTER TOO...SHOW HIM THAT FILIPINOS COULD CONTRIBUTE AND ACHIEVE IN AMERICA...AND PROVE TO HIM I  COULD WIN.

I HAD FRIENDS GOING TO A CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL.  I THOUGHT THIS MIGHT BE A WAY OUT.  I DIDN'T HAVE MONEY FOR TUITION.  I GOT A JOB IN A RESTAURANT AFTER SCHOOL.  SUMMERS, I WORKED IN A GAS STATION.  I EARNED MONEY AND PAID TUITION.   I GOT INTO THE SCHOOL AND GRADUATED.

I JOINED THE MARINES AFTER AND SERVED.  WITH THE G.I. BILL, I COMPLETED COMMUNITY COLLEGE.  I MET MY WIFE AND STARTED A FAMILY.  SHE'S HOME WATCHING THE KIDS SO I COULD BE HERE.

I CAME BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY... OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.  I IMPROVED YOUR HOUSING.  BUILT A FOOD BANK.  ORGANIZED A TUTORING SERVICE FOR YOUR SCHOOLS.  I BELIEVE IN GIVING BACK...IN GIVING YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN OPPORTUNITIES THAT WEREN'T AVAILABLE TO ME.  I WANT YOU TO HAVE A CHANCE TO IMPROVE YOUR LIVES THE WAY I IMPROVED MINE.

I'M RUNNING BECAUSE I'LL DO THE JOB IN THE STATE FOR YOU.  I'LL GET YOU WHAT YOU DESERVE.  DAT THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO EARN RESPECT AND BECOME PART OF AMERICA.  WE ALL DESERVE THAT.  I'LL MAKE HIM PROUD.  I'LL MAKE YOU PROUD.  WE CAN BE PART OF AMERICA.

YOU KNOW ME AND YOU CAN TRUST MY WORD!

(PAUSE.  HUGE APPLAUSE AND CHANTS: "BEN! BEN!)


I'VE KNOWN POVERTY AND ROSE ABOVE IT.  IF I CAN DO IT, YOU CAN TOO.  IN THE MARINES, WORKING TOGETHER MADE US STRONGER.  EVERYONE WAS IMPORTANT.  NO ONE WAS LEFT BEHIND.  WORKING TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.

I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!  I'M NOT PART OF THE POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENT LIKE MY OPPONENT, RUBY REILLY.  WE ARE NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS.  DAD TAUGHT ME TO BELIEVE AND TRUST IN FRIENDS...THE PEOPLE WHO STAND WITH YOU AND GET YOU THROUGH TOUGH TIMES.

HE TAUGHT ME A FEW OTHER THINGS. (PAUSE.)  FIRST, YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOUR GUT, NO MATTER HOW GOOD SOMETHING SOUNDS.  THE SECOND IS THAT YOU'RE BETTER OFF STICKING WITH WHAT AND WHO YOU KNOW.

I TRY TO LEARN FROM THE PAST, BUT PLAN FOR THE FUTURE BY FOCUSING ON THE PRESENT.

WHAT SEPARATES WINNERS FROM LOSERS IS HOW A PERSON REACTS.  WHEN SOMEBODY CHALLENGES YOU, FIGHT BACK.  WE CAN WIN TOGETHER. LET NO ONE FORGET US.

YOU ASK:  WHY AM I RUNNING?  I'M RUNNING BECAUSE I'M YOU.  WE OWE OURSELVES A BETTER LIFE.  WE GREW UP TOGETHER.  WE WALK THESE STREETS TOGETHER.  I RUN TO REPRESENT YOUR HUNGER AND YOUR HOPES.

I'LL FIGHT FOR YOU....FOR YOUR DREAMS.  I'LL MAKE GOVERNMENT LISTEN.  I'LL TAKE MY LIFE LESSONS AND EXPERIENCES TO THE STATE.  YOU WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.

(CROWD CHEERS MORE LOUDLY.)


I BELIEVE IN YOU.  JOIN ME IN MY CAMPAIGN.  I ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT.  BELIEVE IN ME.

YOU KNOW ME AND YOU CAN TRUST MY WORD!

THANK YOU.

