Wisdom from… [14, 15, 16 Feb]

ST LEO THE GREAT (400–461): Almsgiving

There is no more profitable practice as a companion to holy and spiritual fasting than that of almsgiving. This embraces under the single name of mercy many excellent works of devotion, so that the good intentions of all believers may be of equal value even when their means are not. Nothing can ever so obstruct the love we owe both God and other people as to prevent our having a good intention. The angels sang: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. The person who shows love and compassion to those in any kind of affliction is blessed not only with the virtue of charity but also with the gift of peace.

The works of mercy are innumerable. Their very variety brings this advantage to those who are true Christians, that in the matter of almsgiving not only the rich and affluent but also those of average means and the poor are able to play their part. Those who are unequal in their capacity to give can be equal in the love within their hearts.
(Sermo 6 de Quadragesima 2: PL 54, 287.)

As bishop of Rome, Leo left many letters and sermons to attest to his teaching and preaching.

CLEMENT OF ROME (~101): Repentance

We have only to recall past generations to see that the Lord has always offered the opportunity of repentance to those willing to return to him. This was the burden of Noah's preaching, and all who listened to him were saved. Jonah told the Ninevites they were going to be destroyed; they repented and their pleas for mercy placated God's anger and saved them, even though they were not of his chosen people.

The ministers of God's grace have all been inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak of repentance. The Lord of the universe himself has spoken of it with an oath. Thus, by his own almighty will, God has ratified his desire to give all his loved ones the chance to return to him. Let us bow then to that sublime and glorious will, throw ourselves on his mercy, and humbly beseech his goodness and compassion. No more energy must be wasted in the wrangling and jealousy that can only lead to death.
(First Letter to the Corinthians 7-9.12.19: Funk I, 71-73.)

Clement was bishop of Rome from 92 to 101. His letter to the Corinthians is the earliest Christian writing apart from the New Testament.

SIMON FIDATI DI CASCIA, OSA (1285–1348): Centering

While Jesus was surrounded by a large crowd because of the many miracles he performed and because of his gentle doctrine, he, the lover of solitude, again withdrew to a secluded place where, after being useful to his neighbor, he could freely return to prayer and contemplation.

It is a good, indeed necessary, thing for people who are much embattled to take refuge from the fray within themselves, to cultivate themselves, and in their innermost, care-filled hearts to fix their gaze on the divine realities and ask God for what is essential for the guidance and progress of all people. In this way they help with silent prayer those whom they have instructed in the faith, to give them the power to understand, so that the word of God may not fall on the empty air.
(De gestis Domini Salvatoris IV, 7.)

An Augustinian friar, Simon Fidati was one of the greatest preachers during his era, wrote a commentary on the gospel. His writings are steeped in scripture and rich in feeling.

ST AUGUSTINE:

The Inner Teacher

There is a Master within who teaches us. Christ is our Master, and his inspiration teaches us. Where his inspiration and his unction are lacking, it is in vain that words resound in our ears. As Paul the Apostle said: "I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." Therefore, whether we plant or whether we water by our words, we are nothing. It is God who gives the increase; his unction teaches you all things.
-- Sermon on 1 John 3, 13

Prayer. You, Lord, are the unfailing light, and from you I sought to know the existence, nature, and worth of all things, as I listened to your teaching and commandments.
-- Confessions 10, 40

The Lesson of Ashes

Will these ashes one day take on the form of beauty, be restored to life, restored to light? The bodies of all of us will in a few years be ashes. Yet a few years ago we were not even ashes! If God was able to create what did not exist, will He not be able to remake what once existed?
-- Sermon 361, 12

Prayer. Lord, you are never new and never old. Yet you give new life to all things.
-- Confessions 1, 4

God's Mercy Is Our Hope

Driven out of paradise by you and exiled in a distant land, I cannot return by myself unless you, O Lord, come to meet me in my wandering. My return is based on hope in your mercy during all of my earthly life. My only hope, the only source of confidence, and the only solid promise is your mercy.
-- Commentary on Psalm 24, 5

Prayer. My God, let me remember you with thanksgiving and proclaim your mercies to me.
-- Confessions 8, 1

ST FRANCIS DE SALES:

