SYNOPSIS:
One dinner-time memory of a boy's spirituality, when two life-shattering events sear his existence permanently. Stevie, now a man, looks back nostalgically to a milestone in the life of his large family -- an extended family composed of mixed religions all living under the same roof. The family struggles to cope with the wasting death of its favored daughter, Ally, battling to not kill each other while they negotiate severe religious differences, attempting to keep spiritual peace for the sake of the frail girl.
NOTE:
The "denominations" represented in this drama can be modified to represent just about any mix of religions trying to get along in a Christian household, with certain terminology modifications, of course. It ain't about the "religion," but about the Gospel of Christ, loving each other, especially those with which we disagree.
CAST:
ALLY --a girl with a true walk with God, who loves everyone and answers all with love. She trusts in God completely, even in grave matters she doesn't fully understand -- dying of leukemia at only 16 years of age, yet like Job she is willing to cry: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." She is the peacekeeper in the family and retains her spiritual integrity while the warring factions attempt to coerce her to their views and dogmatic soapboxes.
STEVIE (young) --13-year-old punk always in trouble at school (flunking in 3 subjects), but he is always good-natured and loveable and loves to make puns, he is confused and frightened by what is happening to his sister, as well as a little jealous of all the attention and affection she receives, as all the warring factions adore her while seemingly looking down condemningly upon him. The only adult Stevie identifies with is his father. The story is told through Stevie's eyes -- he is the true narrator, it is his adult voice.
MAMA (Mary Kathryn) --overly religious, superstitious and frightened, a constant rosary bead-counting member of the Catholic Church. She is terrified about the health of her beloved daughter, and is constantly praying to different saints for a miraculous healing, and secretly fears that this disease is a punishment from God due to her "unequal yoking" to a Seventh-day Adventist man (something a radical street priest told her). She adores Pope John Paul II and often carries his picture. She once was considered a happy and free spirit by her family, but the four roller-coaster years of her daughter's illness have crippled her emotionally, and her habits and mannerisms are becoming increasingly anal retentive and demented.
UNCLE MICKEY --proudly labels himself "AAA" -- Astute, Atheist and Alcoholic -- terminally unemployed, he adores destroying the logic in the varied dogma present. Out of habit he often sides with his overly religious sister, though he bears a tremendous hatred for everything religious (but especially Catholic). Secretly he blames religious idiocy for Ally's disease. To the condemnation of all, his drinking has been deepening, and 24 hours a day he can be found "well-lubed." He especially enjoys provoking his best friend/brother-in-law's sister, Aunt Leigh (Mickey and Joe have been best friends for 20 years, and it was Mickey that introduced Joe to his sister, Mary Kathryn).
PAPA (Joe) --sane, logical, and balanced, he is emotionally wearing out, exhausted from attempting to control his legalistic brother Lee, coping with his wife's superstitions and fears, and barely suppressing a mounting frustration and anger with his best friend/brother-in-law Mickey, who he feels is wasting his life in booze. Unable to deal with the imminent death of his daughter, he has been spending more and more time away from home, at work. A knowledgeable SDA, he attempts to "answer every man" honestly -- he lives what he believes and believes what he lives; however, his faith hangs precariously balanced on the edge of a cliff of doubt and frustration -- faith in himself, faith in his church, faith in his family, and ultimately, faith in God. He is the only one who understands Stevie.
AUNT LEIGH --a true Bible thumper, she is the angriest of all. She wants everyone to "come out of Babylon," and feels the burden of the Three Angels' Messages upon her shoulders. She openly hates Uncle Mickey (feeling the drunk is a bad influence on the children) and is the loudest in criticizing the alcoholic's habits, and is very angry with her brother for not being a "better member of the Remnant." Secretly she believes that if she is able to convert all in the household to becoming baptized SDAs, God will be happy and remove Ally's affliction (so Ally's disease is a test of her own faith and good works, and he is suffering mounting fear that maybe he's "just not good enough" to save his darling niece).
Additional Cast:
NARRATOR/STEVIE (adult) --been through the wringer, there and back again. Views life through the lens of having faith once, losing it, and finding God all over again, deeply. Sadly remembers a tragic period of time when he lost both his beloved father and sister. But he is knowledgeable, with bittersweet happiness, at peace with life, and his memory. Delivers his lines with slow, measured words, each word a gem in his mouth, a savored memory -- he is "seeing" all of this...
CHRISTOPHER --Stevie's younger brother, is kept in the dark about his sister's true condition.
DANNY BOY --youngest child.
RATDOG --a rat terrier mistaken for a rat.
THE PLAY SETTING:
(a large dining table is at the front, looking homey, six chairs spread from left side around back to right side, a regulator clock ticks on the wall behind the table, the pendulum swinging calmly -- a man enters up center aisle, slowly and sadly -- narration begins -- looking up at house as narrator speaks, then enters house and looks lovingly at table, nostalgic and sad, but curiously happy too -- he runs his hand wistfully, slowly along the length of the empty table, he puts and then keeps his back to audience, deep in thought, immersed in reflection)
NARRATOR:
My walk with God began when I was a child, and there was always a sense of HIM being there, present, just out of my sight, always and ever watching over me. As everyone does, I grew up -- well, I guess I have to exclude my Uncle Mickey, as we're still waiting for him to grow up -- but as I matured I think I lost sight of that "just-out-out-of-sight" God, if that makes any sense. He became less real to me. And I guess my walk diverged from that path. How do you KEEP believing like a little child? Now, years later, as my path has come back to walking with Him, I realize God never left me.
Like that parable where the kid gets his money from the old man and runs away to a far country, I did kind of the same thing, and I ended up the same way, feeding pigs and eating their food. When I came to my senses, God was there, with open arms, waiting patiently for me, and just like in that parable, He came running down the road to meet me -- He caught me up and kissed me and kept on kissing me, and, now, I'm home again. Well, this temporary home, anyway.
But this isn't my story, not really. The lessons I know now, I could have known when I was thirteen. The things my big sister taught me, all those years ago; the kind of things you can't learn when you're thirteen, but true lessons of love that are planted like seeds, only to be harvested in retrospect, when your hair is going gray, and your heart is mature enough to welcome rich, real, true blessings.