                        AUDIENCE

(WILD APPLAUSE. SHOUTS OF MABUHAY, ADAMA!  VIVA, ADAMA! MABUHAY, ADAMA!   OTHERS CHANT:   MALAWAK!    BEN!  BEN! BEN!)

                         

Family (Continued)


Ami Leaves
(1997-2011)

I do not want this night to end.
But through the window, my awakened eyes
See the morning sky begin to lighten.
In the still dark, the acrid smell of death
crosses my bedroon.  Ami rasps.
Her breathe uneven.
I listen as she licks her lips
to quench her progressing disease.
Morning arrives as she slips slowly away.
I carry her to the car a final time.
We drive round Westcrest, Roxburg Bog
and Lincoln Park…her cherished walks.
I sip coffee from my border collie cup.
Recall our thirteen years.
A rescue dog.  A rescued heart.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Neighborhood (Continued)

Weight Room Rituals

Saturday morning at the Y,
we're pre-coffee champions.
We treadmill imagined marathons.
Cross-country elliptical escapes.
We buff muscles on free weights.
Lift isometric pulleys and plates.
More simple spirits stretch
and pretzel in yoga and pilates.
Workouts complete,
it's donut aerobics
at the Original Bakery.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Family (Continued)

Chickens

Growing up on 16th Avenue, mom raised chickens in our backyard.  Our house was  a block from Providence Hospital near the current entrance to their parking garage.  She acquired a small flock of chickens, roughly 15 to 20 hens and a rooster, that inhabited a broke-down trailer, dad purchased and she coverted into a coop. Her intent was to have fresh eggs and to provide the family with roast, fried or adobo chicken when the occasion demanded.

Louise, grew up in Ferndale, Washington, midway between Bellingham and Vancouver, B.C.   She was the third daughter of Herman and Josephine Smith.  They had one son, Tom and four daughters, Margaret (Toots), Mary, mom and Jean. 

Herman met and married Josephine Gegg in St. Louis in the late 1800s.  She worked in a rooming house in St. Louis.  She’d grown up in Weingarten, Missouri near St. Genevieve on the banks of the Mississippi.  Weingarten housed a large German community that immigrate around the 1830’s. They’d come from Baden Baden and Offenburg and upriver via New Orleans to settle and farm. 

St. Genevieve, the first French settlement on the west bank of the river, provide great farmland surrounding it.  A Catholic enclave, these German Catholics found comfort in the religion and familiarity of living adjacent to the French.  Leaving an area near Strassburg, they came attracted to the principles of  liberty and equality espoused by America.

At the turn of the century, Grandpa Herman convinced Josephine to move west.   The family landed first in Joseph, Oregon, a pimary terminus on the Oregon Trail.  They came by train.   They continued on  to Portland before he moved further north to labor in the Aberdeen shipyards.  Grandma Josephine and the growing family followed.  I’d heard he’d also worked in Alaska during this time, likely in the fishing industry as he pursued his American dream. 

Grandpa moved the family to Bellingham where he entered the construction industry.  He built homes and even worked on the historic Roder House.  Several small houses remain as testament to his craftsmanship. Unsatisfied with U.S policy and fearing a war, he splurged and purchased a 15 acre dairy farm in Ferndale around 1900 on the Mt. Vernon Road near Cherry Point.   He thought this would be a way to feed his growing family.  Once again the family moved  to pioneer a new land.

Grandp Herman wasn’t the easiest.   English and Irish descent, his reed-thin build matched his miniscule temper and tolerance.  He was the definitive “spare the rod, spoil the child guy”.  The farm needed many boulders removed. Without money or workmen, the girls absorbed this main role.  Needing to blow the rocks and level the land, he ordered mom to bring home a case of dynamite after school on the school-bus.  Obediently, she did under “or else” directions.  The daughters gathered the stone fragments and cleared the land for pasture, replacing the workhorses he lacked.

Grandma oversaw the house, the cooking, cleaning, chickens and ducks.  She also helped in the pasture and feeding the cows.  A large chicken coop was built along with a machine shop and a tool shed. 