Devotion is simply that spiritual agility and vivacity by which charity works in us or by aid of which we work quietly and lovingly. Just as it is the function of charity to enable us to observe all God's commandments in general and without exception, so it is the part of devotion to enable us to observe them more quickly and diligently. Hence a person who does not observe all God's commandments cannot be held to be either good or devout. To be good one must have charity, and to be devout, in addition to charity one must have great ardor and readiness in performing charitable actions.
(INT. Part I, Ch. 1; O. III, p. 15)

Our miseries and weaknesses must not scare us, because the Lord has seen much greater ones. His mercy does not reject the miserable but gives them His grace and raises them from the depths of baseness and abjection to His throne of glory. I would like to have a good hammer to blunt the keen desire of your spirit to progress in its virtue. So often have I told you that, in the spiritual life, we must walk in a very simple way. If you do well, thank and praise God; if you do something wrong, make an act of humility! I know quite well that you do not want to do the wrong thing on purpose, so consider the wrong things you do as the means to keep you humble.
(Letters 912; O. VI, p. 68)

Let us try sincerely, humbly and devoutly to acquire those little virtues our Savior has proposed as the goal of our care and labor. These are meekness, patience, mortification, humility, obedience, poverty, chastity, tenderness towards our neighbor, bearing with others' imperfections, diligence and holy fervor. Let us gladly leave the lofty virtues to lofty souls; we do not desire so high a rank in God's service, and we should be more than happy to serve Him in His kitchen or to be His lackeys, porters or chamberlains. While blessing God for the eminence of others, let us keep to our lower but simpler way. It is less distinguished but better suited to our littleness. If we conduct ourselves with humility and good faith, God will raise us up to heights that are surely great.
(INT. Part III, Ch. 2; O. III, p. 132)

GK CHESTERTON:

THE revolt against vows has been carried in our day even to the extent of a revolt against the typical vow of marriage. It is most amusing to listen to the opponents of marriage on this subject. They appear to imagine that the ideal of constancy was a joke mysteriously imposed on mankind by the devil, instead of being as it is a yoke consistently imposed on all lovers by themselves. They have invented a phrase, a phrase that is a black v. white contradiction in two words -- 'free love' -- as if a lover ever had been or ever could be free. It is the nature of love to bind itself, and the institution of marriage merely paid the average man the compliment of taking him at his word. Modern sages offer to the lover with an ill-favoured grin the largest liberties and the fullest irresponsibility; but they do not respect him as the old Church respected him; they do not write his oath upon the heavens as the record of his highest moment. They give him every liberty except the liberty to sell his liberty, which is the only one that he wants.
('The Defendant')

LONDON is the largest of the bloated modern cities; London is the smokiest; London is the dirtiest; London is, if you will, the most sombre; London is, if you will, the most miserable. But London is certainly the most amusing and the most amused. You may prove that we have the most tragedy; the fact remains that we have the most comedy, that we have the most farce.
('All Things Considered')

OUR fathers had a plain sort of pity: if you will, a gross and coarse pity. They had their own sort of sentimentalism. They were quite willing to weep over Smike. But it certainly never occurred to them to weep over Squeers. No doubt they were often narrow and often visionary. No doubt they often looked at a political formula when they should have looked at an elemental fact. No doubt they were pedantic in some of their principles and clumsy in some of their solutions. No doubt, in short, they were all very wrong, and no doubt we are the people and wisdom shall die with us. But when they saw something that in their eyes, such as they were, really violated their morality, such as it was, then they did not cry 'Investigate!' They did not cry 'Educate!' They did not cry 'Improve!' They did not cry 'Evolve!' Like Nicholas Nickleby, they cried 'Stop!' And it did stop.
(Introduction to 'Nicholas Nickleby')

The Newton We Never Knew

[This a the student-modified, then Elliot-remodified version of a script I did for Hong Wen's senior high drama contest, to be filmed for judging in March. It lacks elements of my first version, which I will include at the bottom as an appendix, and which I would like to incorporate into a larger 'real' version which I would ultimately like to offer to high schools and/or performance groups for, like, money.]