Wow, thinking about Ally still brings a lump to my throat, all these years later. Here I am, a grown man, and my sister lives only in my memory, and she's still 16 years old. A 16-year-old is my big sister. Sweet Sixteen, beautiful, shining like an angel. The things my sister taught me about love and about God, I'm still realizing today. I can admit it now that I loved her dearly, but I guess I really didn't know that until after she was gone. Every memory of her is so vivid. This house, especially this table, brings it all back, all the memories, the pains, the laughter, the love. My sister Ally called it "The Table of the Lord." (laughing fondly)
I'll tell ya, this table was more a WAR ZONE, and I don't mean food fights!
MAMA:
(voiceover) Stevie? Get in here right now, wash your hands, and set the table!
ADULT STEVIE:
(looking up in wonderment, he turns around and faces audience fully for the first time) Mama? Mama, is that YOU?
MAMA:
(voiceover) Of COURSE it's me, and quit playing and get in here NOW, Stevie. Don't make me tell you again, and by all the saints and Michael the Archangel you better hurry because your Papa is going to be home soon!
ADULT STEVIE:
(in a slightly childish way) Ok, ok, ok Mama! (he's changing, going back in time in memory) I'm coming. Good night, you could have ALLY set the table for once, it's not like it's going to make her hands fall off! (he hurries up the aisle, becoming younger by the second, the memories becoming more and more the REAL WORLD)
MAMA:
(voiceover) Ally is resting, you naughty boy, now stop arguing and get busy. By the Blessed Virgin supper is almost ready. Now call your uncles and be a good boy!
YOUNG STEVIE:
(comes rushing up the aisle, carrying a stack of dishes, and passes Adult Stevie going in the opposite direction, they PAUSE and glance at each other and smirk, their bodies moving in mirror reflection, each the other, separated by time, space, pain and energy)
YOUNG STEVIE / ADULT STEVIE:
(in unison) Boy oh boy, Mama, I already said OK. I'm setting the table. (Adult Stevie's voice fades out and Young Stevie's voice gets louder as they talk, as we enter young Stevie's world) I'm setting the table! (muttering under his breath) Don't get your rosary beads in knots! Boy, they keep me running day and night. I never get a break. Next thing you know they're going to force me to work in a sweatshop or something! (he sets the table)
ADULT STEVIE:
(watching fondly, for a moment) It's so vivid, it seems like yesterday. (looks fully at audience) It seems like . . . today.
YOUNG STEVIE:
(shouting) Aunt Leigh! Supper! Uncle Mickey, time to eat!
(we are fully back in the past)
MAMA:
(voiceover) Stop shouting, you'll wake your sister!
STEVIE:
(muttering) Yeah, ok, I'll call them quietly. (in exaggerated whisper-shout) Oh Aunt Leigh, time to eat! Hopefully the angels will let you get away from your Bible for 10 minutes! And Uncle Mickey, you might want to hide your bottles under the bed, and carefully -- you know, so they don't clink together?
AUNT LEIGH AND UNCLE MICKEY:
(entering from rear, each taking a different side of the room, keeping well away from each other -- they give each other dirty looks as they approach the table)
AUNT LEIGH:
(dressed very proper, actually carrying a large Bible under arm, but obvious dislike for the other man shows through) Oh hello Mickey. And how are you?
UNCLE MICKEY:
(dressed in a bathrobe and slippers, bare legs, his hair a mess, ever affable) Yo Leigh! Good morning, good morning! How about a holy kiss for your brother-in-law-IN-LAW?!
AUNT LEIGH:
(arriving at table, taking her place) Morning for YOU, evening for the rest of us. (she purposefully makes a great show of opening her Bible, licking her fingers, and reading)
UNCLE MICKEY:
(grinning) Whoa, you forgot the GOOD part -- as in GOOD morning? Hmmm, you're looking pretty grim today -- must be a two-bottle-of-starch day for you, huh? (he pulls a flask out of his robe as he sits at the table) Mind?
AUNT LEIGH:
(sternly, but not looking at the other man) Yes. I do. Mind. (barely suppressing fury) Of course I mind.
UNCLE MICKEY:
(sipping, belching quietly) Well then, see, it works out perfectly, doesn't it? You can be the good example, and I can be the bad example! We can be kind of like a living "before-and-after" commercial! (in deep, theatrical announcer's voice) This is your brain; this is your brain on religion! (looks up and notices Stevie for the first time) Yo, Stevie, my man!
STEVIE:
HEY, Uncle Mickey.
AUNT LEIGH:
(notices Stevie for the first time, looking up for only a moment from Bible) Oh, hello Steven. I hope you've done some studying today. And I don't mean those ridiculous comic books.
STEVIE:
HEY, Aunt Leigh.
UNCLE MICKEY:
(looking around blearily with red eyes) And where's our angel, and how's she doing?
STEVIE:
Oh she's just being lazy like usual. Sacking out again. She'll come to dinner when we start serving PRINCESS food.
AUNT LEIGH:
Do not joke about your sister. The Word of God says that you will answer for every single idle word. Understand? Jest not that you be not jested.
UNCLE MICKEY:
(smirking) Hey, that's a similar verse to "Judge not that you be not judged," isn't it?
AUNT LEIGH:
(sneering, actually thumping her Bible) Similar in that it IS from the same book.
STEVIE:
Is that REALLY in the Bible?
LEIGH AND MICKEY:
(Leigh nods head vigorously YES while Mickey shakes violently NO)
STEVIE:
(smiling, sitting down in his chair) I don't know what the big deal is. Ally's been sick for . . . forever! No one makes a big deal when I get sick.
UNCLE MICKEY:
(smiling) Well, we hope you NEVER get sick, Stevie.
STEVIE:
(yawning) I wouldn't mind, if it meant I could go lay down instead of setting the table.
AUNT LEIGH:
(snarling) Watch your mouth, boy! You don't want to be joking about things like that. From your mouth to God's ear!
(from the back Ally slowly makes her way toward the table, wrapped in a blanket, looking pale, feverish and fragile, she's wearing a shower cap with all her hair tucked up inside -- she has lost all of her hair)
UNCLE MICKEY:
(sternly, not looking at Leigh) Lay off the kid already. He doesn't need your religious nonsense. You've done enough damage in this house already without corrupting the boy as well...
