Sunday, August 2, 2015

Monologue Mania Day #536 The Good Book of Teas (for Book of Teas) by Janet S. Tiger Aug. 2, 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 #536   by Janet S. Tiger  Aug. 2, 2015
             For more monologues from The Book of Teas, check out
Days # 15, 41-53, 69, 84, 96, 105, 118, 156, 173, 175-8, 181-5, 269, 331, 452, 506 
 
                              The Good Book of Tea
   (for The Book of Teas)
A monologue by Janet S. Tiger (c) all rights reserved
tigerteam1@gmail.com  

           (T comes out holding a thick book, yes, she still has a Southern accent)



Preacher Jackson was more than handsome, he was very wise.
That day, I fell in love not just with him, but with  everything he loved, which was the Bible.
He introduced us to The Book of Job.
 Now some might think this is heavy for children, but not the way he taught it.
When he gave us the candy, after we had run off some of our child energy, he then handed out a thin book, no bigger than the readers we used to learn how to read in first grade.
It was a paperback, and it had a picture of Jesus on the front.

But first he told us not to read it - he had a question.
Who  wants to be rich?
Everyone raised their hand.
And who wants to have a big happy family?
Again, hands up.
Okay, now we can read. 
And we discovered the sadness and glory that was Job.
After we got through all the horror, he made us put the book down, even though there were still two pages left.
Who wants to be Job?  he asked.
Not a hand.
That's funny, you all wanted to be Job a few minutes ago.
No one wants to be Job, I blurted out.
Well, of course you all did.
The protests were vehement.
Who wants to have all that misery?
But Job started out with lots of money and a wonderful family - remember?
A light was starting to shine in my brain.
You all wanted to be rich, as I recall.  And have a life - just like Job's started.
The concept of this dilemma spread through the class like a visible ripple.  You could see everyone struggling with the concept.
He let us think.
It's good what you're doing now - you are - here's a fancy word for you - cogitating.  That means thinkin hard.
And that is what the Bible is for.
When someone asks you what you want, it's a good idea to think about your answer for awhile.
Why do you think I brought you this book?  You are young, why should you have to worry about such things?  Because I think even children can learn to think about the Bible - which is just another way of saying think about their lives.
And here's somethin you need to know about Job - we are all Job.
There was almost an audible gasp from the class.
Even our regular teacher, Miz Gillespie,  gasped.  I could see that she, too, was spellbound by this handsome preacher.
In our lives, we have great riches - you all sit here and have a school and a church and clothing and food - in other parts of the world, you would be considered very rich.
And yet, even now, here, some of you are going through great pain - you have already learned what it means to lose - maybe someone you love, maybe a pet....At this, several of the children started to cry a little.  For a moment, even at that age, I knew others in that class were in pain they did not share.
But everyone, at some time, faces troubles that are so big, and they are comin like the balls of hail in a thunderstorm, that you have no idea what to do.
And just when you think - how could anythin worse happen - it happens.  Somethin else horrible.
Your car breaks down on your way to an interview for a job you really need to pay the bills so your family can eat.  Or money so your children can go to a doctor.
And then, just when you are thinking you would like to talk to your oldest friend, she calls you, and you are so happy to hear her voice because they will truly understand what you are going through and they will run over and help…… and you find that friend is movin away, and that is when you wonder - when will this stop?
And that, my young friends, is what God is for.
And that's when he had us read the last pages, where Job's faith in God pays off - Job has his riches restored, he gets a new family, and through it all, his devotion is unwavering.
Mesmerized, we listened to this man, who had opened our eyes to something far greater than our own problems. 
There will be good times, and bad times - everyone is Job sometime - but when you believe there is more than just you - when you have God to turn to - even if no one else is there - you are not alone.
I remember looking around the class.  For a moment, the secrets were written on faces, almost as if there was a light shining on them, revealing the truth.  Preacher Jackson was right, some of us were Job already.
What were these hidden pains?  It wasn't until years later that I would learn what some of them were that day - the boy whose brother would beat him if he didn't do the brother's chores – a girl who's father drank, and used her as a wife because her mother died in childbirth.  The story of Job lived for me, and after that, I read the Bible, like a book, and with my heart.  It was not Gone With The Wind - but I grew to love it in a different way.
Gone With the Wind was only partly true - I knew that as a child.
I never felt that the Negroes, sorry, African Americans, of that time ever wanted to stay as slaves.  Even at age 10, I knew that couldn't be true.

But the Bible, with all its crazy, was in a different way, true.  Preacher Jackson had opened that door for me.
Here you go.....enjoy yourself...this is truly a good book...
         (She hands the book to the other person, then turns to leave, stops, looks back, listens and smiles)
What a good question!  What happened to the preacher?   It appeared that Preacher Jackson not only taught the Bible, he lived it.  It turned out he and Miz  Gillespie had a torrid affair, even though the preacher was married with seven children.
But this was something I did not learn until years later, and it in no way affected my love of the Bible, as it was clear that a man that handsome was going to break some hearts.
        (She smiles in her memory, then walks off slowly as the light dims on the scene)

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

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