Hong Wen Senior High 2008 Drama Contest

The Newton We Never Knew

by Elliot Bougis

Characters:
NARRATOR
WORKER ALIEN
MARVIN, garbage man & time traveler
HECTOR, garbage truck driver
ISAAC NEWTON, genius
MILDRED, Newton's niece/maid


Isaac Newton was born on January 4, 1643 [OS: December 25, 1642] at Woolsthorpe Manor in Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, a hamlet in the county of Lincolnshire. At the time of Newton's birth, England had not adopted the latest papal calendar and therefore his date of birth was recorded as Christmas Day, December 25, 1642. Newton was born three months after the death of his father. Born prematurely, he was a small child…. As Newton became engrossed in his studies, his romance cooled with Miss Storer and she married someone else. It is said he kept a warm memory of this love, but Newton had no other recorded "sweet-hearts" and never married. … In June 1661, he was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge. … In 1665, he discovered the generalized binomial theorem and began to develop a mathematical theory that would later become calculus. … The Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (now known as the Principia) was published on 5 July 1687 with encouragement and financial help from Edmond Halley. In this work Newton stated the three universal laws of motion that were not to be improved upon for more than two hundred years.



PROLOGUE

The curtain is closed and the lights are dim as the NARRATOR speaks.

NARRATOR: Sir Isaac Newton is one of the most famous scientists of all time. He invented calculus and modern physics. He was a genius. But how did he become so smart? What was his secret to success? Keep watching and you will finally know the truth behind Isaac Newton's genius. You will know the truth about the Newton we never knew.



ACT I

SCENE 1

An ALIEN WORKER is standing on the wing of a spaceship, repairing something. He pulls a large cone-shaped tool out of his tool bag. He obviously does not know how to use it, so he keeps pressing buttons and turning knobs and shaking the machine without results. He makes noises, the machine makes noises. Suddenly, the ALIEN freezes and the machine is hoisted away quickly. The curtain falls.



SCENE 2

The curtain opens. A large heap of garbage bags is at stage center. Suddenly, the tool from the alien worker falls into the pile of garbage.

MARVIN, a garbage man, enters from stage right. He is carrying a Styrofoam cutout of a small garbage truck. Another man, HECTOR, is visible in the driver seat (on the other side of the truck). He is in a baggy, dirty jumpsuit. The truck stops at the pile of garbage and he begins tossing bags "into" the truck (behind it to the back of the stage).

MARVIN: Hector, how did I end up as a garbage man? Is this why I left school?

HECTOR: Marvin, just quit complaining and let's get the garbage in the truck.

MARVIN: I just wish I could travel. See new places. Maybe Europe. England would be great!

HECTOR: Well, Marvin, maybe you can go back in time and live your life again. Garbage is your life now, buddy! Move it!

MARVIN: Very funny, Hector.

HECTOR leans back to sleep. After a few more bags, MARVIN finds the alien tool. He picks it up and begins looking at it. He starts doing the same motions and making the same sounds with it as the ALIEN did. The machine starts making noises as it did before.

HECTOR leans out the window and yells at MARVIN. MARVIN holds up the tool to show HECTOR his problem.

HECTOR: Marvin, let's go, faster! We can't stop time! Everyday I––

MARVIN and HECTOR freeze. The tool flies away stage right. MARVIN floats behind it off stage right. The curtain drops.



ACT II

Scene 1

The curtain opens. At stage right is an apple tree. Unseen behind the tree is a ladder; MARVIN is waiting on the ladder behind the tree.

Sitting under the tree is ISAAC NEWTON. He is using a pen on a large writing tablet. His face looks very serious and frustrated.

NEWTON: What am I missing, what am I missing? There must be some secret I have missed. Gravity is too difficult to understand!

He scratches out his notes and rips the page off to throw it behind him.

Suddenly, the alien tool falls down onto the tree and it knocks an apple loose. The apple hits NEWTON's head. NEWTON does not see the tool (it is on the other side of the tree where he "can't" see it).

NEWTON: Ouch! I don't want any apples thank you, Mr. Tree!

NEWTON rubs his head and puts the apple in his pocket.

MARVIN makes painful, confused noises behind the tree.

NEWTON: Uhmm, excuse me, did you just say something, Mr. Tree.

MARVIN groans again and the tree shakes.

NEWTON: Okay, okay, thank you for the apple. I will eat an apple everyday!

MARVIN slowly puts his head through a hole in the tree (a piece of green fabric hanging on the tree).

MARVIN: Uhm, hello? Can you help me, please?

NEWTON: What! Who are you? You are not Mr. Tree!

MARVIN: Mr. Tree? No, no, I am Marvin. Marvin Highstreet. I am from America.

NEWTON: From where? America? Is that in India?

MARVIN: Uh, no, you're joking right? I am from the United States of America.

