Crest of the Waves - Bells - 5:1 Copy 29 .pdf

8/9/2019 Crest of the Waves - Bells - 5:1 Copy 29 .pdf

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CREST OF THE WAVES

by ED BALLOU

Copyright Ed Ballou, 2014

Ed Ballou [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



CHARACTERS

CAP - A retired sea captain - around 80, mobile, Italian t-shirt - he pantomimes wateringhis lawn and plants, turning on the water, coiling and uncoiling his hose, etc.

MR. TILSON - 60‘s, former manager of a shipyard

MRS. TILSON - 60’s, his wife

TEDDY - Cap’s grandson, early 20’s

JIMMY - Cap’s son, about 50, tan face from seafaring, a cap that says “Do Not Disturb”

MADGE - Cap’s daughter, about 50, funny, mobile, but elegant

BILLY - an old retired tugboat captain, 70’s, wears a captain’s cap

RALPH - Cap’s brother, about 80, untucked, unbuttoned, plaid short sleeve shirt

MIM - peroxide red hair

The following three characters can be played by one actor in three different costumes -all three are Cap’s uncles, wearing Captain’s caps and dressed in turn of the eighteenthcentury sailor’s outfits:

UNCLE NED

UNCLE TOMMY

UNCLE BEN

MAN - dressed in turn of the last century island farmer garb

BOY - dressed in turn of the last century island garb

MATE - ship’s mate, OFFSTAGE

ROY - in his 60’s, tan face

RENEE - A young black girl, Teddy’s California girlfriend




TIME: 1970.

PLACE: St. Pete Beach, Florida

SET:

UPSTAGE is The Porch, with an old concrete walk dividing a tropical front yard in half -crabgrass, small fruit trees, and a palm tree on each side - under one palm tree a smallpile of rocks, under the other a sign swinging from a frame saying “Crest of the Waves” -the walk culminates in steps going up to a covered porch with two screen doors rightand left - two short lawn chairs next to each other, in the area between the doors. Attimes The Porch darkens, and behind it The Plot appears, with sea sounds below andcliffs rising above, that disappear into the shadow of a volcanic peak.

STAGE RIGHT is The Railing where scenes at sea take place. It’s several feet long,and stands at different heights, depending on which ship it is the railing. It can be low

and wooden, with rope rigging going up to the masts above, as on a sailing ship, or highand steel as on the wheelhouse of a Liberty ship, or low and steel with scuppers, as ona tugboat.

DOWNSTAGE LEFT is The Pulpit, with a coffin in front and a ship’s bell behind - thepews are the theatre audience - there is a suggestion of windows flung open to a bluesky floating over the sounds of the sea.




ONE BELL

1-1-1

AT RISE: Lights rise on TEDDY standing behind The Pulpit, a simple wooden coffinbefore it. Sunlight streaming in from one side, the SOUNDS of the sea crashing farbelow on the cliffs. Jimmy, Madge, Mim, Billy, and Renee are sitting in a pew in front of

the coffin - more pews behind are suggested by the audience.

TEDDYWe are gathered here on The Rock to honor the life of Cap, a man from the past - born

on The Rock at the end of the nineteenth century - his mother born here five years after

President Lincoln was shot and six years before Custer’s Last Stand. Cap had to go to

sea as a cabin boy on a three-masted schooner. He eventually sailed up to New York as

deckhand, where the shipping was better - going through the First World War as a sailor

in the Merchant Marine, then marrying and raising three kids, as he rose to Captain on

the water. When shipping slowed in the Great Depression, he painted houses and

refinished floors by hand. Cap went through the Second World War as a captain of

Liberty ships in the convoys - moving to Florida after the war, and continuing to serve as

a skipper of freighters until he was forced to retire. By this time, his passing, the big

moon under which he stood watch on those old wooden schooners has seen the

footprints of man. My grandfather was a simple man - he lived how people here on The

Rock lived for the last three centuries - never learned to drive, no phone, taught himself

to read and write on the ships. He smoked cigars and pipes, watched only Friday night

boxing on his small black and white TV, and listened only to Paul Harvey on his radio.

He ate as if he were still on those sailing ships of long ago - slumgullion, johnnybread,

and bread pudding for dessert. He drank lemonade with ice cubes from plastic cups,

and took slugs of rum from a bottle he kept hidden in a cupboard. Cap had a saying:“If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right...” - I reckon that’s how he tried to live his

life, and this is my eulogy for Cap...

