Saturday, June 6, 2015

Monologue Mania Day #478 The Night Before by Janet S. Tiger June 5, 2015

Welcome to Monologue Mania- one new free monologue a day- for a whole year-and still going!
                                                                    first year -  Feb. 13, 2014 - Feb. 13, 2015
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Monologue Mania Day #478  The Night Before by Janet S. Tiger  June 5, 2015

                                 The Night Before
                              A monologue by Janet S. Tiger   © all rights reserved  2015                                                                                       tigerteam1@gmail.com

           (The older man is wearing a uniform from World War II, infantry, with a cane.  He marches onstage a little tipsy, turns, and comes to face the audience, salutes.  )

I'm sorry I'm late.....and I wanna thank you again for doing this.  I know everything is digital and computer these days, so I appreciate….a touch of the past....

         (Listens)

Yes, sir, we had quite a party.  Tonight’s festivities reminded me of…..a party we had a long time ago……

I knew it was a good party because everyone was drunk.  And most of my friends were not big drinkers, but it was the end of the war.

(Sighs)  Some of my buddies didn't make it home, so I guess we drank their share.

Why am I talking about this tonight?  Because tonight is June 5th, and at midnight, it becomes the anniversary of D-Day.

I was on a transport on June 5th, waiting to hear if the landing was actually going to happen.  Funny, when the reporters ask about D-Day, they always want to hear how it felt to hit the beach.  But what I remember.....was the night before, because it was waiting, and throwing up, and waiting some more.  We'd been floating for what seemed like years.  Everyone wanted to get off those boats.  Maybe the bad weather was good, it made dying on shore look like a better idea........and we did, we died.  We sank, we got hit, we got blown up....thousands of us that one day.  

But the night before, we were alive....and miserable.

Every night of my life since that night, I have thought, just before I drift off to sleep......I have wondered what it would have been like, had I died the next morning.  Like some of my friends….

I would never have gotten married, had kids, had grandchildren.......that night was over 70 years ago, and I still can remember my head in the toilet......

Funny what you think about.......when you  have a few too many. 

             (He takes a wallet from his pocket, removes a photo)

This is a picture I have of our gang, back then, when we signed up, the week after Pearl Harbor..

And now you can take the picture …..of who's left.

           (He stands up very straight, adjusts his cap, and holds the photo in front of his chest.  There is a flash, he salutes and exits.  Almost the end of an era we must never forget.

 And for all those who were on those boats the night before - and who fought the next day, and all the days after- we thank you.)

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Janet S. Tiger    858-736-6315
JanetSTigerMonologueMania.blogspot.com
Member Dramatists Guild since 1983
Playwright-in-Residence
Swedenborg Hall 2006-8
 



 

1 comment:

Jennifer Silva Redmond said...

Beautiful and touching. Bravo!