NEWTON: Well, it must be a very small place. I have never heard of it. That must be why your accent is so strange.

MARVIN: The USA was founded in 1776! Everyone has heard of the USA!

NEWTON: Excuse me, sir, but I think you have been in that tree too long. Did you say "in 1776"?

MARVIN: Yes, of course, 1776 is America's birthday.

NEWTON: Very funny, sir. But since this is only 1672, I know you are making a joke. I don't know anything about America but I do know what year it is!

MARVIN: Wait a minute. Now I know you are joking. We live in 2008, not 1672. Sorry to surprise you.

NEWTON: Sir, this is enough joking now. Tell me who you really are and then please go back home. I have to keep studying.

MARVIN: I told you, my name is Marvin Highstreet. I am a garbage man from Fort Mary, New York. I was born in 1976. Two hundred years after America broke away from England.

NEWTON: Broke away from England? … Well, Mr. Highstreet, my name is Isaac Newton. I am a scientist from western England and I was born in 1642. Now may I please get back to my work?

MARVIN: Right. You are Isaac Newton. I must be Albert Einstein.

NEWTON: Albert who? Is he a German author?

MARVIN: Wait a minute. You're not joking. You really are Isaac Newton. THE Isaac Newton!

NEWTON: Well, I am the only Isaac Newton that I know.

MARVIN: No wonder you're wearing those funny old clothes.

NEWTON: Old clothes? I beg your pardon, but I have worn this suit for only a few months. You really must be on your way. I must keep working.

MARVIN: I'm in England, aren't I? This is not a bad dream.

NEWTON: A dream? Of course not! This is England. Where else would we be?

MARVIN: And there are no airports here, right?

NEWTON: What is an airport?

MARVIN: Never mind. Ohhhh…

MARVIN begins walking back and forth, rubbing his head, making upset noises, talking to himself. NEWTON puts his writing pad under his arm and watches MARVIN. He walks to the other side of the tree and sees the alien tool on the ground.

MARVIN: It's this thing!

NEWTON: What thing? Are you all right? I think you need to come out of the sun.

MARVIN: I found this machine in the garbage.

NEWTON: Well if it is garbage why did you pick it up?

MARVIN: I thought it was an expensive computer––

NEWTON: A computer?

MARVIN: Uhhm, a machine. I thought I could sell it, make some money. But I didn't know how to use it. The last thing I remember is Hector yelling at me… and then I was in that tree.

NEWTON: Who is Hector? Oh, never mind that. You mean you did not climb into Mr. Tree, uh, I mean, into the tree? You say you fell into it?

MARVIN: I don't know. I just…woke up in the tree.

NEWTON pulls the apple from his jacket pocket.

NEWTON: And then this apple hit me. And then I heard you up there.

MARVIN: I think it will be harder than you thought for me to go home, Mr. Newton.

NEWTON: Well, you seem very upset. I think you should come back to my house for the night. You need rest. And you must explain your story to me from the beginning.

MARVIN and NEWTON exit stage right.



Scene 2

MARVIN and NEWTON are sitting in large chairs in a small library in NEWTON's house. A fireplace is at stage center. They are drinking tea. The alien tool is on a table between them. A clock behind MARVIN's chair shows it is almost midnight.

NEWTON: I still don't understand how this thing could possibly bring you all the way back to my time. And how did it move you all the way from… "America" to England?

MARVIN: Mr. Newton––

NEWTON: I told you, call me Isaac.

MARVIN: Well, uh, Isaac, you are much smarter than me. I am just a garbage man from…my own… home. If you don't understand this problem, how can I understand it?

NEWTON: I understand your worry. I simply can't imagine how you have moved through both space and time. It's like space and time are one thing.

MARVIN: Actually, I read in a magazine once that Einstein––

NEWTON: Einstein. That German writer, yes?

MARVIN: Uh, well, never mind his name. I'm just trying to say you have the right idea if you study about time and space together.

NEWTON (calls to his niece): Mildred! Mildred! … It's much too late to keep talking about this. You need sleep.

MARVIN: I don't need sleep. I need to go home!

NEWTON: Well, a hot bath and a good night of sleep will be all you can get now. Patience, Marvin. If God brought you here, I am sure He can bring you back home.

MILDRED enters from stage left.

MILDRED: Yes, Uncle, you called me?

NEWTON: Mildred, yes, please get a hot bath ready for Mr. Highstreet.