(The LIGHTS DIM on The Pulpit, LIGHTS RISEon The Porch. A store-bought placard signsaying “For Rent” hangs below a sign in thefront yard that declares “Crest of The Waves”.Cap stands watering his front lawn. TheSOUND of a car pulling up, the engine staysrunning, car doors slam, a trunk opens andcloses, the murmur of a cabbie being paid -

ENTER MR. TILSON and MRS. TILSON, withsuitcases in hand.)

MR. TILSON

Hello!

CAPHo...




1-1-2

MR. TILSON (Waving a newspaper)Saint Pete Beach, right? - we just flew in from New York - picked up a paper at the

airport, and saw your place for rent - took a cab out here, hoped it was something weliked - that was our plan, soon as I retired last week, we closed the apartment, headeddown south for the beaches - we had enough of those winters in New York - we wantheat! - this your duplex?

CAPLeft side’s for rent...

MR. TILSONWho lives in the right side?

CAPI lives there.. out back I got a three-room my daughter, Madge, lives in, ‘n a one-roomrented ta a man named Roy...

MR. TILSONI’m Irv - my wife, Ruth.. what’s your name?

CAPThey calls me Cap...

MRS. TILSON

We’re looking to retire to some little beach town - this might be the place...

CAPShore, maybe.. New York? - lived there twenty years - Richmond Hill..

MR. TILSONWell, I’m from Brooklyn - I was manager of Brooklyn Shipyard thirty years!

CAPNever put in there...

MR. TILSONWell, why would you? - it’s just a big yard that repairs ships and such..

CAP

Wal, I was on th water meself fifty years, in ‘n outta shipyards..

MR. TILSONOh? - a sailor or mate - tankers, freighters?




1-1-3

CAPStarted off as cabin boy, then sailor, then mate - captain, th last years - Liberty ships,sailed in th convoys...

MR. TILSONThat was some war - brought us a lot of business, with those U-boats torpedoing ourships - too bad - some right off New York Harbor!

CAPI knows ‘bout that..

MR. TILSONWell, Cap, could we take a look at the place?

CAP

Shore.. hundred a month, utilities on you...

(He leads them up the stairs)

MR. TILSONCome on, Ruth.. I’m liking the feel of this..

MRS. TILSONI’m liking the heat, Irv..

MR. TILSONThat’s good, that’s good!

(Pulls out a cigar)Mind if I smoke in there, Cap?

CAPI smoke, meself - all ahead full on yer cigar, Irv...

(Mr. Tilson puts his cigar in his mouth, they allgo into the left side of the duplex - LIGHTSDIM, then LIGHTS RISE again on The Porch -CAP is sitting in one of the lawn chairs on theporch, reading a newspaper with his glasseson. The right screen door opens - ENTER

MADGE onto the porch, carrying a smallplacard, and a styrofoam ice chest which sheputs down. She goes back to the wooden wallof the duplex behind Cap’s chair, thumbtacksthe placard up.)




1-1-4

MADGE

(Reading the placard)“The Captain’s Word Is Law”!

CAP

(Reading his newspaper)Goin’ fishin’ this mornin’, Madge?

MADGE (Striking a pose)The fish are asking me for an audience!

CAP

(Reading)Go back ta th garage - take th bamboo pole - just inside th door...

MADGEThey’re all bamboo poles, Daddy..

CAPTh one with th big reel..

MADGEI’m not catching a whale!

CAP

It’s good for trollin’.. got heavy sinkers, goes down deep fer th fish..

MADGE

(Picking up the styrofoam ice chest)Fresh fish for dinner!

CAP

I’ll go up ta Winn Dixie, just in case..

MADGENo need to shop, Daddy.. I’m bringing back.. red snapper - they’re running!

CAPRunnin’ where?

MADGEOnly The Shadow knows!




1-1-5

CAP

I’ll get a ham.. what charter boat you goin’ out on?

MADGE

Captain Randy’s!

CAPCaptain Randy on th Buenavista? - you’ll have ta pilot him outta th harbor.. (Mimicking - he’s been there before)“Which way do I go, Cap?”

(Normal voice)“Christ, just foller’ th channel, me boy!”

MADGEIf I’m not back by dinner, send the dogs out..

CAP

(Putting up his newspaper, going down thesteps to water his lawn)

I’ll send yer brother out in his Buick..

