The Business
Dedicated to my Father and Mother,
whose passions are inspiring.
Act I, Scene I
(Frank is leaning over a store counter reading a newspaper as George enters from the “Front Door” on stage right.)
GEORGE:
Hey
FRANK:
Hey
GEORGE:
(pause) So?
FRANK:
Nope not a soul. (pause) How does the sign look?
GEORGE:
It’ll be fine. (muttering) Why do you always have to worry about that stupid sign?
FRANK:
I heard that.
GEORGE:
Could you tell me why is this taking so exceptionally long?
FRANK:
I guess the locals around here don’t know enough about us… yet.
GEORGE:
HOW!? We’ve got plenty of ads in all the newspapers (pointing to the one in Frank’s hand,) and no one has bothered to step foot in this place. Why wont somebody, anybody walk through that door?
FRANK:
(putting the newspaper down) How am I supposed to know its not like I’ve done this before either! Why do you expect me to have all the answers when it comes to what customers think?
GEORGE:
Maybe because you’re the one whose has been designing all the ads and been telling me that they will come for the past two weeks!
FRANK:
Listen I can’t make people show up and buy our stuff …
GEORGE:
I know that but why did you have to convince me that…
FRANK:
I didn’t convince you; I thought you might want to help and then you went and integrated your entire life around it! (muttering) I still don’t see why you quit your day job.
GEORGE:
I heard that! (pause) Well if you don’t want me to help I’ll leave!
FRANK:
I didn’t say that! (pause) I meant you should have given it more thought and not jumped right in to this business without the idea that it could fail miserably.
GEORGE:
So we’re doomed.
FRANK:
No we’re not. Haven’t you heard all the success stories where people try six or seven times to start their own businesses and have trouble getting started, and six of the seven times it does fail at first.
GEORGE:
So you’re saying we are going to fail?
FRANK:
Not if we don’t give up. It will work you just have to be patient.
GEORGE:
I HAVE been patient!
FRANK:
Would you just give it one more week!?
GEORGE:
Why do you keep saying that?!
FRANK:
Because I don’t want to go job hunting any more than you do! And I know that if we could just get one customer we’d have it made from then till (estimating) the sun collapses! That’s why I always worry about that “stupid sign” as you called it. (pause) If it can get one person in here… (proceeds to daydream) we’ll be on easy street for sure.
GEORGE:
How do you know for sure?
FRANK:
Because I wouldn’t have quit my job, emptied MY savings, and taken out an astronomical amount of loans to start this business if I didn’t know that people would buy this without hesitating!
GEORGE:
(disbelief) Sure.
FRANK:
Why would I lie to you about this!?
GEORGE:
You might.
FRANK:
No, I wouldn’t. Besides you’ve seen me play poker, and you know that I’m a bad liar.
GEORGE:
Good point, (pause) so how are you so infinitely sure this’ll work?
FRANK:
Because I do.
GEORGE:
Don’t give me that. Tell me!
FRANK:
I did.
GEORGE:
I want a real answer.
FRANK:
No, you want an answer that will have definite facts and actions and reasons. I can’t give you that.
GEORGE:
So u based this WHOLE THING on a “gut feeling”?!
FRANK:
In so many words… Yep.
GEORGE:
And just why did you drag me along?
FRANK:
Like I said I didn’t drag you along; you basically volunteered. (pause) Okay here’s the best way I can explain it. You’re married right?
GEORGE:
(condescendingly) Frank, you were at the wedding. You were my First Man! Why would you ask me that?!
FRANK:
To prove a point. Now u ask me how did I know? Right?
GEORGE:
Right.
FRANK:
So let me ask you, how did you know Sheila was the one for you?
GEORGE:
Because I’ve loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her.
FRANK:
So you’ve told me before. But WHY?
GEORGE:
Because I just did. (realizing where Frank is going now)
FRANK:
Well you said it yourself.
GEORGE:
But you’re comparing love to this! (becoming frustrated again) Its not applicable!
FRANK:
To me, it is. I love this. I can’t say why, it’s just something I have to do because I love it.
GEORGE:
But there’s got to be more than just that!
FRANK:
Is there more than that with you and Sheila?
GEORGE:
How could there be?
FRANK:
Exactly.
GEORGE:
But…
FRANK:
(cutting him off) No. I know this will work. If it doesn’t you might as well give me a quick death.
GEORGE:
You would die if this didn’t work?!
FRANK:
I don’t know. I might.
GEORGE:
It really means that much to you?
FRANK:
Yes.
(a bell ring as a customer walks into the storefront)
CUSTOMER:
Hi, you wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve driven past this place, just couldn’t seem to see your sign from the road.
(FRANK and GEORGE look at each other.)
FRANK:
Told ya.
BLACKOUT
Act I, Scene II
(Customer has just left)
FRANK:
Wow our first customer! Can you believe it?!!
GEORGE:
I still can’t believe how much they bought.
FRANK:
I told you people need our product!