On the farm,  mom quickly absorbed the lessons in the care, feeding and dispatching of chickens.  This knowledge carried to with her to Seattle, as they roamed free in our backyard until she wanted one for the pot.  She’d cuddle it before snapping or axing its neck then de-feathering it for our meal of fried chicken or sinygon. She had her favorites and, I believe, each was difficult to kill.  In her final years in Rainier Valley, a neighbor's pet rooster  climbed the fence to roam her backyard.   Mom sat in her wheelchair whispering and cuddling that rooster like a baby.  She feed it grain and talk with it as it it were a long lost child.  When she moved into her adult family apartment, she’d ask about “her rooster”
always hoping for one more touch.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Neighborhood (Continued)


Cart Wheels

Elbows straddle shopping cart.
I arch forward, threading aisle 
of my local QFC.
 Bent knees contort in half-prayer,
I carefully avoid on-coming shoppers.

From my corner eye,
I scan my paper scrap 
scrupulously laid in the corner tray...
my list of “must-halves”
and “forget-it-not
or thy kingdom come.”

I ponder.  Make mental notes.
What did I miss?
Where doooo…they stock
the jars or dried tomatoes?
What the hell are “whole walnuts?”
Are those “with or without a shell?
When is a walnut whole?
Damn!  Overlooked the half ‘n half, 
I backtrack to the Dairy Section.

At checkout,
The clerk asks:
Did you find everything?

“Of course.  No problem!”

Saturday, June 4, 2011

For a Friend

La Querencia

Find peace and hope in La Querencia,
place of your heart's desire,
far from your troubled everyday
and the gobbely-goop" of shallow words
with little meaning.

Find peace and hope
in sunrises, walks, tea with friends,
your bouquets and tranquil music
and unselfish warmth
that brought joy to many.

I'm sorry that you left so young.
I know you reside in your Querencia
where there is comfort
in your ring of hope and peace.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Neighborhood (Continued)

Sign Language

In Second Grade at Immaculate Conception, the good Sisters of Holy Names didn’t just enforce good writing and reading standards.  They guarded our morals with great watchfulness and certainty.   It after one recess that I learned how intent some were that no devilish behavior would creep into our lives.

A usual, the entire class of twenty-five, uniformly dressed  children were let out on the asphalt courts behind the three story building.   The girls were properly attired in blue skirts with blue sweaters.   Boys wore salt-n-pepper cords with a blue sweater over a white collared shirt.  

Recesses lasted about 20 minutes before we were called to line by a Sister Irma ringing a frantic bell.  We formed two lines…boys on one side and girls the other before climbing stairs to resume our catechism, arithmetic, reading or writing classes.  It was on on fatal day that I learned sign language.

Now, I tell you that Sister Irma was fearsome.  Tall and boney, she’d arch over you in her black and white habit.  With penetrating eyes, she’d scold about your mistakes, driving fear deep into your soul.

I climb the stairs returning to class when I whispered to Joe Caasi, my neighbor friend.,  “You see what those boys were doing?   I was referring to some eight graders who'd also been playing on the school grounds.

He should his head quietly.  “What?  Show me.”

I raised my right hand and motioned by lifting my middle finger toward the heavens. This. What's it mean?”

The Wrath of God descended quickly.   Sister Irma’s voice pierced air, “Everyone into the classroom.. Take your seats.  Bobby Flor, wait here.”  I cowered in the hallway as she approached.  Standing over me, she began to poke her long index finger through my chest while she chanted over and over a mantra, “Bobby Flor, I never want to see you doing that again.”

Friday, May 27, 2011

Tanagas

Passage
Wisteria weeps walkway.

I immerse in its perfume,

fragrance of my loneliness.
There was little left to say.



Life Epilobium

Fireweed souls spindle skyward.
Brilliance faded, glory gone.
Once aflame, now dull swords.
Come springtime, they’ll blaze again.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Nature

Outcast Star Escapes Galaxy

No longer gravity-gripped,
you escape,

fleeing the sucking black-hole

and our Cepheid duet. 

We waltzed the universe,

circling and twirling in deluded dance, 

oblivious to time,
ignoring our impending doom. 

I have disappeared,
 light extinguished.