MADGE

I’ll be back with an ice chest full of fresh snapper!

CAP (Uncoiling the hose, turning it on - he waters)

Yer th only thing that’s fresh - now get yer pole...

MADGEWell! - but the Captain’s word is law! (MADGE EXITS - the LIGHTS DIM on The

Porch, LIGHTS RISE on Teddy at The Podium)

TEDDYMy Aunt Madge was a smart woman who would have gone to college in a later decade -instead, she went through stenography school and became a legal secretary - first inCosta Rica, then in Paris working for the OSS, she found herself in San Francisco in the

50’s, living in a Victorian apartment overlooking the Bay, working her way up through thesecretarial pool to become personal secretary to a partner in a Sansome Street law firm- finally running his office for him when he became ill - Madge sitting in his big leatherchair in his office with the window overlooking the financial district - and upon his death,a gift of cash and his Thunderbird allowing Madge to retire to Florida and rent out thethree-room, in the back of the duplex, to be near her beloved Daddy during the lastyears of his life...




1-1-6

(The LIGHTS RISE on the front yard, CAPwatering the plants. The steady SOUND of lowsurf gently washing up on a nearby beach.ENTER BILLY up the walk, carrying a bunch of

bananas on his head.)

CAP

(Looking over, watering)Lookin’ good, Billy..

BILLYA present, Cap...

(Climbs the steps, puts the bananas on a chair)

CAP

Bringin’ coal ta’ Newcastle..

BILLYThese are bananas..

CAP (Watering a small tree with big fronds)What’s this?

BILLY

(Looking carefully)

A banana tree..

CAPNo, it’s Newcastle n’ it’s fulla coal..

BILLYBut no bananas..

CAPGot a bunch o’ them on me table..

(Goes back to watering. A pause.)

BILLY

Would it kill ya ta recognize me for who I am?

CAPYer a retired old tugboat captain, walkin’ ‘round with bananas on yer head..




1-1-7

BILLYThey could build a statue of me in New York Harbor, for what I done!

CAP

Christ, even the pigeons wouldn’t sit on it.. what you need a statue for?

BILLYSo people will look at it, and say, “I remember old Billy, that son of a sea cook! Damnhim for dyin’ - wonder what he’s doin’ now?” (Laughs)And dead, I’ll be dead! - and who’ll care? - you care, you gonna care, Cap?

(Looks at CAP watering)You ain’t gonna care - you don’t care about me now! You don’t! Who am I to you, huh?Nobody - a landlubber ‘cause I never left New York Harbor, never sailed deepwater -you think I’m not a real sailor! You never did, huh, Cap - never!

CAP

(Watering)Billy, you’re three sheets ta th wind..

(Sprinkles some water his way)

BILLY

(Moving out of the way)You ever been on a steam tug, haulin’ rope in a freezin’ storm, hands slippin’ on a thickhawser tyin’ our little tug to a big ship like you was master of, a sailor on its deckshoutin’ down, “Pull, tug swabbie, pull, tighten this line, get yer tug pullin’ - pull! - pull us

offen this dock afore we ram her - pull, you son of a sea cook!” And we pulled! - wavessloshin’ on deck, old wood hull a-bangin’ against that big iron hull, boiler roarin’, steamengine clankin’, fire belchin’ from the stack - and we pulled that ship off that dock, a bigship like you was captain of - saved their deepwater hides, then pushed ‘em back snuginna berth! And no thanks from those deepwater men up there, not a word! - don’tforget, Cap, I worked my way up from deck just like you! - we both climbed into thewheelhouse and become captain - I was captain of my own damn steam tug in NewYork Harbor - I was captain!

CAP

(Sprinkling water at him)

Look out, tug captain - wave’s comin’ aboard!

BILLY

(Drying himself off, going down the steps)You wasn’t the only one was captain..

(BILLY EXITS. CAP continues watering.ENTER TEDDY with a suitcase - puts it down)




1-1-8

CAPTeddy.. what you doin’ here? - thought you was in California...

TEDDY

Things didn’t work out with this girl...

CAPWell, boy, you’re welcome here anytime - your Uncle Jimmy will be glad ta see ya - he

just got off his tanker - he’s stoppin’ by this mornin’ - how was th flight?

TEDDYCouldn’t afford a plane - took a Greyhound, three long days ride..

CAP

Yer Uncle Jimmy will wanna take ya down to see your Grandma..

TEDDYYou still got that ol’ double-ender boat?