(Stevie catches sight of Ally approaching and instantly signals to his aunt and uncle)
AUNT LEIGH:
(whirling on Mickey in an instant rage) ME? DAMAGE? You drunken --
UNCLE MICKEY:
(looking from Stevie's signal to the approaching girl and blurting out to override Leigh's words) Oh! Look, it's the Little Princess! (he half-stands) Hello sweetheart!
AUNT LEIGH:
(clams shut, but still seethes with anger, she half rises) Hello Ally. (shoots Mickey a dirty look)
ALLY:
(comes around table and hugs both aunt and uncle, and sits, both uncles fumbling to pull out her chair) Hello Uncle Mickey, Hello Aunt Leigh. It's so good to see you both. And you too Stevie.
STEVIE:
I'm glad to see your back. (smirks hugely) ESPECIALLY AFTER SEEING YOU FROM THE FRONT! (he roars with laughter at his own witticism)
AUNT LEIGH:
(flicking Stevie's ear) You vicious imp of the enemy!
MAMA:
(voiceover) Stevie? Did you call your brothers? Round them up and get their hands washed.
STEVIE:
(rubbing his stinging ear, half-bowing, then with sarcasm) Immediately, Generalissimo! IMMEDIATELY! I live to serve! And I serve to live!
UNCLE MICKEY:
That's the spirit, Stevie!
AUNT LEIGH:
(sternly, to Stevie) Don't smart off to your mother!
ALLY:
Do you want me to get them, Stevie?
STEVIE:
(oily with helpfulness) Oh, no, Ally! I don't want your throat to collapse from too much exertion! (exits, up front aisle, hollering) Christopher! Danny Boy! Get in here! You guys wanna get WHACKED?!
UNCLE MICKEY:
(reaching for water pitcher) In the mood for a drink, Ally?
AUNT LEIGH:
(leaning around Ally, shocked) Don't you even DARE joke like that! You, you -- you PIG!
UNCLE MICKEY:
(real confusion) Huh? (getting water pitcher) I was going to offer her a glass of water. You need to relax a little Leigh. Too much bran in your coffee-alternative, I think. Remove the post from your Postum before attempting to remove the flask from my pocket. Good night!
ALLY:
(coughing) Thank you, Uncle Mickey. I am kind of thirsty.
MAMA:
(enters up center aisle, obviously and hugely pregnant, her hair drawn back severely, wearing a dark long dress with a shawl over her shoulders, a large crucifix evident hanging from her neck, carrying large platter of food, followed by Stevie, carrying medium tray of food) I hope everyone is starving!
STEVIE:
(muttering darkly) Yeah, what about all the poor starving kids in Africa that you always bring up, I bet you don't hope THEY'RE starving!
MAMA:
What are you mumbling, Stevie?
STEVIE:
(brightly) NOTHING, Mama. You know me! Absolutely NOTHING!
MAMA:
Where's your father, anyway? He should have been here already. They're working him too hard at the office.
UNCLE MICKEY:
Mmmmm, it smells delicious, Mary Kathryn.
ALLY:
(taking a deep breath) It really does, Mama.
AUNT LEIGH:
(taking a short frowning inhalation, muttering) Smells like MEAT, to me. (she's a vegetarian and meat offends her, tremendously)
MAMA:
(bustling to table, setting out all the food) Yes, Leigh, there's something for everyone. Food for the Carnivores, AND, food for the Herbivores!
STEVIE:
(unloading his platter) Just so long as the carnivores don't start eating the herbivores!
ALLY, AUNT LEIGH, UNCLE MICKEY, MAMA:
(in well-rehearsed, often repeated unison) STEVIE!
STEVIE:
You know, I'm getting kind of old to be called Stevie. You might want to try STEVEN.
ALLY, AUNT LEIGH, UNCLE MICKEY, MAMA:
(in well-rehearsed, often repeated unison) STEVEN!
STEVIE:
(staged uproarious laughter [sarcastic] -- terminated by comical straight-faced seriousness) AAAAH-HA-HA-HA -- (sudden straight face, sourly) You guys really ought to be in . . . show business.
UNCLE MICKEY:
(he seems to be the only one who really enjoys this family tradition) You're the one that ought to be in movies, Stevie! We'll keep you in mind in case they ever do a remake of the Three Stooges movies.
STEVIE:
(sitting down) Well you get to be the bald guy. I get to be the one that is always smacking you on the head with a hammer!
MAMA:
(nervously looking around the table for something more to do) Where is that man? They give him too much stuff to do at the office. Stevie, where are your brothers?
STEVIE:
What am I, my brothers' keepers?
AUNT LEIGH:
Don't be sacrilegious, boy!
STEVIE:
(honestly flabbergasted) What?! What'd I do?
UNCLE MICKEY:
He was only loosely misquoting the Bible. I don't think that qualifies as sacrilege. Especially not compared to "Jest not that you be not jested!"
MAMA:
(finally seating) Your Aunt Leigh is right, Stevie. Enough smart remarks -- call your brothers. Nobody eats until everybody is present, and that includes your poor, over-worked father.
STEVIE:
(hollering hugely at the table, exploding eardrums) CHRISTOPHER! DANNY BOY!
(everyone cringes and a few plug their ears, wincing)
UNCLE MICKEY:
For crying out loud! What a foghorn!
AUNT LEIGH:
Children should be seen and not heard!
STEVIE:
(genuinely puzzled) What? Mama said to call the boys -- I don't know how I can call them without being heard!
ALLY:
(smiling sweetly) You might try sign language...
STEVIE:
(mimics throwing up) Oh Ha HA!
MAMA:
(rolling her eyes) In the Name of the blessed Saint, Pope John Paul the Second, what is going to become of my eldest son?
(everyone looks uncomfortable, but no one comments)
CHRISTOPHER & DANNY BOY:
(come romping in, barefoot and filthy, carrying a small dog) Mama! Mama! Look what we found! Look at this Mama! Can we keep it! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!
MAMA:
(half rising in terror) Oh no! It better not be another serpent! You boys better not be bringing me another creeping creature of the devil! (she sees what they're carrying) RAT! GET THAT RAT OUT OF THIS HOUSE THIS INSTANT!
