Sunday, December 13, 2015

Monologue Mania Day # 670 Genesis by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 13, 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
I've continued with a monologue a day until the spirit moves me to stop, so if you have any ideas for a monologue you want me to write, please let me know at tigerteam1@gmail.com.


If you just started this blog and want to read the earlier monologues-
     

     For a list of the titles and blurbs from each day, 
click here  There are now over 650!
 
Get  more great  award-winning monologues - 
MonologueZone.com

 If you'd like to write your own monologues, I happen to have a book for that -
            How to Write a Monologue in 10 Easy Lessons (Well, maybe not so easy)
Thank you for your comments - and for liking and sharing this site.  Wishing you much success!    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Monologue Mania Day # 670  Genesis by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 13, 2015
            This is a mini-one-act from several monologues, please let me know if it works, thanks!
                                  
                                    Genesis
                                       by  Janet S. Tiger    
                                © 2015  all rights reserved 
                                     tigerteam1@gmail.com


 (A woman comes out.  She is barely covered - just the important spots.  She is eating an apple, you guessed it, this is Eve)

EVE - Mmmm,mmmmm,mmmm, this is good.  I just love these, I don't care what he calls them, I think I'm giving it my own name.......John, Peter, Paul...Mack...that's good, a Mack apple.  Juicy and delicious.

       (She chomps down, finishes and throws the core away)

EVE - I wish we had something to put garbage in.... I hate to just throw stuff on the ground.  Maybe that snake will show me where I can get a....what would I call it.....a garbage pail.  That's a good name....I just love knowing things......what a great tree!

         (She pulls another apple out of her skimpy outfit as Adam runs onstage, worried)

ADAM -  Put that down!  I told you to hide!  We’re gonna be in big trouble, the least you can do is hide the evidence….

 (He takes a good look at Eve, very appreciative)

ADAM -  Where’d you get that?

EVE – (Happy)  This old thing? 

ADAM -  (Pulls himself back to reality) Look, are you paying attention? Did you hear anything I said?

EVE -  If you don’t listen to me, I don’t have to listen to you - a guy who’s short a rib!  Ooh, I think we’re having our first fight…..maybe I should post it on Facebook….of course with no one else around, how could a change in status make a lot of difference?

ADAM – (Pulling his hair) Oh, my God!  (Looks up)  Sorry……Why did I have to eat that apple!

EVE - And stop complaining!  Daddy won’t notice a few apples, there’s plenty!  And that snaky guy sure was nice.  Okay, his skin was a little slimy, but I'm sure that's just adolescence.

And I don't care what everyone says, I trust him.  I mean, why do I have to listen to some faceless voice?  What did the snake call it when you hear voices?  Schizo!  I don't wanna be that.  Nope, we did the right thing eating these apples.....I mean, what could possibly go wrong when you put your mouth on something that tastes so good.....I have no regrets!  Except I look like Daisy May in this outfit, but hey, maybe there's a Nordstrom Tree Rack around here someplace.....

          (She is about to take a bite, when a voice is heard, they drop down, start trying to sneak off)

ADAM -.Our father!  Now we're in for it.......I betcha we get grounded!

EVE - Daddy'll never kick us out.....he just couldn't!  Come on, I know a great place to hide…..under the bleachers….and the snake had some other great ideas……..

           (They exit, Adam looking back and shaking his head.   We hear sounds of oohing and aahing, and Adam returns, smiling, he is really a man now!  Then he runs off, grabs a big package and walks off, sweating but singing.  We now see Eve, walking slowly. She is now wrapped up a bit better and carrying a big pile of stuff – she stumbles and she is very annoyed)

EVE -  I can't believe he did it!  He thinks he's so big and powerful, ok, I get it!  But I mean, who woulda thought?  That he'd actually follow through!  On his own children!  Who does that?  And such a stupid thing, to eat an apple and get kicked out!  I mean it wasn't like LSD or anything serious!  Boy, one tiny, little mistake....okay we disobeyed, but hey, nobody's perfect, right?