While you, you move 

beyond the Milky Way and reach,
whirling on your outcast orbit

to who knows what.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Teachers

                                                  THE TEACHERS


                                                     CHARACTERS

CHRISTINE AZUL   -   22 YEAR OLD STUDENT TEACHER

EVE FAIR                   -   54 YEAR OLD, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER

SUSAN SHARPE       -  FEMALE VOICE ONLY



                                                                 ACT I

(THE SCENE TAKES PLACE IN A 5TH GRADE CLASS ROOM.  IT'S EARLY MORNING BEFORE THE CHILDREN HAVE ARRIVED.   CHRIS AZUL, A YOUNG 22 YEAR OLD WOMAN, IS BUSILY WRITING ON THE CHALKBOARD.  SHE IS AN INTERNING STUDENT TEACHER IN THE FINAL YEAR OF HER STUDIES.  SHE IS ASSIGNED TO EVE FAIR, AN EXPERIENCED 54 YEAR OLD, TEACHER.  BOTH DRESS PROFESSIONALLY.  EVE WEARS A BUSINESS SUIT.  CHRIS A SWEATER, BLOUSE AND PRESSED SKIRT. EVE ENTERS FROM THE RIGHT.  CHRIS WRITES ON THE CHALKBOARD.)

                              EVE   
GOOD MORNING, CHRIS!   MY, YOU'RE EARLY.

                             CHRIS  
GOOD MORNING, EVE!  I THOUGHT I'D COME IN AND PUT TODAY'S WRITING EXERCISE ON THE BOARD.   IT'S THE FIRST LESSON TODAY.

                              EVE
THAT'S AMBITIOUS AND SHOWS GOOD ORGANIZATION.  I'M PLEASED.

                             CHRIS
I'M EXCITED ABOUT BECOMING A TEACHER.   I'VE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM WATCHING YOU THESE PAST THREE WEEKS.
   
                              EVE
THE COLLEGE HAS DONE A GOOD JOB IN PREPARING YOU.  YOU'LL BE A SUCCESS.

                             CHRIS
WHY, THANKS, EVE.   I AM THRILLED.   NEXT YEAR, I'LL GRADUATE; BE CERTIFIED AND BEGIN MY CAREER.

                             EVE
LET’S LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE WRITTEN ON THE BOARD.  IS THIS THE LANGUAGE LESSON?

                             CHRIS
YES.  I'LL BE TEACHING THEM VERB TENSES… MAKING SURE THEIR SENTENCES HAVE NOUNS AND VERBS THAT MATCH.   I’VE INCLUDED A BRIEF WRITING EXERCISE TO SEE IF THEY CAN WRITE A SMALL PARAGRAPH. 

                             EVE    
(WALKS OVER AND SCANS THE LESSON.)

                             CHRIS    
I'D APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND THOUGHTS.

                             EVE
THE EXERCISE LOOKS GREAT.   IT'LL CHALLENGE THESE STUDENTS.   BUT, THERE IS ONE THING –

                             CHRIS
YES?

                            
                              EVE
YOU WASTED BOARD SPACE.   YOU BEGAN THE SENTENCE EXERCISE A FOOT FROM THE END OF THE BOARD.   I NOTICED THIS LAST WEEK.  IT’S A BAD HABIT.

                              CHRIS
I'VE ALMOST COMPLETED THE ENTIRE EXERCISE.   I DON'T SEE HOW STARTING A FOOT FROM THE END OF THE BOARD WOULD MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE.

                              EVE  
YOUNG TEACHERS FREQUENTLY MISS THESE THINGS.   IT SETS A BAD EXAMPLE.

                              CHRIS
STARTING A FOOT FROM THE END OF THE BOARD SETS A BAD EXAMPLE? I DON’T UNDERSTAND.

                              EVE
UNFORTUNATELY, YES.   WHEN CHILDREN WRITE, THEY MIMIC WHAT YOU DO.  THE RESULT, THEY WASTE PAPER BY INDENTING TOO FAR.

                              CHRIS
I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN.  I’LL JUST TELL THEM NOT TO LEAVE TOO MUCH MARGIN.   

                               EVE
THAT COULD HELP, BUT YOU REALLY SHOULD ERASE YOUR WORK AND BEGIN OVER.  THERE'S PLENTY OF TIME.   THE CHILDREN WON'T BE ARRIVING FOR ANOTHER 30 MINUTES.