UNCLE MICKEY:
(laughing) Whoa boy! That has got to be the biggest fattest rat I've ever seen! Let's just slice it up and smack it down on the table!
CHRISTOPHER & DANNY BOY:
Can we keep it, Mama? Please! Please-Please-PPPLEEEAAAAAAASE!
MAMA:
NO! OUT! Now. I'm serious! Get that rat out of here!
ALLY:
(gently) Mama, I don't think that's really a rat. I think it's a little dog.
PAPA:
(entering, exhausted, carrying briefcase, approaching house slowly, not certain he really wants to enter, he sighs loudly, pacing in front of the house -- can he really enter this zoo again?)
MAMA:
I don't care what that thing is, I don't want it here when your Papa gets home.
STEVIE:
(smiling at the little dog) The old softy will probably want to keep the little guy...
MAMA:
THAT's what I'm afraid of. Now get it out into the backyard, and then wash your hands. Who knows where that thing has been? I'll bring your food to the card table. Now hurry! Your Papa will be here any second and he'll be blessing the food...
AUNT LEIGH:
(helpfully, patiently) He'll be ASKING the Lord to bless the food, Joe can't bless anything any more than Mickey can...
(uncomfortable silence -- Mama fills the quiet by bustling about to fill the boys' plates with food)
STEVIE:
(after a moment, peers through window and catches sight of Papa outside) I think Papa is here. Or maybe it could be a vacuum cleaner salesman.
UNCLE MICKEY:
Whoever it is, get that guy in here to (loudly and pointedly for Leigh's benefit) BLESS THIS FOOD so I can eat -- (holding his belly) the sloshing noise in here is making me seasick. (he grabs something off a plate and tosses it into his mouth, then looks with mock severity at his sister who is glowering at him)
PAPA:
(looks up and sees them all looking at him through the window -- he broadly grins and waves) Oh, hello everyone (he mouths, speaking for audience -- the family all beckons for him to enter, quickly, mouthing: "COME IN, COME IN"). Oh boy, yeah, okay. Well, here we go... (turns to audience, looks to sky and prays) Lord, give me the strength to survive this, and give me the wisdom to manage in there, and aid me in keeping the peace, and please don't let me insult anybody... (reluctantly joins family)
MAMA:
(calling to boys in dinner nook) Boys, your Papa is home! On your best behavior! Be quiet in there!
CHRISTOPHER & DANNY BOY:
(chanting, a dull roar) Papa's home! Papa's Home! Papa's Home! Papa's Home! (their chant continues during the proceeding dialogue, but lowers to murmur)
AUNT LEIGH:
(peering over her shoulder back into nook, shaking head disapprovingly) Those boys need discipline. Spare the rod and spoil the child...
UNCLE MICKEY:
(helpfully) I think that is from the Book of Benjamin. Uh, Benjamin Franklin, that is...
PAPA:
(entering) Hello Mary! (goes to kiss his wife on the lips, but she blatantly offers her cheek, rubbing her belly, angry that she is pregnant again) Hello Mickey! (as he moves behind Mickey he mock-strangles him, and messes up his already messy hair)
UNCLE MICKEY:
Just slap a blessing on this chow, already, before some lovesick moose mistakes the sound of my grumbling belly for a mating call! (he grabs a little something off a plate, tosses it into his mouth and looks to his sister who is glowering at him murderously)
PAPA:
Hello Princess! (he gives Ally a kiss on top of her head) Hope you're feeling better...
ALLY:
Hello Papa! I hope your day at the office wasn't too stressful!
PAPA:
(groans loudly and moves on to Stevie) Hello Princess! (he chuckles, kissing Stevie on top of his head)
STEVIE:
HEY!
PAPA:
Just kidding, Steven, just kidding!
AUNT LEIGH:
(rises and gives her brother a hug) Hello Joe! I'm so glad you're home. (at last, an ally in this nest of heathens, she's thinking)
PAPA:
(hugs Leigh) Good to see you, Leigh. I hope you've been behaving yourself.
AUNT LEIGH:
(gives a dirty look to the other side of the table) Only with God's
help . . . only with God's help!
CHRISTOPHER & DANNY BOY:
(continuing chant, a dull roar) Papa's home! Papa's Home! Papa's Home! Papa's Home!
PAPA:
(listening to the boys) Well, I guess I better enter the lion's den! (he enters nook and the boys break off their chant, and they cheer, and there is the sound of them laughing, and a soft, loving murmur)
AUNT LEIGH:
(softly, to no one in particular, shaking his head) Children should be seen, and not heard.
UNCLE MICKEY:
(softly, to no one in particular) I guess if the parents were deaf it'd work out GREAT...
(the uncle and aunt exchange dangerous looks)
MAMA:
Shhhh. Not tonight. (she crosses herself, lifts her crucifix out of her dress and kisses it, and then lifts her rosary from her lap and silently begins counting off prayers, always shaking her head "no," off in her own dark little world)
MICKEY & LEIGH:
(look long at Mama, then exchange glances, then each retreats into his own musing)
STEVIE & ALLY:
(look long at Mama, then exchange glances -- Ally remains at peace, half smiling, while Stevie rolls his eyes and falls back in his chair sighing loudly, ever the martyr)
PAPA:
(reenters, smiling, tired) Well, all's quite on the battlefield. Looks like they brought home a rat terrier -- he'll be great for cleaning the mice out of this drafty old house...
MAMA:
(looks up suddenly as if from a dream) OH NO YOU DON'T, JOE. We already have a dog, and guess who ends up feeding him? Just guess who has to drive Buster down to the vet when he gets squirted by a skunk? Plus all that hair can't be good for poor Ally. No more dogs, especially one that might really turn out to be a RAT!
PAPA:
(smiling) It's okay, Mary -- it's okay, Mama. Don't get upset. Why don't we all enjoy this beautiful food made by the most beautiful hands I know? Shall we say the blessing? (looks back over his shoulder as he takes Leigh's hands and all join hands around the table) You boys ready for the blessing? Hold hands. No, you can put him down during the blessing -- he doesn't understand it when you hold his paw like that...
