How Act 4
Scene One
More Interviews
(The setting: The same picnic table somewhere on campus, as in Act 3.]
[Mary and Jenny enter, (laughing and chatting) rear stage right and sit at the same picnic table from Act 3.]
Mary
So Jenny, on another subject, why do you think Christian society persecuted women for hundreds of years by not giving them the vote?
Jenny
Well Mary, I look at it a bit differently. From a Christian perspective, the family is supposed to be a real team. For example, there is a wonderful verse from the Bible from Ephesians Chapter 5, verse “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” And you know how Linda was telling you about the congregational model of democracy? Well, a lot of congregational voting was just rubber stamping what the elders of the church recommended as best, based on much prayerful consideration and reference to the constitution; the Bible. (Of course Mary in our modern society, our constitution is based on God given individual human rights, but what sane people wouldn't also want the Biblical ideals of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control also represented there; people everywhere need freedom, informed by ideals.) And the husband just casts the vote for the family. But Mary, in most of the Christian families I know, the wife really runs the show and the husband works.
And Mary, while we are on the subject, here is why I think Christian men make better husbands --- it’s like a King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table thing. But here the King is King Jesus and the men are supposed to lay down their swords of anger and brutishness, at the foot of the King - and they are made better for it. That’s the theory anyway. Of course, among Christians, there are all different levels of maturity, and the ideals that are taught in the Bible are not always followed.
Mary (smiling, re: a play on words from Paul and Linda, (pointing to the air as if to teach a lesson))
That rings a bell aka Paul and Linda. “No husband is constantly good or constantly bad.”
Jenny (laughing)
.... but the odds of a husband being good, are improved, if he at least has learned, the ideals to go for.
Mary
Jenny, as a Christian, are you ever afraid? Or, do you always have answers?
Jenny
I’m afraid lots of times. But when things are out of my control, as well as pray, I have learned to follow a command in the Bible - and it helps - I just purposely and intently love. I begin by loving the little things in the world around me and then I let it broaden out.
Mary
Oh ya. That’s interesting. You know Jenny, somehow I’ve missed asking Paul and Linda the “How to Save the World” question. So Jenny, let me ask you. What’s the agenda that you would recommend to save the starving and desperate.
Jenny (repeating solemnly)
“How to Save the World?” Good ideas must win over bad ideas in the hearts of people everywhere. The people need to be free from excessive government so that they can focus on the really important things in life; the family, the home, education and enterprise --- so that the greatness of the nation will emerge from the greatness of the people, as they follow their highest ideals.
Mary (excitedly)
Hey Jenny, That’s it! To save the world we need FREEDOM INFORMED BY IDEALS. Hey, I like that. (Mary, takes her notebook out of he backpack and writes and reads): “freedom informed by ideals”.
[Just then Richard shows up, cowboy hat and all, stage front right (in front of Mary)]
Richard
Hi Mary. Hi Jenny.
Mary
Oh, Richard. You’re here.
Richard
Yup.
[Just then Susan (President of the Feminist Campus Association) enters front stage right and walks past the front of the picnic table, looking at Mary to recognize her, and at about center stage calls back:
Susan
Hey Mary, are you going to come to the Feminist Campus Association meeting? It’s starting in about 10 minutes. We are going to discus the biography of the guest speaker we are bringing in. It’s all about how Christian society has persecuted gays and lesbians over the centuries.
Mary
Sorry Susan. I’ve got an errand I need to do with Richard here. I need to get him to help me mow the lawn of friends of the family who are away on vacation.
And is that right Richard? Has Christian society persecuted gays and lesbians over the centuries?