            (She looks around)

EVE - And where the hell is Adam?  How come I get to carry all this stuff?  I hope this walking behind dragging everything is not gonna be a trend, because I don't like it.....

           (She sets down the baggage and her coat falls open to show she is pregnant.  She rubs her belly)

EVE - And this is no great delight either.....I wonder how it happened….another mystery….well, whatever is in there is kicking up a storm......none of this was my fault....if I'd had a good soap opera to watch or maybe some HBO, I never would been having a latte with that stupid snake.  Well, I'll know better for next time.

             (She looks around)

EVE – Where is that man?  I’ll bet he forgot to take out the garbage before we left….I guess the garbage is no big deal, it’s a big world, plenty of room for garbage…..Well, I'd better catch up with Adam, maybe he'll know what to do about whatever's happening in here.......maybe some Pepto Bismol will help......

               (She grabs her stomach, almost falls to her knees)

EVE - Whoa, that was no kick.......that was......painful.......What a sensation!  .But it also felt like, the beginning of something ......amazing........

               (She struggles to her feet, taking a few of the items with her)

EVE -.......what should I call it this .....I cain't think of the word....CAIN, now that sounds interesting....

               (She turns to leave, stops, looks back)

EVE ......maybe I'll be able to get through this after all......Able......

                (She walks off slowly.  When she returns, she is in a dark covering, her head is bowed.  She comes and kneels, then lifts her head to the sky)

EVE -  I know you told me that it would hurt to have these babies, but.....I didn't believe you.  How much pain could it be?  I watched the other animals, they give birth quickly, and, ok, maybe mine took a little longer, but it wasn't so bad.  And the result!  These beautiful little beings, made in our image!  I felt ……just like you must have felt!

Only.....a little more messy.

            (She gets up, goes and starts collecting something off the ground.  Rocks.  Which she holds in one hand throughout the next)

EVE - And the joy when they grow, all right, some annoyance.  They do not listen, they want to do what they want to do.......I'm sure you can understand that!

Then they pick a profession.  I wanted Cain to be a doctor, but he picked farming, ok, like his father. We couldn't complain.  I mean we did, but he pointed out that becoming a doctor was going to take centuries before there were any good schools, and the interest on the loans would just be prohibitive.  So, a farmer he is.

And Abel, with those stupid, smelly sheep.  Okay, they make nice warm clothes, but that constant  'baah, baah....... humbug!  It gets to you after awhile..........

But the surprise was......(she chokes up).......where the pain really comes from in childbirth...it ain't in the giving birth.....it's.....how much it hurts when one of them....... dies!

You let us find out for ourselves....... nice plot twist.......

           (She takes the rocks and puts them on a spot)

I tried putting dust on this grave, but it blows away.  I think I'll just leave these rocks.  They might last longer......

Although, there is no way those rocks will last longer than my love.....


            (Adam enters, head bowed, sees here and goes over to put his hand on her shoulder.)

ADAM – I don’t think you should stay here anymore….you might become a…(thinks)..a pillar of salt…

EVE-  What the hell is that?

ADAM -  What is what?  Oh the pillar thing….I got it from this….

            (He pulls a book out of his pocket, shows it to her)

EVE – (Suspicious)  Where’d you get that?

ADAM – It was in the nightstand next to the bed……but look, it’s all about us….and the future!  There are some wonderful stories……

           (Eve looks, shakes her head)

ADAM – But it’s a best seller!

EVE -  It’s no Gone With the Wind or Harry Potter…….

ADAM -  But it has great wisdom ….something for everyone…..

EVE -  That’s a lotta pages…..I think I’ll wait for the movie…..

ADAM-  That’s gonna be a few years….from what Daddy told us, we’re not gonna live forever anymore….

EVE -  Oh, Daddy, he’s a lotta talk, but I know he’ll change his mind sooner or later….and show us how to splice genes and do DNA stuff so we can  live forever again….

