WILBUR AND KURT GO FISHING
A Play by Karen MoySETTING: 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.
CURTAIN
I want to know the back story here. Kurt gets his old lady pregnant (hard to tell, but I think that may be a baby bump) and runs off just like his free spirited mom. Kurt toys with the idea of starting his own resort (Evansville Resort?) and making a fortune, but ultimately decides to track down his dead mother's old boy friend. He spends three months taking a crash course in parenting. They fish, they frolic, and spend hours talking about his restless uneasiness. When it's all over Kurt feels confident that if someone like Wilbur who pulls down $25k a year writing an advice column under a female pseudonym could make such a wonderful father, maybe he could too. He returns to his old lady's pad where she either welcomes him with open arms or shoves him out the door, and they make ham and Wonder bread sandwiches together for three months before Kurt wanders off again. He hooks up with Delilah Jonis, who has also wandered off again, and Kurt raises her baby instead.