MAMA:
(getting upset) That rat better not --
PAPA:
(motioning to her, putting his finger to his lips -- he looks to Uncle Mickey for aid, and Uncle Mickey pats Mama's arm saying "Shhhhh," comfortingly) Okay, let's bow our heads as we come before our Heavenly Father...
(prayer -- Uncle Mickey sits with eyes open throughout prayer, both Mama and Aunt Leigh bow their heads extravagantly low, nearly touching the table, Ally sits peacefully, eyes closed, and Stevie peeks occasionally, smirking at Uncle Mickey)
Heavenly Father, our Almighty God, and Savior,
We thank You for this food, and we ask You to give a
special blessing to this food, and to this wonderful family, and a
very special blessing to the beautiful hands that prepared this food.
We love You, Lord, and we thank You for all Your blessings,
All the good things You give to us, all the love You shower on us,
And Your peace. We trust in You, Lord. We love You, and we know
You love us. We trust in You, we believe, and we accept . . . You, Lord.
In the Name of Jesus, our Savior, we pray, Amen
UNCLE MICKEY:
(in his best Southern-fried Baptist) Aaaaaaaa-meeeeehnnnn!
MAMA:
(making the sign of the cross, smiling at her husband) Thank you, Sweetheart. That was a beautiful prayer.
AUNT LEIGH:
(shaking her head) Amen. (extravagantly closes Bible, and places it beneath chair)
(everyone starts grabbing food, whatever is closest to them, and forcing the food on to the next person, passing the dishes clockwise -- utter chaos -- but everyone is relaxed, focused on the pleasant task of gathering food onto their plate, and everyone is mumbling thank you while they're eating food and passing plates . . . slowly their voices fade, as Adult Stevie reenters)
ADULT STEVIE:
(pacing, thoughtfully, remembering, looking at each family member with love) Yes, it was a war zone -- Mama, a devout Catholic, slipping further and further into fear and confusion; Uncle Mickey an ex-Catholic and proud atheist, with alcoholism thrown in to boot; Aunt Leigh a combative and angry Seventh-day Adventist who felt it was her duty to rescue everyone in the house from the whore of Babylon; and poor old Papa, always the peacekeeper.
Sabbaths, the kids trooped off to church with Papa and Aunt Leigh -- and Mama always came along; she thought it just didn't look right for a man to bring his family to church alone. And then on Sundays we attended Mass, all together as a family again -- of course, Aunt Leigh never considered coming -- I once heard her whisper to Papa that what he was doing was wrong, that Papa was hurting his family...
...but what I remember the most was that we were really a FAMILY. Papa didn't kick out Aunt Leigh, even though he thought his sister had terrible manners, and shaky, legalistic theology. And he never booted Uncle Mickey, despite his drinking. And he always treated Mama like a queen. We stuck together, despite our differences, in spite of our varied beliefs and incompatible temperaments -- we really were ONE BODY.
Papa was the sober, loving, and ever-thoughtful HEAD of the body. As an Adventist, he was moderate in his beliefs, and always told us that our only hope was Jesus. And that Jesus, our only hope, was also the BEST hope.
If Papa was the HEAD of this family body, then my sister Ally had to be the HEART... (thoughtfully, mind deep in the past, he exits, and volume rises at table)
STEVIE:
(picking up a piece of vegemeat, glaring at it) Mama? Do I have to eat THIS?
MAMA:
(frowns, and then looks at Papa) You better ask your Papa.
PAPA:
(looking up, rubbing at his right arms, stretching out his collar to breathe easier) It's up to you, Steven. You need to eat healthy. It's always been your choice whether you were vegetarian or not, even when you were little. But you DO have to eat a balanced diet. So make up your mind, and start eating.
STEVIE:
Ally doesn't have to eat either, the vegeburger OR the beef. (glumly resumes eating)
UNCLE MICKEY:
Maybe it would be an easier decision if we had a fat slab of pork here to choose from -- you know, vege-LINT and beef aren't the best tasties in the world!
AUNT LEIGH:
(instantly angry, leaning forward around the kids at Uncle Mickey) NOW I --
PAPA:
(putting a restraining hand on Leigh's shoulder, leans forward to make eye contact with her) You need to learn when Mickey is trying to provoke you. And then don't provide him with the satisfaction...
UNCLE MICKEY:
(slaps his hand over his face) GREAT! THERE goes all my satisfaction in the world!
AUNT LEIGH:
(simmering) Well, maybe if YOU'd do something about it once in a while...
PAPA:
(giving warning glances to Leigh and Mickey) I just did.
MAMA:
(she places a photo of the pope on the table) Did you have a nice day today, Sweetheart? (she polishes the photo with a napkin)
PAPA:
(eating) It was fine, Darling. (he loosens his tie and sighs, and then coughs)
ALLY:
(concerned) Are you all right, Papa?
PAPA:
Fine, just tired. Don't worry about me, Sweetie.
AUNT LEIGH:
(noticing the picture for the first time) Oh no she doesn't. She pulled out her pope-on-a-rope again!
PAPA:
(looks across and notices the picture -- he sighs) Mary...
UNCLE MICKEY:
(laughing, snaps his fingers) Ah great! I forgot my picture of Mother Theresa!
AUNT LEIGH:
(half rising out of her chair) I've warned you about this before -- as long as THAT picture is on the table, I'm not eating here!
MAMA:
(defensive) Oh what's the harm. He's a good man. A saint. And his face brings me such comfort...
PAPA:
(gently) Just not at the table, Mama.
MAMA:
(reluctantly, slowly removes the photo, laying it reverently aside, mutters) And in my own house, too...
(a bright glow suddenly develops behind Ally, illuminating her from the back -- a light glows about her -- everyone at the table ceases motion, freezing like stop-action, holding in place; only Ally and Mama are yet animated)
MAMA:
Oh Ally. If only my faith were stronger. I go to mass every day, sometimes twice. I light candles for you. I pray to our Virgin Mother, and to Christ our Lord, and to all His Saints in heaven . . . but I see you fading away from me. (emotion very close to bursting up from her heart, but she keeps it contained) You know I'd do anything for you, my precious daughter. Where is my miracle?
