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Monologue Mania Day #830 Triage (for Memorial Day) by Janet S. Tiger (c) May 22, 2016
Triage
(for Memorial
Day)
(Not) A
monologue by Janet S. Tiger (c) 2016 all rights reserved
tigerteam1@gmail.com
Two actors necessary -
one about 60, one in his 30s
(A man in a uniform enters, he's in his sixties, this is the
nephew. He salutes)
NEPHEW - My uncle was
the reason I joined the Army. He was a medic during World War II -
(A younger man in a uniform from WWII enters, but
with a cane, he walks slowly, this is the uncle)
NEPHEW - ....and he
never talked about it. Never. The other men in my family who
fought, they had stories. Not Uncle Jerome. I used to ask him about
it was like and all he would say was....'
(Uncle Jerome drops the cane and stands tall, he
looks very young now)
UNCLE - Triage.
NEPHEW - ...and when I
asked what that meant, he would say.......
UNCLE - Look it
up!
(The nephew puts on a baseball cap and jacket, he is
a kid again now)
NEPHEW - And I was
young, and I had no idea what he was talking about.....so I kept asking ....
(younger voice) Uncle Jerome, what's triage?
UNCLE - (Faster)
Look it up!
NEPHEW - What's triage?
UNCLE - (Louder)
Look it up!
NEPHEW - (Louder)
What's triage?
UNCLE - Look it
up!
(The uncle now takes a dictionary from his pocket
and holds it out)
NEPHEW- What's
triage?
(The nephew takes the book and looks)
NEPHEW - (Reading)
Triage....from
the French verb trier,
meaning to separate, sift or select. (more serious) It is the process of
determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their
condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are
insufficient for all to be treated immediately. Those responsible for the
removal of the wounded from a battlefield or their care afterwards would divide
the victims into three categories:[3][4]
·
Those who are likely
to live, regardless of what care they receive;
·
Those who are likely
to die, regardless of what care they receive;
·
Those for whom
immediate care might make a positive difference in outcome.
(The nephew sighs and hands the book back)
NEPHEW- That's what
you did......
UNCLE - Every
day.....all day.....
NEPHEW - But I
still don't really understand.....
UNCLE - Okay, here it
is maybe you can. You see two of the calves just fell in the river after
a storm, so the river's high, and fast, and you can only save one.....one calf
is the one that's smaller, and weaker, but it's your favorite, with a white
patch on her forehead......the other, the larger calf, she's stronger ......but
you can only save one - which one do you pick?
NEPHEW - Oh,
boy, that's a tough question....
UNCLE -
Yeah.....if you jump in and pick the weak one, and she dies later from
gettin' cold and sick, then you have no milk next winter......and if you try to
save both of them.....you might not save either....and you might get swept away.....so....which one is it? Who
lives? ...who dies?
NEPHEW -
(Starting to understand) Maybe ...maybe I can see why you don't
want to tell me the stories......
UNCLE - When
you're older.....
(The uncle takes the hat off his nephew and looks at it,
shaking his head). The nephew takes off his jacket and puts on the
matching officer's cap to his uniform. He stands up straight, military
straight)
NEPHEW - It must
of been hard, making choices like that.....
UNCLE - Why do
you think I don't wanna remember.....every day, I remember, I think about all
the guys I had to leave in the field......wonder about their families.....had I
made the right choices...... and then.....I come here....to these
reunions......and I see guys and they come up to me sometimes.....and they say
things like.......
(The uncle takes a deep breath, trying to choke back
the emotion)
NEPHEW - I
heard.....(Imitating) 'I want you to meet someone'.....and he turned to
his family
'I want you to meet the reason I'm here - this is
the man who saved my life....who crawled out and dragged me back and tied up my
leg so I didn't die in some pile of mud......'
UNCLE - (Hard to
say) I guess some of the cows I picked made it through the war......
NEPHEW- A fine
herd......
UNCLE - I just
wish I could have saved them all.......
NEPHEW- You did
your best.......
UNCLE - I
suppose.......
NEPHEW- Let's go
back in.....I think it's time for the medal ceremony......I'm glad I could be
here for this one, Uncle Jerome......
UNCLE - Me,
too......for all those who couldn't.....
(They salute each other and walk out, Uncle Jerome now with
his cane, very slowly but still straight and tall.)
A big thank you to all
those who have given their time - and their lives - to give us the gift of freedom.
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Janet S. Tiger 858-736-6315
JanetSTigerMonologueMania.blogspot.com
JanetSTigerMonologueMania.blogspot.com
Member Dramatists Guild since 1983
Playwright-in-Residence
Swedenborg Hall 2006-8--------------------------------------------------------------
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1 comment:
Beautiful and heartbreaking!
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