                              CHRIS
YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT’LL MAKE A DIFFERENCE?


                              EVE   
BELIEVE ME.  I'VE BEEN A TEACHER A LONG TIME.  I KNOW HOW CHILDREN LEARN.

                              CHRIS
ANYTHING ELSE?

                               EVE 
I NEED TO DISCUSS DISCIPLINE WITH YOU.  THIS IS SOMETHING THAT CAN'T BE LEARNED IN COLLEGE.

                              CHRIS 
I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.

                               EVE
THE FIRST THING IS TO ESTABLISH GOOD RAPPORT.  LET THEM KNOW YOU'RE IN A GOOD MOOD, EVEN THOUGH YOU MIGHT NOT BE.   I LIKE TO START WITH A WELCOME EACH MORNING.  LIKE THIS:  (IN A HIGH LILTING VOICE.)  “GOOD MORNING, BOYS AND GIRLS!”   NOW, YOU TRY.

                              CHRIS
OKAY.  (IN A LOWER VOICE.)  “GOOD MORNING, BOYS AND GIRLS.”

                               EVE
NOT BAD.  TRY TO BE A LITTLE CHEERIER.  LOOK OUT OVER THE CLASSROOM.  ONCE MORE.

                              CHRIS
(LIFTS VOICE.)  “GOOD MORNING, BOYS AND GIRLS!”

                               EVE
GREAT! MUCH, MUCH BETTER.  YOU'LL GET THE HANG OF IT WITH PRACTICE.

                              CHRIS
I'LL KEEP THAT IN MIND.  I NOTICED SOME GIRLS TALKING DURING MY LESSON LAST WEEK.

                               EVE
I NOTICED THEM TOO.  A CLIQUE HAS FORMED.  YOU’LL HAVE TO TAKE CHARGE.

                              CHRIS
WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST?


                               EVE
IF IT WAS JUST ONE CHILD, I’D ASK THEM TO QUIET DOWN.  IF THEY DIDN'T,  I’D MAKE THEM SIT IN “MR. TIMEOUT” FOR 30 MINUTES.  (POINTS TO A CHAIR IN THE CORNER THAT FACES THE WALL.)  IF THEY WERE REALLY UNRULLY,  I’D TAKE THEM OUT IN THE HALL FOR A TALK OR SEND THEM TO THE PRINCIPAL.  THIS IS A JUDGMENT CALL.  YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THIS TOO OFTEN BECAUSE IT’D LOOK LIKE YOU CAN'T CONTROL THE CLASS.

                               CHRIS
BUT, THIS GROUP AFFECTED THE REST OF THE CLASS.

                               EVE
YES.  THEIR TALKING INCREASED AND IT SPREAD.  THERE WAS MORE WHISPERING AND ONLY A FEW PAID ATTENTION.   I HAVE A TECHNIQUE.

                              CHRIS
A TECHNIQUE?
                
                              EVE
IT'S CLASSIC.  I HAD TO LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE.  YOU STOP TEACHING…GO COMPLETELY SILENT AND WAIT.  DON'T SAY A WORD.  JUST LOOK OUT OVER THE CLASS.  A PIERCING LOOK HELPS.

                             CHRIS
WHAT HAPPENS?

                             EVE
IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG.  THE CLASS NOTICES THAT NOTHING IS GOING ON…THAT YOU HAVE STOPPED.  THEY QUIET WHEN THEY REALIZE THAT YOU ARE WATCHING AND WAITING.  SILENCE IS VERY POWERFUL.

                             CHRIS
I'LL HAVE TO TRY IT.

                             EVE
NOT ONLY IS IT POWERFUL; IT SAVES YOUR VOICE.
 
                             CHRIS
WHAT ABOUT THOSE GIRLS?   WHAT IF THEY DON'T STOP?

                            EVE
THERE ARE OTHER THINGS. GET TO KNOW THEIR PARENTS DURING THE YEAR.   I HOLD PARENT CONFERENCES… ESTABLISH FACE-TO-FACE RELATIONSHIPS.  LET THEM KNOW I MEAN BUSINESS AND THIS IS A LEARNING PARTNERSHIP.  I EXPECT THEIR HELP.
                           CHRIS 
YOU VISIT THEIR HOMES?

