Wetion by James Allan Krause
Price $7.99 Add to cart
This Play is the copyright of the Author and must not be Performed, Copied or Sold without the Author's prior consentGeneration 2,000: A Salad to Remember
Addy and Evelyn sat in chairs around an old round oak table in
front of the fireplace. In the middle of the table was a large bowl
and in this sat nine small sealed jars filled with dried plants, nuts,
berries or herbs. Above the fireplace the head of a stag hung on the
cedar planked walls that spoke of a bygone era in cottage
construction. The fire crackled as the middle-aged couple sipped wine
and ate the last bites of the dinner feast.
Addy looked at Evelyn and then raised his glass as if to propose a
toast:
"We must celebrate the first meal of the Flight or Fight Unzipping
Test. I took great care to ensure the salad was topped with well mixed
portions of each of the ingredients gathered and from each and every
stop along the DNA trail of my ancestors, ta'da. God bless them all,
let the recollections begin. Cheers my dear."
Evelyn lifted her glass, clinked it against his and they both took
a sip:
"My dear, the name of your silly test is quite a mouthful but the
salad was tasty and I'll settle for that. I liked the herbs and
fruit best, the nuts were a bit chewy. I do hope you don't start
chirping or grunting tonight, it's bad enough you snore like a
gorilla."
Addy chuckled and picked up the small jars, one after the other,
and examined each one carefully before saying:
"Who would have thought these little memory teasers would cost us
$10,000, but we got to see the sights too, didn't we? Africa was so
very wild."
Evelyn added quickly in her soft voice:
"Yes dear, wild it was but I liked Egypt best. I read they treated
women well even in the times of the Pharaohs."
Addy seemed to ignore her response and took another drink from his
glass of beer. He looked carefully at another jar, occasionally
shaking it gently:
"It is almost unbelievable now how one little DNA test has led to
all this, inspired the journey of a lifetime, it has. Without all
this, we might never have known for sure where our ancestors came from
or the route taken cross so many continents to end up here, in Canada
of all places. Nor would we ever have had the opportunity to visit
places they lived and for sure, would never have had the opportunity
to collect these little memory unlockers. Think of all the history,
Ethiopia, Egypt, Iraq, Crete, Malta, Germany, Scotland, our ancestors
once picked and ate these very same foods, isn't this amazing?"
Evelyn:
"You forgot sweet ole Alabama and there are berries from right
here, the Qu'Appelle Valley, who calls, right?"
Addy:
"Oh Susanna, Alabama. And yes I put Saskatoons in from here too,
couldn't you taste those sweet little treats? We couldn't forget
these, could we? If we're relying on all these exotic foods to
unlock our repressed memories, it would seem rather silly to leave out
those providing the clues to the toil and joy of the last century,
eh?"
Evelyn:
"Addy, once again I'm simply satisfied savoring the foods my
ancestors tasted, I'm not counting on them doing anything else. The
whole idea of them unlocking repressed memories seems rather…"
Addy laughed as he interrupted her:
"Ha, ha, still a skeptic are you? Everything I have read suggests
these tasty little morsels will help us unlock my most primitive
thoughts and emotions, grrrrr, snort snort."
Evelyn chuckled:
"I don't need to be reminded of the beast in you. You really
believe eating those plants is going to release the highlights of the
history of your ancestors, don't you? You are truly amazing, a real
believer."
Addy laughed and said:
"You have a right to be doubtful."
Evelyn:
"Aaah you Blairs are all dreamers, always have been."
Addy:
"It makes so much sense, all our ancestors' memories stored in our
brains for future use, that's why our foreheads expanded, to add the
extra storage space needed. Think fight or flight, premonitions,
déjà vu, instinct all stored safely in billions and billions of
brain cells. The codes for life itself - unleashed with just right
stimulus. It's all still there you know?"
Evelyn added playfully:
"Are you saying I could recall life in a cave? This is not as hard
as you think, your half of the closet reminds me of just such a dark
and dreary place and the smells, well, do you still believe washing
your clothes wears them out too quickly?"
Addy knew she didn't take him seriously but continued to press:
"Ha, ha, I told you the everyday routines aren't stored, only the
most crucial reactions, the codes that once saved our hairy butts. Do
you remember the movie Altered States? All the important lessons from
the past are stored in our noggins. And the fundamentals can be
upgraded just like computers. Nature has conditioned our brains to
automatically update past experiences so we can make good sense of all
those suppressed memories - kind'a like updating the laws. Behind
every modern thought or action taken lies an ancient lesson recalled.
Consider this image; the charge of an angry T Rex dinosaur is
represented by your mother walking upright out of the airport with her
suitcase to stay for a month…snarl, snarl.
They both laughed again and Addy made a series of moves with his
hands to accompany the words he hoped sounded like a cave man in
action:
"Chop chop, no can win, run fast from motherly beast, hide in cave,
drink beer, mmmm many beers, no can kill beast so try wash away image
of beast, must wash away picture of beast, aaah beer yum yum,
uuurp."
Evelyn is amused:
"The salad supplements have obviously brought you back to your roots
my dear cave man and the beer is claiming whatever's left of your
civility. I see your link to the past around the rim of the loo
everyday, still marking your territory are you, you beast you?"
Addy let out the simulated roar of the king of beasts and then
quipped again while sounding like a caveman:
"Roar, me want buffalo not grass, roar.
Evelyn yawned and said:
"My code says it's time for bed, mind the fire, would you?
Wouldn't want a saber tooth tiger to get you before my mother
does."
Evelyn disappeared into the bedroom and Addy sank deeper into his
large leather recliner…within minutes he began drifting off into a
deep, deep sleep.
Angels in the form of Addy and Evelyn were illuminated and they
began singing alternate verses of a song. They both sang the chorus
[chorus in bold].
Age of stone
Sacred walls
Etchings traced with crimson
Excavations
Do recall
The need for imagination
Eve Ad'a
Ad'a Eve
A tenant
Or rent-taker
Eve Ad'a
Ad'a Eve
A giver
Or a taker
Intensive prayers
Followed by
Necessary actions
A pawn, a slave
A freedom drone
Earth's emancipation
Eve Ad'a
Ad'a Eve
A tenant
Or rent-taker
Eve Ad'a
Ad'a Eve
A giver
Or a taker
Father lore,
Mother lode
Contractions or in fractions
Be the heir
To the throne
Or target for
Assassins
Eve Ad'a
Ad'a Eve
A tenant
Or rent-taker
Eve Ad'a
Ad'a Eve
A giver
Or a taker
A twist of fate
A turn of luck
Make future generations
Weep or rise
Laugh or cry
In ease or emigration
Eve Ad'a
Ad'a Eve
A tenant
Or rent-taker
Eve Ad'a
Ad'a Eve
A giver
Or a taker
Bred to rule
Or toil with tools
Good fortune or good wages
Making sense
Or sacraments
Some stations change with ages.
[end of extract]
Price $7.99 Add to cart