ALLY:
I know you love me, Mama. That you'd do anything for me. And I love you, so much. I don't want you to be afraid. Please. Don't be afraid, Mama. Like Papa says, our only hope is Jesus. I'm not afraid, Mama. Because my only hope is Jesus. And He is the BEST hope.
MAMA:
But you know what Father McEgg said... It can't be true, can it? Oh, if it IS true...
ALLY:
Mama. I'm sick. It's not your fault. I'm in God's hands. He is going to take this illness, this bad thing, and He is going to turn it into something WONDERFUL!
MAMA:
But Father McEgg said that God CAN'T help us, because I am unequally yoked to someone outside the True Church of God!
ALLY:
Mama. Stop. (she looks at Papa, and stares at him) Look at him, Mama...
MAMA:
(looks at her husband, shaking her head) But . . . what if it IS true?
ALLY:
(not looking away from her father, staring) You KNOW he is full of the Holy Spirit. He's one of God's children, Mama. Just like you are. Just like I am. But Mama, I'm not putting my faith in Papa. (she finally looks away from him, back to her mother) I'm putting my faith in Jesus. He's our only hope. I trust Him. Don't you?
MAMA:
(clutching her hands at her heart) YES! Ally, I do! I do!
(the light fades from behind Ally and the table comes back to life)
PAPA:
(smiling, rubbing his left arm) And what are my two ladies whispering about?
ALLY:
(smiling back and forth between her mother and father) We're just talking about LOVE.
PAPA:
Well, that's something even an old man like me can appreciate!
STEVIE:
Love. Icky. Kissy-poo and stuff!
AUNT LEIGH:
Love. You know, LOVE is a VERB. NOT a noun. Hardly anyone remembers that, that LOVE . . . is a . . . VERB. Action. An action word.
STEVIE:
Oh great. Next thing you know, I'm going to have to constipate a verb or something.
PAPA:
That's CONJUGATE, Steven.
AUNT LEIGH:
(sneers) I'm talking about ACTION. People think that love is a "free gift." But LOVE is an action. Love is TAKING action...
PAPA:
Leigh. Please...
AUNT LEIGH:
If you say you love Him and don't keep His commandments, you're a liar. (she looks around the table, grinning, but no one is moving, everything has gone very still)
(light comes on behind Ally, everyone but Ally and Leigh are frozen in place)
ALLY:
(reluctant to speak) Aunt Leigh?
AUNT LEIGH:
(looking around at everyone) HUH? What's going on?
ALLY:
(placing her hand on Leigh's arm) I don't want you to be mad at me...
AUNT LEIGH:
(looks at her puzzled) Mad? At you? I could NEVER be mad at you, Ally. You're my favorite person in the whole world! Don't you know that I would do ANYTHING for you?
ALLY:
It's not your fault, Aunt Leigh. It's nobody's fault that I'm sick.
AUNT LEIGH:
(agitated, upset, suddenly flooded by emotion) But it IS my fault. I haven't been tireless in my duties! With the power of the Holy Spirit I should have saved this whole house! But I can't seem to bring all of them out of Babylon! It's always been you and me, against all of them!
ALLY:
(quietly, calmly, but with bold forthrightness) Aunt Leigh, I'm NOT against them. They are my family, just like you are. They are the children of God, just like you are.
AUNT LEIGH:
No, they're not! They don't keep God's commandments! And my own brother is unequally yoked to a CATHOLIC! He's lost!
ALLY:
Aunt Leigh, please. You just told me a moment ago that you would do anything for me.
AUNT LEIGH:
It's true. Anything. You just name it. I promise you, Ally, anything.
ALLY:
Then what I want you to do is LOVE them. Love your brother, my Papa. And love his wife, my Mama. I'm not asking you to agree with them, or even approve of them.
AUNT LEIGH:
(flustered, getting upset) Well, you know, I DO love my brother. I've always loved Joe. (she looks at him) He's my big brother. I've NEVER stopped loving him, even if he IS going after other gods...
ALLY:
Well, then for him what I ask is that you respect him. But I want you to love Mama, and Uncle Mickey...
AUNT LEIGH:
LOVE MICKEY! You've got to be kidding! God hates sinners! (catches herself) Well, maybe not THEM, but he hates their SINS! You can't expect me to --
ALLY:
(interrupting) -- but Jesus said to love your enemies. I don't think they are your enemies. They are your neighbors. And you're supposed to love them just like you love yourself. And that's what I'm asking you to do. Love Mama, and love her brother Mickey. YOUR brother Mickey. Maybe you'll never agree with them. Maybe they'll never agree with you. But you have to love them, Aunt Leigh, you have to...
AUNT LEIGH:
You're asking too much, Ally. I love you. But, but, it's just . . . it's just... (long silence)
ALLY:
(after a few moments) I'm just asking you to do what God asked you to do. If you love Him, you need to keep His commandments, Aunt Leigh...
AUNT LEIGH:
(looks at Ally with surprise, mouth falling open) Love . . . is a verb. (softer) Love is a verb. (softer, looking with wonder around the table) Love is a verb. (whispering) Love is a verb...
(light fades from behind Ally and table comes back to life)
PAPA:
(looking uncomfortable, rubbing his left arm) Mickey? Could you pass me the water?
UNCLE MICKEY:
(makes as if to throw the water) Okay, why don't you go out for a long pass?
PAPA:
(smiling, strained) I'm just . . . a little, um, thirsty...
UNCLE MICKEY:
That's your problem, Joe. Drinking water all the time. Don't you know what fish DO in water? And I'm not talking about swimming, either?
STEVIE:
Oooh, that's gross, Uncle Mickey!
UNCLE MICKEY:
What? You tell me, have you ever seen a TOILET in a fishbowl? Them fish, they ain't got no manners, none at all, the things they do right out in the middle of all that water, where any octopuss can see them!
MAMA:
(smacks Mickey's arm) Not at the table, you crude man! You haven't changed since you were five years old!
UNCLE MICKEY:
(chuckling, enjoying himself, passing the pitcher) Well, you know it's a known fact that fish can't LIVE in alcohol, let alone do anything else, so I'm just saying --
PAPA:
(snapping, loudly, leaning forward, angry and tense) OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Would you just pass me the pitcher of water? I didn't ask for a stand-up routine. I didn't ask for some ridiculous treatise on the benefits of wasting your whole life in an alcoholic blur! Either give me the stinking water or smash it on the floor, but please just SHUT YOUR MOUTH already!