ADAM -  Maybe down the road, but for now….we still have one child left….maybe we should focus on that….

EVE -  That bum!  That murderous bum!  How can you…

ADAM – (Talks over her)  Still our son!    He’s all we have…..one chance to get it right….so he can marry his sisters…..and get this whole story moving again….. come on honey, let’s go…back to the future….

EVE – Now there’s a good title!

ADAM -  You’re right….if I can just find my iphone, I’ll write it down…

EVE -  iphone?  What the hell is THAT?

ADAM -  I’ll show you, there’s this great store……and what is this hell you keep talking about?

EVE – I dunno, the word just keeps popping up, I think I got it from the snake…..

ADAM – Still talking about the snake…..if you hadn’t listened to that snake….

          (They start to exit, still arguing)

EVE -  If I hadn’t listened?  What about you, Mr. Still Forgets to Take Out the Garbage?

ADAM -  Will you ever let that go?

            (She stops for a moment, looks back at the grave, runs to touch it)

EVE -  (A little teary)  Maybe never……

            (He holds out his hand to her, and she comes to take it)

EVE -  But it’s been a good life……

ADAM -  Not just good, but the beginning……

EVE -  A wonderful life……

            (They exit holding hands as we hear)

ADAM -  Now that’s an interesting title…..It’s a Wonderful Life…….

            (They exit to a wonderful future)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Monologue Mania Day # 669 Cookies by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 12, 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
I've continued with a monologue a day until the spirit moves me to stop, so if you have any ideas for a monologue you want me to write, please let me know at tigerteam1@gmail.com.


If you just started this blog and want to read the earlier monologues-
     

     For a list of the titles and blurbs from each day, 
click here  There are now over 650!
 
Get  more great  award-winning monologues - 
MonologueZone.com

 If you'd like to write your own monologues, I happen to have a book for that -
            How to Write a Monologue in 10 Easy Lessons (Well, maybe not so easy)
Thank you for your comments - and for liking and sharing this site.  Wishing you much success!    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Monologue Mania Day # 669 by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 12, 2015
               This is the grandmother's reaction to Day # 667

                                          Cookies
                                  
                                       by  Janet S. Tiger    
                                © 2015  all rights reserved 
                                     tigerteam1@gmail.com

       (She looks and sounds like a grandmother because she is one, circa 1970s, and she is listening intently, while finishing making cookies.  She holds up a bowl)

Would you like to lick the bowl?  The kids always loved doing that.....No?  That's okay, I will.

       (She uses a spatula and licks it, then sighs)

Best part of making cookies ......simple, delicious, no more work.  Sex and cookies have a lot in common.....at heart, very simple.  Easy.  Some ingredients get mixed together, and the result can be very good.  Or not.

You've been asking me some very difficult questions, young man.  So I will try to help you understand why my granddaughter is so set on her point of view.  In life, we all have choices.....when you're little, easy.  Which cookie do you like best?  How many to eat?  One, two?  What kind of a stomach ache do you get if you eat them all?  And what will your mother do if you eat them all!?

Then you get older, and have a chance to make your own cookies, because someone has taught you all about ...how to measure out the dough.....how to mix up the flour and the sugar and the chocolate chips and....the nuts......and they've taught you how the oven works,

Suddenly the opportunities become limitless.....which cookie should you make?  How many?  Do you invite over friends for a party?  What if you forget to take the cookies out, you find out they burn....and if you leave on the oven....you can burn down your house.

But what if someone tries to tell you which cookies to make, or whether you have to eat them if you think they don't taste good?  You don't like that.  No one does.

Women don't like to be told what to do with their bodies.....it's that simple.  Now, men are quick to say that the baby is another person....that once a woman is pregnant, it's not just about her anymore.  But here's what I say to that.......as a man, you have a choice - not to have sex.  Simple.  If you don't have sex, you can't get a woman pregnant.  And she won't have that decision to make.

But if you have sex, accept that it is out of your....hands, so to speak.