Richard
Well, I don’t know about history Mary. But Susan, have you ever seen the movie “Philadelphia Story” with Tom Hanks? It’s the movie about, where the character Tom Hanks played, was a lawyer, and at the end of the movie, he was dying of AIDS and was going to be fired from his job. All I know Susan, is that if I was a friend with the young Tom Hanks character growing up, or any friend experiencing homosexual inclinations, the best advise I could give him would be to abstain for his own well being; for health reasons. And this advise is given with love and respect, and if only it was heard and not ridiculed by the media, thousands of people like the Tom Hanks character, could have been saved. True Christians seek to rescue people Susan, that's what we are taught, And we don't want anyone to be fired from their jobs.
Susan
Mary, let’s go! I’m not going to listen to this garbage.
Mary [Leaves the picnic table and comes over to Susan, centre stage, saying, a bit angrily at Susan and defensive of Richard...]
All groups have some good ideas!
Susan
Oh not that again! Not them! Not the Christians. Mary! Don’t you know the Christians are against a woman’s right to choose when it comes to having an abortion?
Jenny (loudly)
The Christians want to promote Pro-Life as the happiest way of life, because it is! And please don’t ask Christian doctors to perform abortions.
Mary
Susan, do you remember the song that goes “What if God was one of us, just riding in the bus like the rest of us?” Well, maybe it means that the ideals in the Bible are meant for the good of the average common people.
Susan
Mary, what God are you talking about?
Mary
The God.
Susan
Mary, you’re hopeless! [and stomps off stage front left]
Mary
[Going over to Richard and Jenny]
I think she is just having a bad day.
Jenny
Mary, it's not that what Susan is asking is wrong; that we should always show respect to people, no matter their sexual orientation, but rather I think she is asking our whole society to put it's emphasis in the wrong place; we should be emphasizing that sex is meant for marriage, so that as much as possible, children can grow up in a loving home environment.
Well I’ve got to go. My anatomy text book is calling me. It’s saying STAT, learn this stuff by tomorrow morning or fall impossibly behind.
Richard
OK Jenny. See ya.
Mary
Ya Jenny. Thanks again for the coffee. See you.
So Richard, would you drive me in your truck to our friend’s house. They are friends of my parents. They live just south of the university.
Richard
Sure, sounds like fun. Boots and Saddles, Mary, let’s go.
Mary [Explains further as they exit stage front right.]
They asked me if I could mow the lawn for them while they were on vacation. But I just have not gotten around to taking the bus there yet. And now I’m worried the grass will be so long, it will take forever to cut it.
[Mary and Richard exit front stage right]
Curtain.
How to Save the World
Act Four
Scene Two
[The Setting: Richard and Mary are sitting in a truck, (the one major prop for the play). The truck is parked center stage, with the head lights facing the audience.]
Mary
Richard, thanks for helping me mow the lawn and thanks for the pizza.
Richard
Your welcome Mary. I just like being with you and I would cut a hay field
for you if you wanted me to.
Mary
If I had let that grass grow any longer it would have turned into a hey field, right?
Richard
Pretty darn close!
[Richard puts his arm around Mary’s shoulder.]
Mary
This is a nice place to stop for coffee. [Mary smiles at the audience.] Nice view. So Richard, tell me about your family.
Richard
Well, I have three brothers and two sisters and we live on a farm near Lacombe, that goes back to homestead days.
Mary
Have you ever talked to your grand parents or great grand parents about homesteading?
Richard
Well not too much. Mostly we are talking about the future. But I’ve always found it interesting to learn how the original land was surveyed into homesteads.
Mary
Oh ya! I find it fascinating too Richard. Tell me how homesteading works.
Richard
Well, OK, let’s see... the Alberta / Saskatchewan border is 110 degrees longitude west and by the Dominion land Survey of 1871, this North / South line is called the fourth meridian. Moving west, the meridians are spaced 4 degrees of longitude apart, so that the 5th meridian is at 114 degrees longitude west. At the Canada / U.S. border, the distance between the fourth and fifth meridian is about 180 miles and this range is divided into townships, six miles square. So between the fourth and fifth meridian, you have enough land for 30 townships. And the (six mile square) townships are numbered by range 1 to 30 as you go west of the 4th meridian. And the (six mile square) townships are stacked on top of each other as you go north and numbered from 1 to 126 as you go from the US border (which is the 49th parallel to 60 degrees latitude north, which is the northern border of Alberta.