                            EVE
I HAVE JUST SO MUCH TIME.  I USUALLY DON'T THINK OF ASIANS AS PROBLEMS.  I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF THESE GIRLS.

                           CHRIS
I'VE HEARD THAT HMONG AND VIETNAMESE STUDENTS PREFER LEARNING IN GROUPS.   MAYBE, THEY FIND IT DIFFICULT TO RESIST HELPING EACH OTHER.  WE COULD FIND OUT WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT.

                            EVE
LIKE I SAID…JUST SO MUCH TIME.

                           CHRIS
I’D LIKE YOUR THOUGHTS ON INCLUDING CULTURALLY SENSITIVE MATERIALS.  YOU KNOW… THINGS THAT MIGHT INTEREST STUDENTS.

                            EVE
WELL, I TRIED THAT WITH THE BLACK STUDENTS.  I SUFFERED THROUGH THOSE “SENSITIVITY CLASSES” IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.   I THOUGHT IT MIGHT DO SOME GOOD BUT IT DIDN'T.  I TRIED.  THE STUDENTS ASKED QUESTIONS THAT CHALLENGED MY AUTHORITY.  THEY ALREADY KNEW THE ANSWERS.  TOO “P.C.”...A WASTE OF TIME IF YOU ASK ME.

                           CHRIS
WHAT HAPPENED?

                            EVE
I'D ANSWER AND THEY’D JUST LAUGH.  IT WAS FRUSTRATING.

                           CHRIS
MUST HAVE BEEN UPSETTING.

                           EVE
I PLAYED ALONG.  THEY WEREN'T INTERESTED IN LEARNING.  I EXPECT THEM TO LISTEN WHEN I SPEAK.    I USED LOTS OF HANDS ON REAL-LIFE STUFF.  I INVITED SPEAKERS.  IT'S HARD TO HAVE PEOPLE IN YOUR ROOM WHEN THE KIDS DON'T SHOW RESPECT.

                          CHRIS
YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY EXPECTATIONS?


                           EVE
INITIALLY, BUT IT GOT A BIT WEARING.   I BEGAN TO FOCUS ON THE STUDENTS THAT WANTED TO LEARN.  YOU DO THE BEST YOU CAN.

                          CHRIS
THANKS YOUR IDEAS.  WHAT ABOUT THE BOY IN THE BACK?

                           EVE
MIGUEL.

                          CHRIS
YES THE LATINO BOY.  HE LOOKS SULLEN AND LOST.

                            EVE
HE’S FROM A BAD PART OF MEXICO, AND IS DISRESPECTFUL. ONCE, HE PRETENDED TO READ SOMETHING.  I ASKED HIM TO TELL ME WHAT IT WAS ABOUT.  HE SAID ANGRILY… "YOU READ".  THERE ARE SOME CHILDREN YOU IGNORE.  THEY CAN'T BE HELPED.  HE'S ONE.

                            CHRIS
THAT SEEMS HARSH.

                            EVE
IT'S NOT.  WE GET KIDS WHO ARE DIFFICULT.  HIS PARENTS PROBABLY DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH AND DON'T CARE. THEY’RE PROBABLY ILLEGALS.  HIS LANGUAGE SKILLS AREN'T GOOD.   I TRIED TALKING TO HIM.  HE CALLED ME SOMETHING LIKE “ASSHOLE.”
 
                           CHRIS
I HEAR A LOT OF ASSUMPTIONS.  MAYBE, HE SAID “ANTEOJOS”…HIS EYEGLASSES.

                             EVE
WHO CAN SAY?  IT'S NOT MY FAULT.  HE'S TROUBLE TO BE AVOIDED.   I GAVE UP ASSIGNING HIM ANY HOMEWORK.  HE WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING.  I HEARD THE TEACHERS AT HIS LAST SCHOOL DIDN'T ASK ANYTHING OF HIM.  WHY SHOULD I?

                            CHRIS
HE COULD BE TRYING TO NEGOTIATE ON HOW MUCH WORK HE’LL HAVE TO DO. YOU SHOULD TELL HIM WE HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS OF HIM. END OF TRANSACTION.  IT’S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SEE THAT EVERY CHILD RECEIVES THE BEST EDUCATION WE CAN PROVIDE.  