       (She turns to leave, stops, looks back)

My granddaughter has the right to do what she wants......it's her life, her body.....and her choice.  And if you don't like that....well, you're a swimmer.....there's plenty of other cookies in the sea!

       (She exits, still licking the bowl.....)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Friday, December 11, 2015

Monologue Mania Day # 668 Everything is Politics by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 11, 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
I've continued with a monologue a day until the spirit moves me to stop, so if you have any ideas for a monologue you want me to write, please let me know at tigerteam1@gmail.com.


If you just started this blog and want to read the earlier monologues-
     

     For a list of the titles and blurbs from each day, 
click here  There are now over 600!
 
Get  more great  award-winning monologues - 
MonologueZone.com

 If you'd like to write your own monologues, I happen to have a book for that -
            How to Write a Monologue in 10 Easy Lessons (Well, maybe not so easy)
Thank you for your comments - and for liking and sharing this site.  Wishing you much success!    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Monologue Mania Day # 668 Everything is Politics by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 11, 2015
                                  
                                        Everything is Politics
                                       by  Janet S. Tiger    
                                © 2015  all rights reserved 
                                     tigerteam1@gmail.com

         (This is a political campaign manager and it shows.  In his 40s in the 1970s,, good-looking, divorced, well-dressed and very smart.  He is now having to search for the words to tell the potential candidate changes must be made)

(Laughing)  Political!  why my dear, misguided new friend, everything is political!

People complain about politicians, but the fact is, a man at work sees his friend doing something maybe a little out of the ordinary- the first things that go through the mind are - do I tell?  Who do I tell?  How will this help me?  How will it hurt?

That is all politics.   The neighbor who decides not to tell when the milk man's delivery lasts for an hour......or the doctor who holds back vital health information from a reporter because it could ruin a friend......all part of the human political game we call....life.

 I've been watching....your own daughter is pretty savvy politically....yes, I know she's always got a ....what's a polite word?......an original view of the issues.  But she knows when to argue......and most important, she knows when to shut up......that, my new friend is what makes a good politician.

         (Goes to the bar, pours a drink, not sure how to continue)

Ok, I'm not sure how to bring this up politely, but there are a few issues you're going to need to address.  The first, is your family.....(listens, holds up hands) ...oh, I know your daughter loves to argue with you, but she's an asset.  A big one in her age range.  She is firecely independent - yet she still loves you, that counts for a lot with that voting demographic.

And your wife, she's ...(very appreciative)....she's your biggest asset.....and your mother-in-law, well, even if she disagrees, everyone loves a funny old lady,

Your son is also appealing to the religious vote.....even if he turned out to be......not so religious, he's young, and he seems to not be involved in drugs.....so, you have a solid group behind you.  Big supporters......and if you choose to say yes to the nomination, this is a great time of year.....lots of good photos around the holidays....but we'll get to that later.

The biggest issue here....is the fact that....your insistence on honesty is a trait not particularly needed in the world of politics....

       (Listens)

Am I saying you are too honest?  I don't think that's possible....but yes, you are.  Unnecessarily so.....and unfortunately.....in ways that are definitely deleterious to the chance of winning.

You could learn something from that daughter of yours......like how to pick your battles.  Because from where I sit.....you may know how to play baseball, but unless you decide to learn how to play the decidedly unruly game of politics.....you ain't gonna win!

         (He raises his glass)

And that's the truth!

          (Lights out on the truth...)
           

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Monologue Mania Day # 667 Swimming Against the Tide by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 10, 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
I've continued with a monologue a day until the spirit moves me to stop, so if you have any ideas for a monologue you want me to write, please let me know at tigerteam1@gmail.com.


If you just started this blog and want to read the earlier monologues-
     

     For a list of the titles and blurbs from each day, 
click here  There are now over 600!
 