(the whole table freezes, this time because they are completely shocked, everyone gaping at Papa, everyone completely upset as their family foundation seemingly has crumbled before them, even Aunt Leigh gapes in dismay)
(wheezes) All of you! What is this, a family or a ZOO! You expect me to be patient with your endless arguing, and bickering, all of you -- your whining and complaining... (covers his eyes with his hand, shaking his head)
(the room freezes, Ally is backlit, and this time it is Mickey who looks around in dismay)
UNCLE MICKEY:
What the...? What in the world! Everything's falling apart! Why do I even go on? (he's very shaken, he's never seen Joe like this, and he considers it all his fault)
ALLY:
Uncle Mickey? Can I talk to you?
UNCLE MICKEY:
(near tears, overwhelmed with grief, with depression) I'm so sorry, Ally. This is the story of my life. I ruin everything. You know, every day, it seems to be the answer is just to get it over with. Why prolong this constant misery? A lifetime of misery! If only I wasn't such a, such a COWARD!
ALLY:
(places her hands on his shoulder) That's not the answer.
UNCLE MICKEY:
(yelling) Oh what! I suppose you're going to tell me that JESUS IS THE ANSWER! Or how about HE'S THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!
ALLY:
(softly, sadly) Yes, Uncle Mickey. Jesus IS the answer. He's your only hope, just like He's MY only hope, or Papa's only hope.
UNCLE MICKEY:
Well, come on, Ally. You can't put me in the same boat as you guys! (looks at Papa) I mean, Joe is a good man! (gestures to Mama) And even Mary Kathryn is good, down deep at heart. (rolls his eyes and looks to Leigh) EVEN LEIGH is good, I mean, for a complete nutcase. What in the world would ANY god want to do with ME? I'm scum, you know it's true.
ALLY:
(smiling) But you're my favorite scum in the whole wide world!
UNCLE MICKEY:
(laughs despite himself) You do have a way with words, you know. (he hugs her) I think you must get that from me!
ALLY:
I love you, Uncle Mickey. And I know you're not happy. But the really frustrating thing is, Jesus really did come to make you happy in THIS life, not just in heaven. You don't have to feel miserable, or alone, or like you're scum. (sweetly) Would you do something for me, Uncle Mickey?
UNCLE MICKEY:
You know I will. I just hope you're not going to ask me to take Bible studies, or start going to church with the family, or drink one cup of jungle juice a day! I mean, I'll do anything, just don't ask me to sacrifice my . . . (theatrically, saying the most ridiculous word he can come up with) DIGNITY?
ALLY:
No, I'm not going to ask you to do any of those things, Uncle Mickey. I know you love me, and I know you love Stevie, and Mama, and Papa. And, even, in your own way, Aunt Leigh. But what I want you to do for me, is love yourself. I'm not worried about you loving your neighbors as yourself -- I know you do that; but I want you to love YOURSELF the same way you love your neighbor.
UNCLE MICKEY:
Man, you really know how to hurt a guy! You expect me to love a guy like ME? (he mimes choking himself)
ALLY:
Well, it must not be that tough, because everyone here doesn't have that tough a time loving you. I know I don't.
UNCLE MICKEY:
(motioning toward Papa) Except HE doesn't love me too much . . . at least right now!
(glow disappears from behind Ally and table comes back to life)
PAPA:
I'm so sorry everyone. (breathing too deeply) There's absolutely no excuse for that. (pulling his tie looser) I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Mickey, especially you. Can you ever forgive me?
UNCLE MICKEY:
(coming around the table) Are you kidding? Me, forgive you? Man, I don't know what I'd DO without you, Joe. (grabs Papa in a bear hug)
PAPA:
(hugging him back) Now, now, no reason to go getting all mushy about this! I said I was sorry, and you know I am.
STEVIE:
(puffing out his cheeks) Man! You stole the words right out of my mouth! What's wrong with everyone tonight? Good night, some kind of hug-fest or something?
ALLY:
(grabbing Stevie and pulling her to him) Yeah, and you owe me a couple of hugs!
STEVIE:
Ahhh! Help! She's got me! (he hugs her back)
(the table freezes and the light comes on behind Ally, only Ally and Stevie can move)
ALLY:
You know, you're a really good brother, Stevie. I love you so much.
STEVIE:
Okay, okay already! (pushing away from her) I guess you haven't been such a bad sister, either. I'm, like, you know, sorry that you had to go and get sick and everything. If we could do it, you know, I'd switch places with you. Don't hug me again, but I'd rather be sick than have you, you know, uh, you know...
ALLY:
I know it's been confusing to you, Stevie. But I don't want you to be afraid any more. (she rubs his back, consoling him)
STEVIE:
(hardly able to look at her, feeling sad for the first time) So, like, um, you ARE going to get . . . better, aren't you?
ALLY:
(pushes her fingers through his hair) Don't be afraid, Stevie.
STEVIE:
(swallows hard, says softly) You're not going to get better?
ALLY:
(looks away from him, shakes her head) I'm sorry, Stevie.
STEVIE:
(choking up, looking down, sadness turning to confused anger) But, I don't -- um, I don't WANT you to die, Ally. Can't God get that straight? God CAN heal you -- but why doesn't He? People have been praying. Even . . . you know, uh, even I've been praying. (he won't look at her)
ALLY:
(after a moment looks back at her brother) Don't be afraid, Stevie. Just keep trusting God, okay? As a favor to me? Keep trusting Jesus. There's going to be bad times, and bad things will happen, because of how the world has gotten -- but keep trusting Jesus. Pretty soon, all the bad things will be over. The really important time is coming, our real home! And we're going to see each other again. (she reaches up and touches her shower cap) And guess what? I'll even have hair again! I bet you can't even remember me with hair, can you?
STEVIE:
(scrubs his eyes, controls his emotions with difficulty, then finally looks back to her, sniffing loudly) I kind of seem to remember you . . . with a MOUSTACHE...?
ALLY:
(laughing) You better watch out! I'm not too sick to tickle you!