Now all these six mile square townships are divided into 36, 1 mile square sections. And finally, homesteads were given out by 1/2 mile square quarter sections, of 160 acres each. So Mary, my guess is that we are parked in the NE quarter of section 36, township 55, range 28, west of the 4th meridian.
Mary
Richard, why don’t they have homesteading in Africa or other countries?
Richard
I don’t know Mary. That’s a good question. Maybe they don’t even have a legal land titles system. [Richard moves a little closer to Mary, but Mary already has another subject on her mind.]
Mary
Hey Richard I see you have a CD player in your truck.
Richard
Ya, it’s one of those 4 CD changer deals. It’s pretty good.
Mary
So what CD’s do you have in it?
Richard
Well, I’ve got two contemporary Christian CD’s and two country CD’s and one classical.
Mary
What’s the classical one you got?
Richard
It’s a best of Bach CD my Dad gave to me.
Mary
Oh ya. I like Bach ... Brandenburg Concertos and Sheep May Safely Graze and stuff.
Richard
So Mary, listen to this one... It’s Bach’s Preludium in E or something like that. But first close your eyes ... and imagine you are in the blackness of outer space... and then out of the emptiness and darkness comes this [Richard hits the button for the music to begin to play]...
Richard (in time with the music)
... as the music builds I imagine I see light... then stars .... then galaxies ... all shooting past me ... till finally we arrive at our own solar system... and earth.
Mary
Richard, that was really beautiful. You surprise me. You have an interests in more than just the “top 40”, and that’s good.
What’s you favorite song?
Richard
Well, my all time favorite is Steve Bell’s rendition of Jim Croegaert’s “Here by the Water”. The words aren't that much or anything; it’s just about a guy walking by a mountain stream at night and building a simple cairn of rocks in praise to God. But the music is so great. Especially the drums. I’m always drumming the air every time I hear the song. Here, let me play it for you.
[Richard, hit’s the button to play Steve Bell’s “Here by the Water”, (see www.signpostmusic.com, eg. “the Beyond a Shadow CD”) As the music plays Richard starts drumming the air along with the music and Mary has fun following along. As the music continues, Richard motions to Mary to follow him out of the truck and they both drum the air and dance around the truck to the music.]
Mary
Hey, that was a good song Richard. Great drums. And Richard, I see you have a guitar in the back seat of the truck. Play me a song will you?
Richard
Well, just like I was telling you before, most of my theology was from the Bible verses of Sunday School songs, it so happens, most of the songs I know on the guitar are Sunday School songs too.
Mary
Oh, that’s all right. Do one for me, please.
[Richard gets the guitar from the back seat of the truck.]
Richard
OK, here’s one I made up called “The Promised Land”
Verse 1
C G E Major
God the Son
F Em Dm
Taught us all a good song.
F Em Dm
Taught us all a good song.
C Em Dm C
When he taught us all to love every one.
Verse 2
C G E Major
Take my hand.
F Em Dm
Lead me to the prom ised.
F Em Dm
Lead me to the prom ised.
C Em Dm C
Lead me to the prom ised land.
Verse 3
C G E Major
Take our hand.
F Em Dm
Lead us to the prom ised.
F Em Dm
Lead us to the prom ised.
C Em Dm C
Lead us to the prom ised land.
Mary [clapping]
Brovo Richard. That was great. But its getting chilly out here. Let’s get back in the truck.
[Richard puts away the guitar and Mary and Richard get back inside the truck. Richard puts his arm around Mary’s shoulder.]
Mary (Smiling at the audience...)
Ya,... nice view from up here.
Richard
Mary, can I give you a kiss?
Mary
O.K. ... but I won’t go too far... It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that sex is for marriage to give children, a loving home environment.
Richard (choked up)
I know.
Lights out. Curtain.
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