Get  more great  award-winning monologues - 
MonologueZone.com

 If you'd like to write your own monologues, I happen to have a book for that -
            How to Write a Monologue in 10 Easy Lessons (Well, maybe not so easy)
Thank you for your comments - and for liking and sharing this site.  Wishing you much success!    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Monologue Mania Day # 667 Swimming Against the Tide by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 10, 2015
                                  
                                 Swimming Against the Tide
                                       by  Janet S. Tiger    
                                © 2015  all rights reserved 
                                     tigerteam1@gmail.com

       (The actor will be a Japanese young man- early 20s, nice-looking, slight accent - he is obviously troubled and has finally decided to ask the grandmother of his girlfriend for advice)

Thank you for talking with me, I have a problem with your granddaughter, and I need help.  The problem is with.....I hope it is all right to discuss these things, in Japan I would not even think about it, but here, in the United States, things are different.

You see, the problem is with....sex.

         (Sees the reaction and throws his hands up)

I am so sorry!  I did not want to offend you!  I am concerned because, you see, my family is Japanese, you know, I mean I know you know, but, we are different than most other Japanese.....we are not Buddhist, we are Catholic......for many hundreds of years......and......well, the problem is that I wanted to marry your granddaughter......(listens)....no the problem is not that she does not want to get married, well, yes, that is a small problem, all right, a big problem, but......you see.....my family is very religious......which has not been easy for us......

Let me explain a little about my family......two days before I was to come here to study, my father had a heart attack.  (Difficult to remember this)  He was very sick, and we were at the hospital, and he asked to see me.

I told him I was going to cancel coming here, and he was very upset.  He told me that all his life he had saved so that I could come here, to UCLA.....it was a dream....his dream, and he made it mine.  How could I leave him?  He told me, if he died, I could go to mass here in the US.....but that if I stayed, he would forbid me to come to the tomb!  He was...what is the word?....he insisted that I not give up the chance to start school.

I begged him, I said I could start after the funeral, but he refused.  He said there is only one time to start the first time - that to stay with the dead, is to not go on with life, and I had to choose life.

So, I came here, and ....as a swimmer, I am always in the ocean, and I met your granddaughter at the beach in Santa Barbara.  She was protesting the pollution from the oil spill, and I loved her from the first minute I saw her arguing with a man - shaking a picture of dead birds covered in oil!

        (Listens, nods)

The problem with sex.  (Listens)  Oh, no, I like sex.  Sex is good.  In Japan, girls who have sex are expensive, but here, things are different.  Everything is very different.  But one thing is the same, babies.

I did not think this would be a problem, but now I find out, your granddaughter believes that to kill the baby is all right.  And that is now the law in this country, that if a woman does not want the baby, she can have an.....(hard to say)  an abortion.

So now there is a problem with sex.  I want to marry her, but I also want her to have my babies.

It is very confusing for me!  Swimming is much easier!  I dive in, I swim, I lose the race, I win the race, it is simple.  I like when things are simple.

So what do I do?

         (He is a little nervous)

I ask you because, I do like to have the sex, but if she were pregnant, I would not want my baby to be......killed.   This is more than just confusing.....(searches for the words)....it is .....like swimming.... against the tide.......

Thank you for listening I am waiting for your advice.....

          (He bows, lights down)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Monologue Mania Day # 666 Palimpsest by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 9, 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
I've continued with a monologue a day until the spirit moves me to stop, so if you have any ideas for a monologue you want me to write, please let me know at tigerteam1@gmail.com.


If you just started this blog and want to read the earlier monologues-
     

     For a list of the titles and blurbs from each day, 
click here  There are now over 650!
 