MARVIN: Hello, miss. My name is Marvin. Marvin Highstreet.

MILDRED: Very nice to meet you, sir.

MILDRED and MARVIN smile at each other for a moment longer but then look away shyly.

NEWTON: Mr. Highstreet has… traveled… a great distance and is very tired. Once you have the bath ready, show him his room for the night.

MILDRED: Yes, Uncle. Will Mr. Highstreet be staying with you for only one night?

MARVIN: Please, call me Marvin. Or Mr. Highstreet. I don't know. Whatever you want.

MARVIN and MILDRED smile at each other again and look away even more shyly.

NEWTON: Ah, well, that is a very good question, Mildred. Mr. Highstreet's travel plans are… complicated, and very hard to explain––so we should plan for him staying with us for some time longer.

MARVIN: It's very nice to meet you… Mildred.

MILDRED: It's also very nice to meet you, Mr. Highstreet. Marvin. Mr. Highstreet.

NEWTON: What is wrong with both of you? You just introduced yourselves a minute earlier.

MILDRED (changing the subject): Uh, I don't recognize your accent, Mr. Highstreet. Are you from Ireland?

MARVIN: Oh, uh, no, I am from a country much farther away than Ireland. But much younger than Ireland.

NEWTON: Mildred, please do not ask Mr. Highstreet too many questions. He is very tired and is here for… strange reasons.

MILDRED: Of course, Uncle. I'll go get his bath ready.

MILDRED exits stage left.

MARVIN: Has Mildred always been your maid?

NEWTON: No. She is not even a maid, really. She became very ill living in London, so she moved here to the countryside. I don't ask much of her, bu she helps me very much in this big house. I spend all my time studying.

MARVIN: Um, may I ask––have you invented calculus yet?

NEWTON: Have I invented what?

MARVIN: Oh, oops! Nothing. Forget it. I just wondered what you are studying now.

NEWTON: Oh heavens, it's all very complicated. I am trying to improve how we use mathematics to study nature. If we can understand nature better, we can know the mind of God better!

MARVIN: Sounds good to me. I was never very good in school. That's why I became a garbage man.

MILDRED enters stage left.

MILDRED: The bath is ready for Mr. Highstreet and I've already cleaned his room for the night.

MARVIN: Oh, great. Okay, well, good night, Mr. Newton.

NEWTON: Please, call me Isaac. Good night, Mr. Highstreet.

MARVIN: Uh, you can call me Marvin. Isaac.

MARVIN exits stage left and NEWTON sits back in his chair, thinking deeply.

Scene 3

MARVIN walks across stage (from stage left to right, then backstage to stage left, etc.) several times as music plays, and MILDRED does the same from stage right. Each time they cross paths, they exchange happy looks, glasses of tea, bows, etc.

Meanwhile at stage center, NEWTON continues working feverishly at his desk, or walking around writing notes. He keeps examining the alien tool, showing expressions of surprise, confusion, joy, insight, etc. As each day comes and goes, MARVIN and MIDLRED pass behind him. We see time passing because NEWTON's hair is already gray and MARVIN's is gray by the end of his walks across the stage.

The music stops playing. MARVIN stays on stage right.

NEWTON: It's just amazing! I do not understand much of the technology in this machine, but what I have learned in the past twelve years has taught me so much about calculus and physics. I am finally ready to finish my book.

MARVIN: Well, Isaac, that is good news. I knew you were going to write your book someday.

NEWTON: Ah, yes, of course you did. Future Man!

MARVIN: Your book will be a success, Isaac––but what about me going home? Have you figured out how to use the machine to send me home?

MILDRED enters stage left.

NEWTON: Well, Marvin, as I said, this machine is very complicated. I don't think it was made my humans. Maybe it is a gift from the angels. I have some ideas, but what if I use it wrong and hurt you?

MILDRED: Oh, Marvin, you must be careful! Don't go back too fast! You should wait until Uncle Isaac really understands the machine.

NEWTON: But, Mildred, it could take me many more years to really understand this machine.

MILDRED (clapping, hopping, very happy): Many more years? Great! … (She looks at MARVIN.) Oh, no, Marvin, I know you should go home, I just mean….

MARVIN: Well, I––I miss my home so much. … But I enjoy living here. The… people are so nice. You are so nice, Mildred.

