August 12, 2012 -- CLIMAX: Dawn and Wilbur finally stand on dry ground, and contemplate how their lives have been changed by their experiences aboard the sinking vessel.
August 13 - 19, 2012 -- DENOUEMENT: Mary Worth, Toby and Ian Cameron discuss their friends' remarkable rescue from the sinking vessel.
August 20 - 25, 2012 -- DENOUEMENT PART II: Wilbur and Dawn have dinner with Mary and discuss how silly she feels for being so silly about Dave breaking up with her. Also people were brutal and people were helpful aboard the sinking vessel.
August 26 - 29, 2012 -- DENOUEMENT PART III: Wilbur and J. Jonah Jameson discuss Wilbur's experiences aboard the sinking vessel, and plan a news story about his experiences.
August 29 - September 2, 2012 -- DENOUEMENT PART IV: Mary writes an advice column about overcoming tragedy, and allowing life's hardships transform us into people who help each other.
September 3 - ??? -- DENOUEMENT PART V: Mary and Dawn discuss Dawn's experience aboard the sinking vessel, and how people pulled together to help each other.
Because all really great stories include AT LEAST five scenes of denouement.
DENOUEMENT!
ReplyDeleteWord of the day, or in Santa Royale, word of the week, month, year, decade.... Thanks!
The number of denouement scenes about people helping each other is inversely proportional to the number of scenes from the actual story of people actually helping each other. Again I ask: if this was the lesson, why didn't Moy write that story? It's truly baffling.
ReplyDeleteOh, for Pete's sake...don't you two have better things to do? Mary, what happened to your volunteer job at the hospital? You know, distributing random volumes of the classic 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica?
ReplyDelete"Oh, Mr. Pendleton, put that silly iPad away. Everything you need to know about Afghanistan is here in volume I."
And Dawn, I know it's Labor Day, but give some thought about getting back to school. Perhaps you need to visit your advisor.
"Well, Miss Weston, I see that this is your thirteenth year with us--pretty impressive, considering that this is a two-year community college..."
It's sad to see that Mary is going through another bout of anorexia. Her arm in the first panel is truly disturbing. The jacket and scarf on what is (judging from Dawn's outfit) a very hot day must be to hide the gauntness of her body.
ReplyDeleteThese swings in body weight are not healthy. I do wish someone would help her. Because people should help other people. Kindness and goodness are important and everybody should be reminded of that.
I know if I read an advice column telling me to be good and kind for the sake of the cities, I'd run right out and help somebody like Mary.
This story arc would have been FAR more interesting if Dawn was eaten by a shark... and then Wilbur ate the shark... and then a whale ate Wilbur.
ReplyDeleteJust what every "teenager" wants to do... wander around a cheesy senior apartment community walking an old bat.
ReplyDeleteWe finally resolve the real problem--getting Mary off the computer. And Dawn was just the gal to do it, even if she had to live through an incident to do it.
ReplyDeleteMary Worth: Dawn, even though I work at the same paper as your father, live in the same condoplex, and unabashedly meddle in his life at will, for some reason, I am unaware of how his Incident Witness Serialization is going.
ReplyDeleteDawn: Really well. We're anxious to cash in.
Mary: People want to read about people helping people. Because people who need people to help them are the luckiest people in the world. People need to be reminded of the importance of being people helpers. Only through people helping people will our world survive!
Dawn: I know, right? Like, we saw a lot of that stuff going on. Other people were helping people all over the place! People helped us! We were amazed! I realized that even though life was brutal and Dave was a jerk, other stuff was way more important. Who knew? I might even help people. One day. Like, in the future.
Mary Worth: That is a wonderful goal, dear. People are--
Dawn: Oh my gosh! Is that...DAVE?!
Where in the reading of this epic tale did I miss the compassion and courage? The only things I remember are someone reaching out to save Tubby from going over the side and people killing each other over the life boats.
ReplyDeleteSad to know that the jukebox is out of order. I would otherwise be suggesting Barbra's 'People' and hope this link works.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1189N7mcS1Q
I'm Alive, But I Shouldn't Be!