(light fades from behind Ally and table comes back to life)
MAMA:
(concerned, rising from her place) Sweetheart? Are you feeling all right?
UNCLE MICKEY:
(looking closely at Papa for the first time) Yeah, you don't look too healthy around the gills. And I KNOW you didn't get a hold of any bad moonshine!
MAMA:
(smacks Uncle Mickey as she passes him) Are you having trouble breathing?
PAPA:
(openly having trouble breathing) I'm . . . okay. (heavy breathing) Just. Need. To rest for. A moment. (starts rising, waving them off) Don't worry...
(but he loses strength and staggers before he can rise fully, begins to fall, but Mama and Uncle Mickey catch him as he fully collapses)
MAMA:
Lord help us! He's dying!
UNCLE MICKEY:
Oh, my, I, oh no -- I think he's having a heart attack!
ALLY:
(remains in her seat, to weak to rise) Papa!
STEVIE:
(jumping up) I'll call the ambulance, and the police! (rushing out, but, like a nightmare, he moves in agonizing slow motion, even crying out in slow motion) And the paramedics! Someone give him CPR!
MAMA:
(hugging Papa as he slumps to ground, moving in slow motion) Don't die, Joe! Please, don't leave me here! I love you, Joe. (sobbing) Don't die, oh don't die!
UNCLE MICKEY AND AUNT LEIGH:
(following them to the ground, holding Joe's hand, moving in slow motion) Oh no. Oh boy. No. No. No. Not you, Joe. Not you.
(all motion ceases, the room freezes, but this time, no light appears behind Ally -- Mama slowly moves to clock and stops it while everyone else waits for her, and then slowly, with eyes down, they assemble before Papa, and they put their back to him, and they cease movement altogether -- Papa disappears from sight)
* * *
[MUSIC INTERLUDE]
(as sad-sweet music begins, the family slowly files out, keeping their heads down, their hands folded before them, as if in a funeral procession, comorting one another)
* * *
[CLOSING]
(the family files back in and meets before the cemetery gate, except Ally isn't there -- Uncle Mickey and Aunt Leigh wear black armbands, and Stevie, Christopher and Danny Boy wear black coats; Mama wears a black veil over her face, and constantly moves a white handkerchief up beneath the veil -- all is silence; Leigh and Mickey comfort Mama in silence, and the younger boys both weep in silence; Stevie stands stonily, not crying, his face hard, eyes angry and dark)
ADULT STEVIE:
(enters, sits in Mama's chair at the table, and sadly watches his family) It was tough on a young boy, losing both his cherished Papa and his incredible sister in such a short period of time -- just a few weeks, really. Hmmm. Tough on a boy -- tough on a family. That's one of the grandest understatements of my life. I really don't know how we survived that time, even after all these years it is hard to imagine getting through that dark period.
I don't know who it was toughest on. It might be surprising to hear, but I think possibly Uncle Mickey took it the hardest. I think it fair to say that it changed his life, completely; every facet, every nuance of his life. But then again, it changed my life, too.
All those years when I was living in the "far country," angry at God, angry at Ally, and angry at Papa -- I couldn't remember what Ally told me. I couldn't remember her words, or the witness of her life. And like the guy in that parable, I really did end up throwing slop to pigs.
(he clears a place on the table and lowers his head -- after a moment he sits up)
(continued) I think of Ally as God's instrument. One of the lesser tools in God's great big toolbox. Maybe she was the weakest of all His tools. But God, in His infinite wisdom, used Ally in fixing lives all around her. And branching out, from each of those repaired lives . . . Ally's influence is immeasurable.
The words of wisdom she shared with me did not go to waste. I DID remember. Trust in God. Trust in Jesus. And so many years later, when I happened to read the book of Job in a "higher thinking" class -- I was reading it as literature, the Bible, mind you, not for any purported spiritual benefit -- that I came across the words: "Even if He slays me, yet will I trust in Him." Finally, I understood. Finally, I remembered. God reached out to me, all those years later, through Ally, through memory.
Trust in God. Trust in Jesus.
(Uncle Mickey breaks away from the group and begins to exit -- he turns and waves to the family, and then freezes)
I mentioned that Uncle Mickey was changed. He really did become a new and different person. I don't know if he became a believer before Papa died or after, or maybe it was before Ally died, or after -- but talk about a new creation! He thought differently, spoke differently, and loved differently. If Ally was the heart of the family before, Uncle Mickey stepped right into the gap when she left us. I can honestly say that Mickey is one of the most spiritual men that I now know.
(Uncle Mickey goes back into action and exits -- Aunt Leigh moves away from group and turns back to wave -- freezes)
But probably even more shocking was the change in Aunt Leigh. If Papa was the head of our family before, Leigh stepped up courageously to fill that impossibly empty space. She became a true friend to her long-time enemy Mickey, and a friend and support to Mama. If you can believe it, she even attended mass with Mama, perhaps not often, but she was there for her. My Aunt Leigh learned how to love others, and has gone on to become a mighty dynamo for the Lord, tirelessly serving others.
(Aunt Leigh goes back into action and exits -- Mama and the boys file out, then look back toward the "Table of the Lord" and freeze)
(continued) Mama -- well, Mama is Mama, and we all love her, and adore her. You wouldn't notice too much different about her these days -- oh, perhaps she's not so tightly strung, but inside she changed as well. She told me recently that in the years that followed that tragic time in our lives she began to truly KNOW God, that her prayers become personal, less mechanical.
Most weekends, the family is together -- on Sabbath we are in church together, and Mama joins us. And she seems happy, even getting to know some of the women, calling them during the week. And on Sundays one or more of us are sitting with Mama for mass.
(the family unfreezes and slowly begins exiting -- Adult Stevie stands as well)
Life hasn't been perfect. And there are still troubles, every day. But I'll tell ya, when you trust in God, the troubles don't seem so troubling. God tells us He has a plan for us, that He has a future ready for us if we only ask Him. These days my life is so abundant, as you too will find it to be, as it always is at the Table of the Lord. And like Ally told me, we don't have long to wait. I'm looking forward to seeing my big sister again, and my dear Papa -- soon!
(exits, smiling)
__________________________________________
Completely free Christian scripts, sketches, mimes.
Always a parable. Storytelling making the difference.
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