NEWTON looks at both of them, a little confused, as MARVIN and MILDRED look at each other with smiles.

NEWTON: Why are you two acting so strangely––again?

MARVIN and MILDRED look at NEWTON and shrug innocently.

NEWTON: In any case, Marvin, I do have some good news about getting you back.

MARVIN: Yes? What?

MILDRED (sadly): Oh. Good news.

NEWTON: I understand some of how this machine sends people into the future. I just can't understand how it sends people back in time.

MARVIN: Well, that's fine with me. I have gone back in time enough already.

NEWTON: It is only a guess. It might now work. Do you want to try now?

MARVIN glances at the machine on NEWTON's desk, and then at MILDRED. She nods a little and then looks down. MARVIN wipes his forehead with both hands and sighs.

MARVIN: Okay, Isaac, yes, I am ready to try. But let me say goodbye.

He turns to MILDRED.

MARVIN: I am happy we know each other. I will… miss you. I will always miss you, Mildred!

MILDRED: I know, Marvin! Me, too!

MILDRED steps back as NEWTON approaches MARVIN. NEWTON adjust some things on the alien tool and then hands it to MARVIN.

NEWTON: I have made it ready for you. Only you can touch it so that only you travel home. Just press this button and turn this dial.

MARVIN: That's it? May the angels bring me back safely!

NEWTON steps away as MARVIN works on the alien tool. The tool makes noises and begins to shake. MILDRED cries MARVIN's name and NEWTON puts his thumb up.

MILDRED: Let me come with you, Marvin!

Everyone freezes. Curtain closes.



ACT III

Scene 1

The alien tool falls into a pile of garbage bags. MARVIN wakes up and stands out of the pile of bags.

MARVIN: Amazing! Isaac did it! I made it home!

His garbage truck rolls in from stage left, driven by HECTOR. HECTOR parks and "comes out" of the truck. He sees MARVIN and jumps out of the truck.

HECTOR: Well, well, well, look who it is. Did you have a nice vacation, Mr. Lazy?

MARVIN: Vacation? It's been years. I was in––uh, I…

HECTOR: I'm sure a week off felt like years away from all this garbage. But you only got a week off. We tried to call you, bu you never answered your phone. Were you sick? And why is your hair all gray? And how did you grow a bread in one week?

MARVIN: No, I––uh, it's hard to explain.

HECTOR: Plus, your accent sounds funny. Did you take a trip to England? Oh, just forget it. We don't have any time to waste with stories. Let's get to work!

MARVIN looks at the garbage, runs over, and picks up the alien tool.

HECTOR: What is that? A stereo?

MARVIN: I need to use a phone, Hector. Now. I need to call the FBI!

HECTOR: You can use my cellphone, just don't talk too long. Why are you calling the FBI? Do you want to pick up the President's garbage?

MARVIN: It's very important. This machine is very powerful. It is the reason I was gone all these years––

HECTOR: Years? You only took a week off!

MARVIN: A week? Well, uh, it, uh, it felt like years. Look, Hector, I need to give this machine to the government.

HECTOR: Like, the FBI?

MARVIN: Yes! If Newton could understand it, they can probably understand it better.

HECTOR: Newton? Isaac Newton? Marvin, did you eat some garbage? You sound crazy.

HECTOR takes the alien tool away from MARVIN and looks at it skeptically.

HECTOR: Are you saying this little… radio… is powerful? It looks like an old cell phone.**

MARVIN: Hector, be careful with that! Be careful!

HECTOR: You need to calm down. Our job is to throw out the garbage, not collect it and make up crazy stories.

HECTOR throws the alien tool behind him. It hits the ground and makes noises. Just then a woman yells. MILDRED enters stage right.

MARVIN: Mildred! The machine brought you here.

HECTOR is completely amazed. As MILDRED runs to hug MARVIN, HECTOR walks back slowly to find the alien tool.

MILDRED: I told Uncle Isaac about you and he finally understood we want to be together. In any time and any place. So he learned how to send me to.

MARVIN sees HECTOR pick up the alien tool.

MARVIN: Hector, this is Mildred. She just came from England.

MILDRED bows and smile at HECTOR.

MARVIN: Do you believe me now, Hector?

HECTOR: Incredible! Forget the FBI! Now it's mine!