Get  more great  award-winning monologues - 
MonologueZone.com

 If you'd like to write your own monologues, I happen to have a book for that -
            How to Write a Monologue in 10 Easy Lessons (Well, maybe not so easy)
Thank you for your comments - and for liking and sharing this site.  Wishing you much success!    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Monologue Mania Day # 666 Palimpsest by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 9, 2015
                                       
 For other monologues from Caregivers Anonymous, please see Days # 268, 270, 271, 273, 284, 285, 286, 314, 317, 380, 412, 444, 454, 455, 456, 473, 474, 475, 476, 483, 484, 513, 514, 566, 569, 666, 692, 702

                                    Palimpsest

                                    (for Caregivers Anonymous)
               ©Janet S. Tiger 
          all rights reserved 2015
                                tigerteam1@gmail.com

           (The well-dressed woman comes up to the wheelchair and does not sit in it.  Instead, she touches the wheels and then spins it around)

I look at this chair and I think of something so strange, I am almost embarrassed to mention it.  I don't know if any of you remember that in my days before caregiving, I was a researcher, at the natural history museum, and I was in charge of all new acquisitions.  (sighs)  I enjoyed that......(Remembering)  Sometimes we got in what is known as a....always loved this word!....a palimpsest.


Now that's just a fancy word for a piece of parchment where the writing has been scraped away so something new can be written on it.  I actually was fascinated by these...palimpsests......because they were mysteries.  What was beneath?  Could it still be seen?  By the new scientific methods, a lot can be revealed.....my favorites were the brass pages.....scraped clean....so that they could be re-engraved...


         (She runs her hand over the wheelchair)


Sometimes I wonder about what is being left behind by my husband and me on our walks....now with him in his wheelchair.....the Huntington's is advanced now, Brian can't speak anymore, but he likes walks.  And each one leaves scratches on the wheels.  The wheels, the rubber, the spokes.....dust hits and makes its mark....we roll over a stone and it bounces up and dings the metal......


And I wonder if this wheelchair could be scraped down, and if, once scraped down, someone, in a thousand years, could determine that I walked with him in it......and where we went.  


Even though I had to retire.- because I was so interested, I've kept studying, and I found that the lovely word palimpsest had other definitions.......


         (She takes out a paper and reads from it)


'In planetary astronomy, ancient craters on icy moons whose relief has mostly disappeared, leaving behind only a trace of a rim....are also known as....my favorite word!  .....palimpsests!.....or ghost craters.....'


(Sad)  Well, my relief has mostly disappeared, leaving behind only a trace......a.ghost crater.....Brian is a ghost of what he was.....and I......crate him around.......


         (The others laugh and applaud as she sits.  End of scene)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Monologue Mania Day # 665 A Great Miracle Happened There (for Hanukah) by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 8, 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
I've continued with a monologue a day until the spirit moves me to stop, so if you have any ideas for a monologue you want me to write, please let me know at tigerteam1@gmail.com.


If you just started this blog and want to read the earlier monologues-
     

     For a list of the titles and blurbs from each day, 
click here  There are now over 650!
 
Get  more great  award-winning monologues - 
MonologueZone.com

 If you'd like to write your own monologues, I happen to have a book for that -
            How to Write a Monologue in 10 Easy Lessons (Well, maybe not so easy)
Thank you for your comments - and for liking and sharing this site.  Wishing you much success!    
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Monologue Mania Day # 665 A Great Miracle Happened There (for Hanukah) by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 8, 2015
                                       
                 Wishing all a Happy Hanukah - with miracles that last throughout the entire year. This was originally posted on Day #313   Dec. 22, 2014 

                         A Great Miracle Happened Here
    ©Janet S. Tiger all rights reserved
                                     tigerteam1@gmail.com


              (A man comes onstage, he is wearing a yarmulke, dressed from the seventies, where this story exists.  He is carrying an eight-branched menorah -the candle-holding device used during the holiday of Hanukah and a dreidel, the toy children and families play with during this holiday.

He sets the menorah on a table, and puts in seven candles, with one extra to light them.  This will leave one empty spot on the end for another candle.  He leans his head to pray silently for a moment, raises his head, he has a slight accent)

When the Rabbi asked me to talk about Hanukah, I wasn't sure what to say, because, although I've been a member here for many years......

             (He points into the audience)

........you all know my wife who makes the delicious kugel, and my two boys, one was just barmitzvah, you may have come to hear him, and get some kugel.....