CAPTh Little Nick - she’s anchored out in th Pass..

TEDDYI’d like to go out in her sometime..

CAP

Shore, boy - now stow yer stuff in th front bedroom..

TEDDYOkay, Granpot - sure glad I’m here!

CAPMe too, boy - me too...

(TEDDY EXITS - CAP continues watering -ENTER MIM )

MIM

Hi, Cap..

CAP

(Watering)Ho, Mim..

MIMWas that your grandson I saw come up the driveway?




1-1-9

CAP

He’s stayin’ awhile..

MIM

Vacation?

CAPChrist, he can’t afford no vacation, makes no money paintin’ houses in California! -came down on th Greyhound, prob’ly broke - gonna have ta look for work - maybeJimmy can get him on th sea, I dunno..

MIMIf he’s looking for work, I could use the fence painted over at my apartment house - if hewants a job he can walk to, tell him to stop by - you too, Cap - I’ll pour you a stiff rum..

CAPI’ll send him, Mim..

(Continues watering)

MIMDon’t forget that rum.. (CAP continues watering the front yard - the

SOUND of cicadas and the low murmur of surfas the LIGHTS DIM - LIGHTS RISE again onThe Porch - no one in the lawn chairs - Roycomes up the steps and knocks on Cap’s

screen door - TEDDY opens it)

ROYOh, hi.. Cap in?

TEDDYMy Granpa’s up at Winn Dixie...

ROY

So, you’re his grandson..

TEDDYYeah, I’m Teddy - Roy, right? - renting the one-room apartment out back?

ROYLast three months - work in Bermuda, putting in cabinets - I’m gone half the time...




1-1-10

TEDDYYeah, you from Bermuda?

ROYNo, I’m from a little town south of here, Fort Everglades, down in the swamp..

TEDDYI’m from California!

ROYWhat brought you here, son?

TEDDYWoman problems.. what brought you here?

ROYWell, I wasn’t plannin’ on ever leavin’ my little hometown, was pretty happy there, hadme a little job... this was before the war, the second one - then war broke out and arecruiter came to our town and said his piece, and I believed him and signed up - gottrained in Intelligence, sent to the South Pacific - we was plannin’ an attack - I mean, thegenerals was - of a little island called Guadalcanal, and they needed to know where theenemy had his defenses set up, and so they sent us to reconnoiter the island, usIntelligence men, a few days before the invasion.. they brought us out there at night bysubmarine, and the sub surfaced and we made our way to the island in boats, real quietlike - boats had electric motors, so the Japanese wouldn’t hear us coming.. we landed

quietly on that beach in the dark, and snuck ‘round for hours in the jungle, scoutin’ outthe Jap defenses, quiet as church mice.. ‘til a Jap sentry heard us and alerted theothers - big fire fight broke out, tracers lightin‘ up the dark, everbody firin’ every whichway - we were lucky to make it back to the boats and get the hell out of there! - at least,most of us - we made it back to the sub and it submerged.. but we got the intelligencethey wanted for that assault on Guadalcanal!

TEDDYAnd the rest is history..

ROY

I made it through the war, and after it was over, I went back to my little home town - butI just couldn’t be there no more, after seein’ what I saw.. I got out of there, came up toTampa Bay, got a job, got married, got unmarried, changed jobs a few times, movedaround - and now here I am, still workin‘ for a livin‘, stayin’ here in your Granpot’s littleone-room, for who knows how long...

(Pauses)Say, I came here to borrow Cap’s little space heater - nights been getting a little chilly,and Cap told me I could take it..




1-1-11

TEDDYWell, let me see.. (Looks inside)Here it is..

(Gives Roy a small space heater)

ROYThanks! (Starts to EXIT, pauses, turns back)You know what, boy? - that one night on Guadalcanal was about all the excitementI ever had in this life...

(ROY EXITS, Teddy closes the screen door -the LIGHTS DIM, then the LIGHTS RISE onCAP sitting in his lawn chair on the porch,reading his paper - ENTER MADGE up the

walk, carrying the styrofoam ice chest - drops itin front of him)

MADGEEnter the queen, with a mess o’fish - and boy are they heavy!

CAPWhat you got?

MADGE

Two rockfish, three mullet, four sunfish - and a giant grouper!

CAPA giant grouper swallow you whole..

MADGEWell, maybe it’s a tuna..

CAPWhat about snapper? - hear they’re runnin’..