HECTOR holds the alien tool over his head like a champion. Then he starts trying to use it. MARVIN approaches him to take away the tool, but HECTOR backs away. The alien tool starts making noises. MARVIN yells, MILDRED covers her mouth, HECTOR looks at them with a confused face, and then everyone freezes.

The curtain rises for a moment. When it drops, HECTOR is gone and MILDRED and MARVIN are awake.

MARVIN: He's gone.

MILDRED: I do hope he is all right.

MARVIN: Well, he always said he wanted to travel. Now he gets his chance!

MILDRED: Marvin, my dear, let's go home. I don't want to lose any more time.

Both exit stage left.

THE END

APPENDIX 1:


ACT III

Scene 1

The alien tool falls into a pile of garbage bags. MARVIN wakes up and stands out of the pile of bags.

MARVIN: Amazing! Isaac did it! I made it home!

His garbage truck rolls in from stage left, driven by HECTOR. HECTOR parks and "comes out" of the truck. He sees MARVIN and jumps out of the truck.

HECTOR: Well, well, well, look who it is. Did you have a nice vacation, Mr. Lazy?

MARVIN: Vacation? It's been years. I was in––uh, I…

HECTOR: I'm sure a week off felt like years away from all this garbage. But you only got a week off. We tried to call you, bu you never answered your phone. Were you sick? And why is your hair all gray? And how did you grow a bread in one week?

MARVIN: No, I––uh, it's hard to explain.

HECTOR: Well, you must be eating some weird food, but we don't have any time to waste with stories. Let's get to work.

MARVIN looks at the garbage, runs over, and picks up the alien tool.

HECTOR: What is that? A stereo?

MARVIN: I need to use a phone, Hector. Now. I need to call the FBI!

HECTOR: You can use my cellphone, just don't talk too long. What, do you want to pick up the President's garbage now?

MARVIN and HECTOR walk offstage right as MARVIN dials the FBI.

Scene 2

At stage center MARVIN is sitting in a large chair next to the PRESIDENT OF THE USA. At stage right a NEWS CAMERMAN is filming them talk.

PRESIDENT: Well, Mr. Highstreet, it is my pleasure to give you this award today. You are an American hero!

MARVIN: Oh, no, Mr. President. I was just a garbageman who found something from…well, something very special.

PRESIDENT: Very, VERY special, Mr. Highstreet. Our scientists have explained this tool does not come from Earth, but from outer space. What you have found might improve American science––and weapons, heheh––by decades. If aliens ever do attack, we may be safe.

MARVIN: Well, I wouldn't know anything about it if my good friend, Isaac, did not teach me.

PRESIDENT: Now I want to give you a Medal of Honor, Mr. Highstreet.

MARVIN stands so the PRESIDENT can give him a medal. MARVIN looks at the camera.

MARVIN: I just want to say this: Mildred, if you are out there. I will always love you.

The PRESIDENT puts the medal on MARVIN and then suddenly the alien tool begins to make noises. The PRESIDENT runs behind his desk as guards run to protect him. The CAMERAMAN brings the camera very close to MARVIN. MARVIN tries to control the tool, but then everyone freezes. The curtain falls.


Scene 3

A GORILLA MAN is crawling on the ground, looking for apples. The alien tool falls down into a tree and an apple hits the GORILLA MAN on the head. The GORILLA MAN is angry and hurt but then picks up the tool. He shakes it and makes noises. Nothing happens. It looks a few times at the tool in its hand, at the apple on the ground, and then at the trees above. It yells and jumps and then starts using the alien tool to known down apples for food.

The Laws of the Wall

by Elliot Bougis (14.2.08)

[This is only a rough draft, and not complete. I thought of most of it as I drove to work today. Better than cursing my fellow charioteers, I'd say.]

Law
is a wall
Up which none may crawl
But down from which all may fall
Law is a shawl
Which none may sweep aside
But which all may sleep inside
Law is it that keeps men apart
in their smirks
or keeps them together
in their smiles
Law is the mantle of clouds
and thunder
that hangs over all
A shawl of clouds
intangible and impenetrable
a pall, over all,
a call, over all
But over the walls of law
and over the laws of the shawl
there is a face
from whose brow there hangs a canopy
bestriding itself foursquare,
like yon tree
Within the space of the canopy
Dwells a face
supreme among our race
And from that face
a word
is spoken
to form the womb of grace
Grace
for our race
It is a face that shines
over all
An awl
that pierces and binds
all that unwinds or falls
A face that speaks
a call, for all
or a pall, if we reject the call
And, lo, once that face
was wrapped inside the shawl
spun by the claws of law
And swept away
Held inside the walls
built by the house of law
Buried clean and unseen
under a shawl of subhuman smirks,
behind a wall of superhuman smiles
… …

On making friends…

Make friends? A social fallacy. For it is friends that make us.