GEORGE:
I knew that but I didn’t realize that they needed that much!
FRANK:
Do you believe me now?!
GEORGE:
Yes, but…
FRANK:
NO! No “buts.” This is it! We’ve made it George! We finally made it!
GEORGE:
But!
FRANK:
STOP! I don’t want to hear anymore of your pessimism. I’m tired of it.
GEORGE:
And I’m tired of you always interrupting me! Now LET ME SPEAK!
FRANK:
alright, alright. speak, speak.
GEORGE:
Thank you, now we had our first sale right?
FRANK:
Right.
GEORGE:
And it took us two whole weeks of waiting to get just that one right?
FRANK:
What’s your point?
GEORGE:
My point is that we can’t just sit here waiting for our customers to show up.
FRANK:
Well of course George, we’ll be doing things constantly, once we get going. Making everything, updating the packaging, filling out orders, like the one we just got…
GEORGE:
I know that but how are we going to make any headway?
FRANK:
Well that’ll take time but if you think about it (calculating in his head) if we have about twelve or so more customers like that one all of our expenses, give or take a grand or so, will be paid. How does that sound? After that we’re on easy street.
GEORGE:
We just have to stay open long enough to get past twelve customers.
FRANK:
I can’t stand it when you do that!
GEORGE:
Do what?!
FRANK:
Talk about just the negative, like you’re hopeful. It makes me sick. To keep a business on its feet you’ve gotta’ be confident that it will work!
GEORGE:
I am confident! I just would like some security that I won’t have to go job-hunting! How do you know that we’ll be able to make it to the … sixth customer?!
FRANK:
I don’t, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up without a fight. Not until the bank forecloses and I don’t have a dollar to my name would I give up and call this a failure! … (pause) Of course Marie would have something to say about that but I’d just tell her we need to buckle up and roll the dice again…. She wouldn’t like that but we’d survive. I don’t know how Sheila would take this but then again I’m not married to her, you are.
GEORGE:
How can you be so… (searching for the word) passionate about something like that? Doesn’t it wear you out?
FRANK:
Well, it hasn’t yet, but I’m sure it will soon enough; (jokingly) which is why it’s probably a good reason to keep you around.
GEORGE:
Oh yeah sure that’s the reason. So what are we supposed to do now?
FRANK:
I would think that we should make sure that we have enough of our stuff in stock for when people start coming here wanting just as much as what that last customer wanted … nearly bought everything we had out here…
GEORGE:
I still don’t see how you can be so sure that people will come.
FRANK:
Word of mouth George; word of mouth. It travels faster than fire in tall grass but hopefully it’ll be positive and not destructive. So let’s get cracking, we want our customers happy! (thinking about what he just said) WOW! Customers I can’t wait to have a whole hoard of them in here buying everything in sight! Just think in a couple years we’ll expand, and get an even bigger clientele; pretty soon our stuff will go nation-wide, then global! OH, I CAN’T WAIT!
GEORGE:
Well after that little speech, you can count me in until the bank forecloses and I don’t have a dollar to my name either!
FRANK:
(laughing) Okay, but lets pray that doesn’t happen. Besides you’ve gotta’ be more patient with the rest of the world. Now hand me that stack of order forms over there…
(Lights start to fade at beginning of the last sentence of the last line till BLACKOUT)
The End
My Home, Country
Red, for the blood spilt, in the Name of Freedom
White, for the pure hope of Life, for All
Blue skies, and bright Stars, in the belief that
Whoever sees the great Vastness of the Night would be at peace.
No good thing comes easy
The Lilac
Shrimp on a string
Standing on a line
Oh shirt, be kind
Or else become thee a stain
In another’s vein…
There comes to life a dog;
Eat yourself a log
Be of shaggy hair,
For no longer music you shall blare
Remember purple hair, and green topaz…
Bacon is the sweetest meat!
By J.A.S.S.
Jon Austin Sam Spink
Jon Spink Sam Austin
ode to yonder satellite dish!
the mightiest elephant than n'er was
tis beautiful in finest of gravies
but such an eclipse of pudding must melt away
into the greatest chocolate haze of infinity
and what persay was the cause of such gestation?
it was indeed that of perspiration
kindled in the orbs of Verbank
whilst he sat in a fish tank
articulating diadems of still warm ice-cubes
which he did not realize was impossible for he crushed his... head.
this concludes todays session
I'm Sam Austin
and im jon spink
pick up youre phone
cant in class
g2g its about to start
weirdo
call later
creepazoid
“It’s on! It’s on! Get in here, NOW!” called mom. Mom was on the couch staring excitedly at the television wall, with my kids on either side of her. I rushed into the room. “HONNIE, HURRY UP!” I yelled. “Just a minute!” she yelled back. I was now going to know what my father had felt when he had seen the first man walk on the moon. Only now it was Mars!