ReplyDeleteby Wilbur "Wendy" Weston
That's what my ex-wife always said to me at the all you can eat buffet. Bada bing!
But seriously, folks, here's what happened on board the Unita del Mare.:
It was a dark but not stormy night. And it wasn't actually dark. When we sat down for the early bird seating, the sky was a pale blue, and it remained so until we were huddled under blankets on that little island. Then it was a kind of dark teal.
And speaking of that little island, the locals came out to offer us food. "Woulda you lika the sometheeng to eat, Signor?" Sure, I said, I'll have the swordfish, and maybe a panini while I wait. But she said, "I MEANT SOME HOT SOUP, DUMB--S!" So much for Italian hospitality! But I digress.
The worst thing about it was losing my green brocade suit pants. Luckily I had on my tan Dockers underneath. All I know is that some lucky and stylish Italian guy has gotten the deal of a lifetime with those pants. I strongly suspect that one of the many diving mimes on board wound up with them- those raspberry jerseys would look fab with the emerald green pants. Meanwhile, somehow, miraculously, Dawn wound up with a heart-shaped pendant that looked really well with her lavender dress. Funny things happen when a ship wrecks, I guess.
Anyway, we were told to go back to our cabins, and some people did. I told everyone else, no, don't go to your cabins for your life jackets, let me lead you to the lifeboat deck (I think it was Deck 4). As I escorted my brave little band of passengers to the lifeboat deck, I noticed a little girl crying for her mother, so I scooped her up and took her along. That didn't work out so well. Her Mamma showed up and gave me what for in a strange language- think it might have been Italian. Sheesh! Some people don't appreciate people who help people.
Then two identical guys with orange hair and cleft chins showed up. They were pretty upset, so I had to calm them down. Luckily, I spotted a helicopter hovering overhead and was able to attract their attention. I helped Dawn, the scared twins, and several other hysterical passengers to secure the rescue harnesses. When all of my little band were safe on the chopper, I was carried up by a strangely stern-faced (and hunky!) guy in a WWI doughboy outfit. (The Italian air-sea rescue has unusual uniforms).
Well, that's about it. I built a bonfire on the little island by rubbing two sticks on my jacket, gathered my little group around and led them in singing Kumbayah.
Afterwards, Giorgio picked Dawn and me up and took us to his "villa". Well, I have to confess I was quite disappointed. The so-called villa was actually a fourth floor walk-up studio apartment in a rather dubious neighborhood in Milano (that's what the Italians call Milan). We relaxed for awhile, and then Giorgio was all, "I hav-a the good news! I got two tickets for the next flight from Milano to Sant Royal. If we leave immediately, we'll get there in time."
I was able to buy a sweat shirt and sweat pants (Souvenir di Milano in green on red) at the airport, and we flew home. It wasn't exactly non-stop, but we got to see a little more of Europe (Bern, Lyon, Seville, Liverpool, Glasgow) and our own great country as well (Bangor, Newark, Little Rock, Butte, Sacramento, Oakland, and Santa Barbara). The flight lasted a lot longer than the cruise, actually. Mary and Ian and Toby and Bonnie (Johnson) and Dave were all there to meet us.
I'm still working on my photo album of the trip, my tailor is making me a new pair of pants, and the big lawsuit is pending. Our lawyer was all, oh, let's go with the class action, and I'm all, no, I want my own lawsuit.
And that's how I spent my summer vacation. Now, on to the celebratory return home dinner at Mary's. That old girl can cook- I can't wait!
Today, Dawn has cut the bottom off the dress she wore on the ship and paired it with some blue shorts. Her wardrobe pales in comparison to Wilbur's. He may not be the snappiest dresser, but at least he has some variety in his outfits.
ReplyDeleteAnother boffo creation by meg - bravo!
ReplyDeleteKaren Moy observed Labor Day by continuing to run this labored plot into the Gina's nuptials didn't take nearly this long.
CORRECTION - I neglected to type "into the ground."
ReplyDeleteOh Meg, you are a wonder!
ReplyDelete