But everyone knows that since the war, I have never been that observant anymore.  After my family was murdered, this is easy to understand.  Towards the end of the war, my father and I were the only two left of all of us, we had been eight, my parents and my five brothers and sisters, all gone.  Just him and me left, working together in a camp.

And then one day, he was getting too weak, and they were taking him away, and .....he waved at me to keep working, but I went to stop the soldier, and...... he shot me.  I could see my father's face as I fell, I knew it was the end for him, too.

But as you can see, I did not die.  They hauled me bleeding to a hole and I was thrown in.  The thing was, when I was a boy, we grew up in a village, surrounded by a forest.  My father knew that forest well, we would hunt for food there, and he would teach me about the animals and the plants.  He used to point out the possums, and he would say, (imitates father's voice) 'Look at that stupid animal!  But it's not so stupid, it knows how to do one thing very well, and that thing is to play dead!  And that one thing..... keeps it alive.  Study this animal, the ability to play dead is a very important skill....as important as knowing when to fight.....'

        (He takes a deep breath, gets control of himself)

So I played dead, and they buried me in a, thank God, not too well packed grave.  I waited, like a possum, until the night, and I crawled out.   The bullet had gone through my side, thank God, and I was bloody, but it was summer, and I knew how to live in the forest.  I was lucky, I met with others who did not kill me, and I survived, I searched for my father, but he was gone, too, so I was filled with pain, I no longer believed there was a God, and I vowed never to go to shul again.

But .......then, I came to this country, and I got married, and Deborah said if I didn't go to services, at least she would go with the children.  I could agree to that.

The years go by, and, as some of you know,  I have an import-export business with Europe and  Israel.  One time, I fly on  the seventh night of Hanukah, which that year was on a Friday night, and on the plane, I sit next to a Chassid, and he liked to talk, and asked if I wanted to join him for Sabbath and Hanukah at his shul, not far from where my hotel was.  I thanked him, did not even listen to which shul it was, and forgot it.

Anyone who has been to Israel, especially Jerusalem, knows it gets very quiet on Sabbath, so by the time I got settled, there was not much left to do except walk around.....and there I was in front of a small shul, and the candles were lit for Hanukah, and for some reason, I went in.  It was like going back in time, a lot of the men there had numbers on their arms, just like mine....

           (He holds up his arm to show)

Everyone was very friendly.  They wanted to know where I was from, and they gave me a seat near the front, and during Kaddish, when I stood, the man I met on the plane came up and hugged me, and stood with me.  There were others standing for Kaddish, and there was something different that night, one older man stood up and started to speak about those he was saying Kaddish for.  Like me, like a lot of the people there, it was for an entire family.  His story was very sad.....

        (He is very affected by this)

His wife, his sons and daughters, all gone, and then, he said something that made me look up, look at him closely...... (imitates the voice of the man)  'my son died trying to save me, my son, may he rest in peace......Yitzhak ben Shmuel ....... of Lahkva.....'

       (He is frozen, still remembering the lightning bolt of that moment)

It was my name, and most of all.....my town......
I couldn't help it...... Are you Shmuel Rosenberg?  He stared at me for a moment, the entire shul was silent for the first time that night, anyone who knows Jews knows how unusual that is......

We looked at each other and we both started to cry.  I hugged him....Papa!.....

        (He takes a kleenex and wipes his eyes)

It was my father!  The truck he was put on to take him to his death, it slid into a ditch and he was thrown to the side......when they went to look at him.........he played dead.  He heard the soldiers talking, and one of them was going to shoot my father, the other said, 'Don't waste your bullet on that Jew, let's go'
And they left......and my father lived!  He survived in the same forests as I did,  not twenty miles apart, each of us thinking the other was dead!

He had not even looked for me, because he had watched me die, so he came to Israel, and helped fight during the War for Independence, and he had been reckless, because he didn't care if he lived or died......but now, we found out that we had both played possum!

