A Play by Karen Moy
SETTING: An elevated boat dock on a small lake in California. It is a beautiful day. The sound of an occasional sea bird cuts through the quiet. WILBUR WESTON, age 54, sits on the edge of the dock, fishing with his illegitimate son, KURT EVANS, age 10–40. KURT wears a red trucker’s cap and women’s shoes.
WILBUR: So, tell me about yourself, Kurt.
KURT: You already know I like fishing. I like to write, too. I mainly do odd jobs here and there. It’s hard for me to stay in one place for too long. I suffer from an uneasy restlessness… Growing up without a dad led to problems for me… I have an uneasiness I can’t seem to shake.
WILBUR: I’m sorry to hear that, Kurt!
KURT: It’s okay. Maybe things will change now.
WILBUR: Tell me… what was it like having Abby as your mother?
KURT: Having Abby for a mother was always… interesting.
WILBUR: In what way?
KURT: Like me, she too had a restless spirit. There was a time when she moved us from place to place… Wilbur, why did you and my mother break up?
WILBUR: When I was seeing her, she was a beautiful girl from town who attracted many campus admirers. One was a nasty rich kid who didn’t tolerate people outside his social circle… but he made an exception for your mother. I felt threatened when Abby started spending time with my rival. One night we had an argument about it… She left town soon afterward, and I never saw her again. I regret the things we said to each other! It was the last time we spoke.
KURT: Don’t feel bad. My mother didn’t talk about the past… But I could tell from the photos she kept how much you meant to her. I’ve been restless all my life… with a constant feeling of something missing.
WILBUR: I’m sorry you didn’t grow up with a father, Kurt.
KURT: It’s not your fault, Wilbur. You didn’t know. Besides, I’m lucky I had my mother as long as I did.
WILBUR: Still… it must have been difficult. I wish there was something I could do to help.
KURT: Spending time with you like this helps.
WILBUR: Kurt, your mother MUST have had companions when you were young. I can’t believe you had no one to call a father figure when you were growing up!
KURT: Sadly, there was no one steady I could call my dad. People came and went out of our lives. My mother never stayed in one relationship for long. We were fine, though, just the two of us. We managed to get by! ...She was always able to sell her paintings and photographs.WILBUR: Yes, she was a creative person... A true original.
Wilbur: Kurt, your mother MUST have had companions when you were young.
ReplyDeleteKurt: No, you ruined all other men for her.
Kurt: Because my actual age is in such dispute, any of my mother's fleeting companions - or one night stands - could be my father.
ReplyDeleteI'm working from a list of possible fathers she left me and I've gotten to "W" and no one's wanted to claim me yet. I'm hoping my luck will change by the time I reach the end.
I tell you, it's been tough fishing with 63 different guys...
Kurt: "...She was always able to sell her paintings and photographs."
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be awesome if Wilbur visits Charlie and sees Abby posing in his painting! He'll be scarred for life!!
Where's the fast-forward button on my remote!!! I've got to see the part where, after Wilbur rebuffs Mary's suggestion that he and Kurt take a paternity test, an angry Dawn makes them both appear on the Jerry Springer Show to have the test results tossed out there for the world to see!
ReplyDeleteI ♥ your blog.
Alriiight, MARY is on the case! Yessss! Go Mary!
ReplyDeleteTrue story: Wanders and I ran into each other at the mall yesterday. He mentioned he wasn't going to do another post until the fishing episode was over, at which time he would do the Actors' Theater recap. What should I find this morning when I logged on? Actors' Theater recap of the fishing expedition.
ReplyDeleteI promise that at the first sign of story bog-down, I will call Wanders at work and arrange to meet him at the mall. That'll be a great opportunity to pick up some Mrs. Fields cookies.
--wheelhead
I never see Wanders at the mall!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed todays theatrical production.
ReplyDeleteThe sets and costumes were great (the lake made of blue plastic was very realistic), and the actors were convincingly boring.
I have been lying awake at night, worrying that Kurt's & Wilbur's mutual fate will be determined without guidance from Mary. But, after Wednesday's strip, I will sleep well tonight. The marines are offshore, waiting to land.
ReplyDeleteWas that a mall? I thought I was at Santaroy-Mart.
ReplyDeleteBut what we don't know is whether Kurt has been restless all his life, with a constant feeling of something missing. Damn you Moy!
ReplyDeleteRe: "The first sign of story bog-down".......Is that a joke or something?
ReplyDelete