              
                            EVE
YOUR IDEALISM TALKING, DEAR.  IT ISN'T REALITY.  I'M NOT AN ESL TEACHER. ENGLISH SHOULD BE SPOKEN BEFORE THEY’RE ALLOWED IN THE CLASSROOM.

                           CHRIS
BUT –

                            EVE
NOW LISTEN.  WE HAVE LIMITED HOURS AND RESOURCES.   WE CAN SPEND MOST OF OUR TIME ON KIDS WHO ARE ABLE TO LEARN OR WE CAN WASTE OUR TIME ON A FEW PROBLEMS.  IT’S MORE PRODUCTIVE TO WORK WITH THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED.  THE OTHERS CAN FEND FOR THEMSELVES.  IT'S A DIFFICULT CHOICE.

                            CHRIS
THAT DOESN’T SEEM FAIR.  THERE MUST BE WAYS.

                            EVE
YOU'RE A STUDENT TEACHER WITH MUCH TO LEARN.  YOU'LL CHANGE YOUR MIND ONCE YOU’VE TAUGHT A FEW YEARS.  EXPERIENCE COUNTS, YOU KNOW.

                            CHRIS
WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO ALL THE CHILDREN.

                             EVE
YOU'LL LEARN TO DO THE BEST YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU'RE GIVEN.  AS I SAID “EXPERIENCE”.

                             CHRIS
IT MUST BE FRUSTRATING.  SCHOOL MUST SEEM LIKE A WASTE OF TIME. SEEMS LIKE THIS WILL LEAD TO MORE DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS.

                             EVE
POSSIBLY, BUT THAT'S THE NEXT TEACHER'S PROBLEM.

                             CHRIS
BUT, WHAT IF EVERY TEACHER DOES THE SAME THING?  SEEMS LIKE WE’RE JUST PASSING MORE AND MORE STUDENTS ALONG…AVOIDING RESPONSIBILITY.

                             EVE
I HAVE OTHER WAYS.


                            CHRIS
YOU DO?

                             EVE
SOMETIMES I TAKE AWAY RECESS FOR THE ENTIRE CLASS.

                            CHRIS
HOW DO YOU DECIDE?

                             EVE
WHEN I WANT TO TURN THE CLASS AGAINST SOMEONE, I PUNISH EVERYONE UNTIL THEY TURN AGAINST THE OFFENDER.  IT'S A PEER GROUP STRATEGY.

                             CHRIS
I SEE… PUNISH THE GROUP FOR THE ACT OF ONE INDIVIDUAL.

                              EVE
IT'S EFFECTIVE BUT AS I SAID, THERE ARE OTHER WAYS.

                             CHRIS  
REALLY!

                              EVE 
ABSOLUTELY. (SHE PULLS OUT A THREE FOOT LONG RULER.) I CALL HER “THE TEACHER.” 

                             CHRIS
THE “TEACHER”?

                               EVE
YES.  SEE I INSCRIBED HER WITH “THE TEACHER”. (EVE SHOWS HER THE INSCRIBED RULER.  THEN SHE SLAMS LOUSLY IT AGAINST THE DESK.) SEE WHAT I MEAN?  SHE SPEAKS TO YOU.

                              CHRIS
I SEE.  SEEMS INTIMIDATING.

                               EVE
IT KEEPS ORDER.  I DON'T BELIEVE ANYONE CAN LEARN WHEN THERE ISN'T ORDER.  THERE'S NO LEARNING WITHOUT DISCIPLINE. UNDERSTAND?

                               CHRIS
I THINK SO.  BUT YOU DON'T ACTUALLY HIT CHILDREN.

                               EVE
ON RARE OCCASIONS.  I KNOW THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE COURTS FROWN ON CORPORAL PUNISHMENT BUT THEY AREN'T IN THE CLASSROOM. IT’S “P.C.” RUN WILD.  THEY DON'T DEAL WITH THE MIGUELS OF THE WORLD.  THEY DON'T KNOW –

                               CHRIS 
...HOW DIFFICULT YOUR JOB IS.

                               EVE
“SHE” MAY SEEM DRASTIC BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO?