MADGE

I hooked a snapper, but it snapped the line - that’s what they do! - I thought we werehaving ham for dinner...

CAPWe are now, less’n you caught somethin’..




1-1-14

MADGECan you get him on one?

UNCLE JIMMY

I’d rather he sail the big ships..

MADGEWell, he can start on a small tug - I’ve gotta clean up - I’ve been fishing!

UNCLE JIMMY

What’d you catch?

MADGE

(Grandly)A bell!

(MADGE EXITS around the back - JIMMYgoes inside Cap’s side of the duplex - theLIGHTS DIM on The Porch)




1-2-1

TWO BELLS

(The distant, periodic SOUND of a foghorn -- CAP smoking a pipe in his lawn chair on

The Porch - TEDDY ENTERS through the rightscreen door, stands on the porch)

TEDDYWhat time’s the fight?

CAPEight o’clock..

TEDDY (Poking his head back through the screen door,

looking up at a clock)Ten minutes..

(Pauses, gesturing inside)Where’d you get that clock made of driftwood?

CAPYour Uncle Jimmy made it..

TEDDY

(Sitting in the other lawn chair)He’s pretty handy with wood..

CAPShore..

TEDDYHow about you?

CAP

Some...

(He smokes, they sit, listening to the foghorn)How’s Mim’s fence comin’?

TEDDYGot it about scraped down - gonna prime it tomorrow... I can see the Little Nick fromMim’s place, anchored in the Pass - keeps bobbing up and down in the waves, pullingagainst its anchor chain - like it’s trying to bust loose and sail away on it’s own! - I feellike that, Granpot, when I’m painting Mim’s fence...




1-2-2

CAPWal, maybe yer Uncle Jimmy can get ya on th sea, boy..

TEDDY

Think so?

(A pause, TEDDY again gestures inside)And you got a lamp in there, made out of some instrument..

CAPYour Uncle Jimmy made it outta’ me ol’ sextant..

TEDDYWhat’s that?

CAP

Lines you up with th sun n’ th stars, so’s you can tell where your ship is - then you canchart your course..

TEDDYYou sailed by the stars?

CAP

Shore, only way you could sail at night, in th ol’ days..

(They listen to the foghorn)Fog’s thick on th Gulf..

TEDDYWhere’s the foghorn?

CAPOn a big red buoy, on th channel comin‘ in..

TEDDYYou seen it?

CAPPlenty..

(They listen to the foghorn)Sounds like th one at The Rock..

TEDDYThey had a foghorn on The Rock?

CAPSo th ships wouldn’t wreck on her cliffs.. used to listen ta’ it, when I was a boy..




1-2-3

TEDDYBefore you shipped out?

CAPCabin boy, thirty a month - hadta send it all back ta take care o’ me Ma...

(They listen to the foghorn)

TEDDY

Why’d you ship out?

CAPMe pappy passed away, while he was farmin’ our plot on The Rock..

TEDDY

He was a farmer?

CAPHad ta quit th sea. when he got a fire coal in his hand, couldn’t sail no more, had ta takeup farmin...

TEDDYAnd what did his dad do?

CAPSame, went ta sea, like th rest o’ them..

TEDDYAnd his granddad?

CAPTa sea - like all them what come before...

TEDDYAnd Uncle Jimmy shipped out, too..

CAP

It’s in our blood, me boy - your blood, too... (They listen to the foghorn)

TEDDYHow far is it to The Rock? - like if we took the Little Nick..

CAP

Depends on th wind n’ th currents..




1-2-4

TEDDYA week?

CAP

Maybe three weeks - with th wind at our back n’ currents runnin’ our way..

TEDDY

(Pauses)Think we could take the Little Nick out in the Gulf, sometime - just the two of us?

CAPShore..

(They listen to the foghorn, the LIGHTS DIM,on The Porch, RISE on CAP and TEDDYsitting on The Railing, holding on to the rigging

that goes up to the mast - the gentle rhythmicrocking motion of the ship is suggested by lightin the darkness, a thousand stars overhead)

TEDDYGee, we sailed out to see the sunset, and now it’s dark and I can’t see land and there’sno wind - now what do we do?

CAPDrift..

TEDDYYou mean, drift out to sea? - can’t you call someone on the radio?

CAPGot no radio..

TEDDY

No radio, you have no radio?

CAPBetter ta be out here alone..

