Monologue Mania Day #89 Down to the Wire by Janet S. Tiger (c) 2014

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Monologue Mania Day #89 by Janet S. Tiger  Down to the Wire (c)May 12, 2014  

                                                Down to the Wire

                                                    by Janet S. Tiger
                                             © 2014 all rights reserved

                                                tigerteam1@gmail.com

            (A man comes out onstage.  He is wearing a uniform, but it is old, and does not fit.  But he wears it proudly.)

Kids, please put away those computers.  Give ‘em to me……

            (He reaches out his hand, he is firm)

NOW!

            (The computers are handed, and he puts them in his pockets)

Thank you.

Remember what Granddad used to say?  When you get down to the wire, that’s when it all comes together……down to the wire…..

You’re probably wondering why I put on granddad’s old uniform from World War II.

He wore it last Veteran’s Day…..you remember, when he sat on the float?  He is going to be buried in it tomorrow, and I’m bringing it to the funeral home in a little while… I just wanted to have him close to me one more time.

He was my hero, from when I was a little kid….right down to the end here.

One day, when I was about your age,  I told him he was my hero.

He said that I shouldn’t think of him that way, and he told me this story, that happened to him during the December of 1944, down to the wire for the end of the war.

He’d been separated from his unit during the confusion at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge.  He was walking trying to find other guys he knew.  It was cold, winter, he was wet, scared, it was a bad day…….and just then a Jeep drove by with American markings on it…..the driver slowed a bit, and my Dad waved at him to stop.

(Yelling)  Can’t stop!  Have an important message for headquarters!

…the driver yelled at him, and to add insult to injury, there was a puddle and the Jeep went through it soaking him and covering him with mud.

My father – your grandfather – gave him the universal finger, and cursed him –…(loud) ‘I hope you go to Hell first!’

My father kept walking, and a few minutes later he heard a crash, but there were a lot of noises that distracted him, and he had to stay alert, so he didn’t think much about it, until he rounded a curve in the road and passed through some trees to see the Jeep he had cursed smashed into a tree. 

He ran to the Jeep, and the driver was there, but he had no head anymore – it had been severed by a trick the Germans used – they would string wire across the road between two trees – if a Jeep went through fast enough, the driver would be decapitated….

My father checked, and sure enough, there was the wire …….and he took the Jeep and drove it to the next camp, and gave the body of the dead driver to be buried.  He remembered what the driver had said, about an important message, and delivered it himself.  He had just narrowly escaped being killed by the Germans who had strung that wire, and he ended up with a medal for bravery, even though, as he said, the only reason he was still alive was the other guy, the driver was an SOB.

So why do I tell you this story now?  Because your granddad wanted me to – he wanted you guys to know he wasn’t perfect, so when you face some tough stuff, you’ll remember to do your best, but don’t worry – you ain’t never gonna be perfect.  And when you get down to the wire…..if you can….just duck…….

            (He reaches into his pockets for the computers, is surprised by the reaction)

You want more stories about granddad? 

            (He wipes his eyes, then stands up straight)

I think he would like that……let’s go outside and take a walk…..

            (He turns to leave, looks back)

Some of these stories are best left unheard by your mother……He was in Paris on a furlough....and there was this girl.......

            (We hear him start another story as he exits.  The end.)

Janet S. Tiger    858-274-9678
www.JanetSTiger.weebly.com
Member Dramatists Guild since 1983
Playwright-in-Residence
Swedenborg Hall 2006-8