                               CHRIS
HAVE YOU USED “HER” IN THE CLASSROOM?

                               EVE
(PAUSE.)  JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME…ONCE OR TWICE ON MIGUEL.  JUST TO SCARE HIM.  I TOLD HIM ONCE TO “LOOK ME IN THE EYE.”  HE WOULDN'T.  I HAD TO USE THE TEACHER TO KEEP HIM IN LINE, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.  HIS PARENTS WOULD APPRECIATE IT.
                           
                              CHRIS
I DON'T THINK SO.  SOME LATINO CHILDREN AVOID EYE CONTACT WITH ADULTS.  THEY'RE NOT TO QUESTION ADULTS, LIKE TEACHERS.  IT’S CONSIDERED DISRESPECTFUL.

                               EVE
IT'S DIFFICULT BEING A TEACHER THESE DAYS.  EVERYONE WANTS SO MUCH.  THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT KIDS…SO MANY DIFFERENT CULTURES…AFRICANS, ASIANS…LATINOS.   WHO KNOWS WHAT'S RIGHT OR WRONG?  NOT LIKE THE GOOD OLD DAYS.  TEACHERS HAVE TO DEAL WITH GROWING NUMBERS OF CULTURALLY DISADVANTAGED KIDS.

                              CHRIS
THERE ARE MORE CULTURALLY DIFFERENT STUDENTS.   YOU'VE GOT TO DO YOUR BEST TO TEACH AND ENCOURAGE THEM.  AND, YOU HAVE TO FOLLOWING THE LAW.

                               EVE  
YOUR IDEALS SPEAKING.

                              CHRIS
THAT’S TRUE.   I'M ACTUALLY WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICE.  WE RECEIVED A COMPLAINT FROM MIGUEL'S PARENTS.  I'M INVESTIGATING.
(PAUSE AS EVE CONTEMPLATES THIS REVELATION.)

                              EVE
WHAT I TOLD YOU IS CONFIDENTIAL.

                              CHRIS
NO. WHAT YOU TOLD ME SUPPORTS HIS PARENTS' COMPLAINT.

                              EVE
WILL THEY SUE?

                              CHRIS 
THEY'RE HIRING AN ATTORNEY.  YOU’RE TO REPORT TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE.  YOU'LL BE SUSPENDED UNTIL I COMPLETE MY INVESTIGATION.

                             EVE   
THIS ISN’T  FAIR.

                             CHRIS
YOU MAY HAVE BROKEN THE LAW.

                            EVE
YOU INGRATE.   I TRIED TO HELP YOU.   I'LL SUE YOU AND THE DISTRICT.

                            CHRIS
THAT'S YOUR RIGHT

                            EVE
MY UNION -

                            CHRIS
YOU MAY BE REPRESENTED BY YOUR UNION OR A PERSONAL ATTORNEY. YOU'LL RECEIVE DUE PROCESS.

                           EVE
IT'S MY WORD –

                          CHRIS
YOUR “WORDS” HAVE BEEN OVERHEARD AND RECORDED.  (POINTS TO THE INTERCOM.

(A FEMALE VOICE SPEAKS OVER THE INTERCOM.)

                           PRINCIPAL SHARPE  
MS. FAIR, THIS IS PRINCIPAL SHARPE.  PLEASE REPORT IMMEDIATELY TO MY OFFICE.


                          EVE
I WANTED THE BEST FOR THE CHILDREN.

                         CHRIS
I SUSPECT SO BUT …SELECTIVELY.   YOU NEED TO REPORT NOW.  THE CHILDREN WILL BE ARRIVING.

                          EVE
WHO WILL TEACH MY CLASS?

                         CHRIS 
I WILL FOR NOW.  MS. SHARPE IS WAITING FOR YOU.  I WILL KEEP “THE TEACHER” AS EVIDENCE(SETS ASIDE THE RULER.)

(EVE LEAVES THE CLASSROOM.  THE CHILDREN FILE IN AND TAKE THEIR SEATS. CHRIS WATCHES HER LEAVE. SHE  LOOKS AT THE STUDENTS.  IN A HIGH LILTING VOICE, SHE GREETS THEM.)  

GOOD MORNING, BOYS AND GIRLS!

                      THE END