TEDDYWe’re alone, all right - no one knows where we are - we don’t even know where we are!

CAPI know..




1-2-5

TEDDYHow can you tell?

CAP

By th stars.. see that one up there? - that’s th Big Dipper.. handle points ta th NorthStar.. there! - that’s north, that’s south, that’s west n’ that’s east, where land is...

TEDDYBut we’re drifting away from land!

CAPTide’s pullin’ us in..

TEDDYWhat happens when the tide goes out and there’s still no wind - then what?

CAPI’ll start th engine..

TEDDYYou got an engine in this, this old..

CAP

.. two-masted sloop, double-ender..

TEDDY

Well, fire it up, Granpot!

CAPToo noisy..

TEDDYGranpot! - we could drift to our deaths on some far shore! - you’ve lived a long life - I’ve

just started mine! - I’m not ready to meet my Maker!

CAPTeddy.. when He calls ya - ya better go..

TEDDYI didn’t know he’d call this soon!

CAPGrin ‘n bear it, boy... soon’s th wind comes up, we’ll make it back ta th Pass..




1-2-6

TEDDYWhich direction is that? - all I see is the Gulf!

CAP

Due east a few mile.. see th lights, boy?

TEDDYWhere? - there? - those lights? - that’s the Pass?

CAPYup..

TEDDY

Well! .. that’s better.. that’s not so far.. we could almost swim there! - couldn’t we?

CAPNot plannin’ to..

TEDDYWe’ve drifted that far in towards shore, huh? (Looks toward shore)Do you think we can see the lights of the Crest of the Waves, in all those other lights? -did you leave any lights on?

CAPPorch light, ‘n maybe Madge’s little light is on out back..

(A pause, the SOUNDS of the sea)What happened with you n’ the girl?

TEDDYShe dumped me... you know, Granpot, I can still see her face...

CAPShore.. just stay away from th anchor rope, me boy...

TEDDYWhat?

(Cap doesn’t answer - Teddy looks around)You know.. this is really not so bad.. here we are, alone in the night - clear water below,clear sky above, a thousand stars - and just the two of us, me and my Grandpa, on asmall wooden sloop - why, we could be out in space somewhere, in a spaceship! - youthink much about space, Granpot?

CAP

Nope..




1-2-7

(A pause, the SOUNDS of the sea)

TEDDYYou know.. we don’t really have to go back to the Pass.. we could just keep on sailing -

to The Rock! Could the Little Nick sail all the way to The Rock?

CAPShore, if we had enough stores..

TEDDYWell, couldn’t we put into a port and get some? - like Key West! - that’s on the way! - getmore stores - and then set sail, again - for The Rock! - which way is Key West, south?

CAPSouth, southeast..

TEDDYWhat do say, Granpot? - what an adventure! - we’ll sail down to The Rock and dropanchor and you could visit, while I explore! - why, those lights over there could be fromThe Rock! - expect higher, I guess, being there’s cliffs - how high are they?

CAPFew hundred feet..

TEDDYAnd then we could see the lights of, of..

CAPLittle villages, five of ‘em..

TEDDY

And people from The Rock will crowd the cliffs to see us! - Cap, finally coming back toThe Rock in his two-masted schooner, the Little Nick - with grandson Teddy at the helm,sailing her right up to the cliffs! - you dropping the anchor..

CAPIf I could lift th anchor - that’s your job, Brutus..

TEDDYYou know, Granpot, I read about The Rock - it’s an extinct volcano poking right up out ofthe sea..

CAPCould be..




1-2-8

TEDDY.. and nobody was there for thousands of years - just birds and plants and animals -whatever flew or floated up and took hold - hawks, mice, breadfruit trees.. and then theancient Indians came - lived there for centuries, and disappeared - and then, and then -

nobody, until Columbus sailed by The Rock, jotting it down in his log - and then stillnobody, until our people came and settled it three hundred years ago - “them whatcome before” - the people from The Rock! - you know, Granpot, when we sail up in theLittle Nick, it could just as well be the year Sixteen-seventy as Nineteen-seventy - why,we could sail ourselves right into the past!

CAP (Taking a small piece of volcanic rock from

his pocket, handing it to TEDDY)

Here boy.. a piece o’ The Rock - kept it with me all these years - now it’s yours, ta remind ya of

where we come from n’ who we are - sailors! - the mariners o’ th western world...