–– Elliam Fakespeare

Love to Me

[This is a song that popped in my head the morning of 13 Feb. I'd like to try learning how to use my Macbook Garage Band software to work it up into a real song. It plays in my head, but that doesn't do much for the crowd.

Beats are, amateurishly, indicated by + signs, and the melody should be something akin to Green Day's middle-range rock. One might imagine an emo love song based on AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds". If one dared to imagine. I would also like to imagine it as sounding like a Fastball or Spoon track or a tune by The Postal Service. Until I get Garage Band under my belt, it's just an a cappella ballad by yours truly. Until I go platinum, you can just enjoy it as a poem.]

Love + +
to them + +
is a past + + +
shattered under dung + + + +
Love + +
to them + +
is a future + + +
unspoken on their tongue + + + +
But love + +
to me + +
is nothing + +
without you in my life + +
Love + +
to them + +
is a shadow + +
cast by others' light + + +
Love + +
to them + +
is a beacon + +
unblinking in the night + +
But love + +
to me + +
is nothing + +
without you in my life + + + +
is nothing +
without you in my life + + + +
L0ve +
is a vacuum + +
or loVe + +
is a victory + +
depending where you touch it +
on the line +
of its life + + + +
Yes, love + +
for me + +
is a dream + +
which I can never live unless I sleep +
in your arms + + + +
which I can never live unless I sleep +
in your arms + + + +
in your arms + + + +
BRIDGE BRIDGE BRIDGE BRIDGE BRIDGE
Love + +
to them + +
is a bridge + + +
that looks best when it burns + + + +
Love + +
to them + +
is a current + + +
that frees us from what we earn + + + +
But love + +
to me + +
is nothing + +
without you in my life + + +
Love + +
to them + +
is a corpse + + +
that moves most as it hardens + + + +
Love + +
to them + +
is a womb + + +
that bears the means of pardon + + + +
But love + +
to me + +
is nothing + +
without you in my life + + + +
without you in my life + + + +
L0ve + +
is a loss + +
or loVe + + +
is advance + +
depending how you read it +
on the length of its line + + + +
Yes, love + +
for me + +
is a dream + +
which I can never live unless I sleep +
in your arms + + + +
which I can never live unless I sleep +
in your arms + + + +

One more among not enough…

…who, like myself, have decided to boycott the Beijing Shamlympics: Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg boycotts Beijing Olympics (13 Feb 08, theage.com.au)

US film maker Steven Spielberg said he was abandoning his artistic role in the Beijing Olympics, accusing China of not doing enough to press its ally Sudan to end devastating violence in Darfur.

"I have decided to formally announce the end of my involvement as one of the overseas artistic advisers to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games," Spielberg said in a statement.

In conjunction with this article, one should read of Hu Jia, a political dissident, husband and father, who was recently seized from his house, whereupon his wife and infant daughter were placed under house arrest.

Dissident’s Arrest Hints at Olympic Crackdown
By JIM YARDLEY
Published: January 30, 2008 (NYT)

Mr. Hu, 34, and his wife, Zeng Jinyan, are human rights advocates who spent much of 2006 restricted to their apartment in a complex with the unlikely name of Bo Bo Freedom City. She blogged about life under detention, while he videotaped a documentary titled “Prisoner in Freedom City.” Their surreal existence seemed to reflect an official uncertainty about how, and whether, to shut them up.

That ended on Dec. 27. Mr. Hu was dragged away on charges of subverting state power while Ms. Zeng was bathing their newborn daughter, Qianci. Telephone and Internet connections to the apartment were severed. Mother and daughter are now under house arrest. Qianci, barely 2 months old, is probably the youngest political prisoner in China.

TV is already scandalous enough; surely we can all support watching something more banal and less grotesque than the world celebrating its human solidarity in sport in the capital of a country that consistently violates human dignity. My prayer is that, whilst my eyes are off it, Beijing will be changed for good due to both the intense, subterranean spiritual energy building in China and the inescapable scrutiny it will draw during the Olympics.