          (He hangs his head, then raises it and laughs, holding up the dreidel)

So, why do I tell this story now?  Because it was the seventh night of Hanukah, and some have argued that is the night of the biggest miracle, because no one knew if it would last till the end, it was a hope, a prayer, fanned by the first days, but that seventh night, if it had gone out then......so I say the words on the dreidel.......Nas Godole Haya Sham - a great miracle happened there.....

         (He spins the dreidel, then turns to leave, stops, looks back)

My father got to see my children, his grandchildren .....which is the greatest miracle.....before he died....perhaps the point of such simple holidays is to remind us that miracles are everywhere.....my wife says the miracle is that......(smiling)....now I go to services with the rest of the family!

        (He exits.  Not the end of miracles!)

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Note-  this was loosely based on a true story.
     
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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

Monday, December 7, 2015

Monologue Mania Day # 664 Statistical Probablity (for Real Life Science) by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 7, 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
I've continued with a monologue a day until the spirit moves me to stop, so if you have any ideas for a monologue you want me to write, please let me know at tigerteam1@gmail.com.


If you just started this blog and want to read the earlier monologues-
     

     For a list of the titles and blurbs from each day, 
click here  There are now over 600!
 
Get  more great  award-winning monologues - 
MonologueZone.com

 If you'd like to write your own monologues, I happen to have a book for that -
            How to Write a Monologue in 10 Easy Lessons (Well, maybe not so easy)
Thank you for your comments - and for liking and sharing this site.  Wishing you much success!    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Monologue Mania Day # 664 Statistical Probablity (for Real Life Science) by Janet S. Tiger Dec. 7, 2015
                                       
                        Real Life Science - Statistical Probablity
                                       by  Janet S. Tiger    
                                © 2015  all rights reserved 
                                     tigerteam1@gmail.com

           (Mother comes onstage dressed in a bathrobe.  She is smiling, but underneath we sense....more)


What are the odds?

In laboratories and the high fallutin' world of mathematical investigation, statistics is a game of chance that is determined by numbers.

If you have a coin with two sides - one head, one tail - what are the odds that you will have the coin land on the tails side?  50/50 - or so they tell us.  Two chances - one outcome.  Only.
One over two.

Simple - but in the REAL world of Science - here is the truth.  What are the chances that if you put one pair of socks into the washing machine - that's two socks - into one washing machine - that the pair will come out of the dryer as a pair - both socks, two socks.  Quick - what are the odds that one sock ONLY will emerge? 

Is it two socks over one machine?  Is it one sock over two socks?  Is it....one sock into the black hole of space?  You got it - the odds of losing one sock are an amazing - 100 %!

Now, you ask, how is that possible?  Because in the real world, things are not so simple as in controlled laboratory experiments.  The key word here being - controlled.

We go into the real world and suddenly.....instead of a head and a tail - the coin has two heads  - both of which are yelling at you - or crying, or just irritating in some unforeseen way!

The key to the world - as opposed to the 'controlled' laboratory, is UNFORESEEN!

Never imagined, even when you know it's going to happen, like you know that no matter how you put the lunch bag on the table and say, here it is, ready to go, the person  - an intelligent person with a degree, or a child running to school, it is immaterial - the person IS GOING TO LEAVE IT BEHIND AND YOU WILL HAVE TO RUN AFTER THE CAR/SCHOOL BUS IN YOUR OLD RATTY BATHROBE AND SLIPPERS...IN THE SNOW!...AND MAYBE YOU WILL CATCH THEM AND MAYBE NOT....what are the odds here?

100% that you will have wet soggy slippers
100% that the people who forgot the lunch will BLAME YOU for their forgetfulness
100% that ....you .....are the odd one

And that is today's lesson in Real World Statistics.

If you'll excuse me, I have to go change my slippers.....

           (She turns to leave, stops, looks back)

They're 100% soggy.......

           (She leaves, squishing her way to another scientific discovery)

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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