In walked my wife, she hurriedly walked to the couch and sat beside our son. “And next time don’t yell, dear,” she calmly said. “I didn’t. I just didn’t want you to miss it.” She was right I did yell, but to miss this would be astronomical (no pun intended).
Out stepped the astronaut. The television room went silent. He descended the metallic ladder. “As said by my predecessors before me, that’s one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind,” proclaimed the astronaut over the wall sized television. With that he stepped out onto the Martian surface.
“WE’VE DONE IT!” could be heard across the neighborhood. I went closer to the wall were the life-sized man stood on a red surface. You could just make out his face through the helmet; as he cavorted in sheer bliss, on what was thought to be unobtainable 30 years ago. The wall flashed back to Channel 15 News, “That first step on the Mars was just taken by…” I was still astounded… Mars! After all the bickering between countries on who should be the first men to set foot on Mars it had finally happened. What do we do now? More? Of course that’s what makes humans human. We seek power and Mars can bring us only so much. Life brings only a small space in time to discover.
Hi I’m Sam…
I don’t know how to say what I mean and even if I did know, it would probably be awkward after I said it. This is not something I would normally do. Even writing this note is odd for me. If I wasn’t such a coward when talking to people about my feelings I’d be telling you instead of writing it down. I don’t know if you’re taken, and I only know that your name is (name) from your nametag; but I have never met a woman who looked like you. Another reason I didn’t say anything, was because I don’t know a word in the English language that means beautiful, lovely, cute, adorable, flawless, graceful, gorgeous, stunning, charming, sexy, graceful, elegant, stunning, enchanting, and striking. I do understand how cliché this may sound but IF there was a word that implied all of them to describe what you look like in my eyes I would have used it instead. I don’t know what to say now except to assure you that I’m NOT a stalker. If you think I am and don’t want me to talk to you ever again I wont; if however you don’t mind talking to somebody who adores you without even knowing your last name I will be here.
Truly yours,
(signed name)
Do not be sad
Think not on the empty
Think not of the depths
Do not fear the memories
remember me
Do not forget
Think on joyous occasions
Think of the music, not the dirge
Do not search for loss
remember me
Retain the simple
Enjoy the peaceful sound
Know that I will be there
Feel my smile
remember me
Do not overlook the slight
Continue in delight
Forward into the laughing smirk
Do what would be done
remember me
I was comfort
I held on to hope
I remained a shoulder to rest upon
I braved the night air
remember me
I was the nudge to greatness
I felt the worry of Atlas
I stood as a beacon
I plunged to the depths for purpose
remember me
Return I will
Be here I will
Miss you I will
Forget you I will not
remember me
Despair ends
Hope restores
I look back and remember
Lighthearted I go
Remember Me
Where?
Where will life take me?
To a far off country
To study a foreign tongue?
Sicily beckons for adventure
Will I answer or will I deny?
Where will life take me?
To a wife
To have a family?
My heart longs to have someone
Will it be satisfied?
Where will life take me?
To success
To a career that a enjoy everyday of?
I dream of lucrative options
Will I achieve my hope of wealth?
Where will life take me?
To a full life
To ripe old ages advanced?
I implore my body to endless time
Will my children’s children know me vividly?
Where will life take me?
To a peaceful dream
To sleep eternal, one with the creator?
I pray for forgiveness
Will I meet The LORD when I die?
I am
I am young and full of life
I wonder what the future will bring for me
I hear the music of life
I see the smallest details of beauty
I want anything that God gives me
I am young and full of life
I pretend I’m a superhero when I’ve had a good day
I feel like a kid in my heart
I touch people who don’t expect it
I worry about friends
I cry when deeply hurt
I am young and full of life
I understand you can’t always get what you want
I say bring it on
I dream to live a full life
I try to have fun whenever I can
I hope that someone will find me
I am young and full of life
My Roots
In my blood flows baseball
From my grandfather
In my blood flows an apple tree
From my backyard
In my blood flows matzo-ball soup
From my mother’s mother
In my veins flows classical music
From my fathers teachings
In my veins flows pets put down
From the shadows of death
In my veins flows sailboats
From the shores of my dreams
In me empty boxes roam
From the imaginations of my sister and me
In me my first homerun flies
From years of waiting
In me my Nana’s hugs give me warmth
From the previous generations
In me the bass line flows
From the essence of my soul
In me life lives
From me life lives
Fright
Downy pillows, at the end of a long day,
Sleeping with nothing, but my dreams.
My young mind engulfed with adventure.
None could expect the tremors in a dream
Frightful were the nights.
Deadly scenarios, contained in adventure,
the mind’s eye rent from its sockets, in a dream
Illusions become reality,
Without the barrier, the dimensions collapse.
Frightful were the nights.
Dangers within a tomb,
The traps of the ancient culture,
Deep within the primal mind,
No longer dormant
Frightful were the nights.
Days, months, years gone bye…
Fears subdued, rules kept in check.
imagination allowed, but darkness not,
Peaceful resting
Frightful were the nights.