(Pauses, looks up at the sails)Wind’s pickin’ up.. grab th tiller, while I trim th sails - you steer us back into th Pass, boy,steady as she goes - n’ forget about th past...

TEDDY

(Pauses, looks far out to sea, sighs, gets up)Aye, aye, Captain...

(The LIGHTS DIM on The Railing, LIGHTSRISE on The Porch)

TEDDY

How old were you, when your dad passed and you shipped out?

CAPThirteen..

TEDDYI’m twenty-three.. think I’ll ever ship out?

CAPHope so, boy - Bobby n’ Madge got no kids... (The SOUND of the foghorn)

TEDDYWhy’d you quit the sea?




1-2-9

CAP

(Pauses, smokes)We was unloadin’ cargo in Mobile.. I wanted to go up ta your Aunt Madge’s weddin’ inNew York.. told th ship’s agent th mate could finish th unloadin’.. he said no, captain

hasta’ stay with his ship..

(Pauses, smokes)

TEDDY

Well, did you?

CAPTold th agent ta’ sail th ship up his ass n’ drop both anchors.. went up ta th weddin’, butgot blacklisted on th Gulf when I come back down, couldn’t ship no more...

(Smokes, gets up, RINGS the bell twice)Let’s go in n’ watch th fight, Rufus...

(They EXIT through the screen door, the

LIGHTS DIM on The Porch - The LIGHTSRISE on The Porch - Cap and Ralph are sittingin the lawn chairs, each with a plastic cup in hishand - they’re in the middle of a conversation)

CAPWere it off Curacao, when you was sunk by that sub?

(Drinks)

RALPH

(Drinks).. German torpedo hits our ship with a bang and lifts her out of the water - ship breaks intwo and before you know it, we was in a life raft, floating in heavy seas, watching thebow and the stern sink.. afternoon of the second day, we sees a huge shark coming atus, like to swim aboard and eat us.. but it dives under the raft at the last minute, comesup the other side and starts circling - we held fast to ropes, afraid we’d be sweptoverboard and eaten - after hours, the beast suddenly turns, charges us again! - divingunder the raft at the last minute - but this time it got stuck - tried to free itself bythrashing around, throwing us up and down.. finally it quieted down, and just lay there -we could hear its gills gasping beneath our feet - just then a plane spots us - beensearching when we didn’t show in port - hours later, big American cruiser with a bone in

her teeth comes steaming at us - they pulled us outta the water, and an officer on decksays, “What you got stuck under your raft?” “Big shark like to scare the life out of us!”,I says.. couple minutes later, the rattling of a machine gun, and both raft and monsterare cut to pieces and sink.. that night on that cruiser, we ordered fish for dinner...




1-2-10

(ENTER RENEE, walking down the sidewalk,carrying a bag - she pauses in front of theduplex, looks at the sign, puts down her bag)

RENEE

(Reading sign aloud)“The.. Crest.. of.. the ..Waves...”

(Looks up at the two of them on the porch)One of you, Cap?

CAPWho wants to know?

RENEEI’m a friend of a boy who came down here - he’s stayin’ with his Grandpa.. I think this is

the place..

(Cap and Ralph pause, look at each other)

RALPHWhat’s his name?

RENEETeddy..

CAPChrist..

RALPHYou from Cali-fornia?

RENEEYes.. me and Teddy were together, for awhile..

CAPWhaddya mean, together?

RALPH

You just missed him - he’s gone to sea..

RENEECan I catch up with him?

RALPHNot likely - he’s shippin’ out in an hour, be gone for weeks...




1-2-11

RENEEWell, I’ll wait for him, then .. any place I can rent around here?

RALPH

Listen..

CAPWe don’t rent ta your kind here - n’ at sunset, ya need ta leave th island..

RENEE

(Pauses)What’s my kind?

RALPHDidn’t they tell you anything in Cali-fornia?

RENEE

(Pauses)I thought we were done with all that..

CAP (Gets up)Christ!

(EXITS into his side of the duplex with hisglass of rum, slamming the screen door)

RALPHYou’re not welcome ‘round here..

(Gets up with his drink, EXITS into Cap’s sideof the duplex - Renee stands there, unsure ofwhat to do, turns around, then turns back andlooks up at the duplex - ENTER MIM - shepauses upon seeing Renee)

MIMWhat you doing, girl?

RENEEI’m not a girl - I’m a woman! - and I’m a person!

MIMDon’t get riled, didn’t mean it like that - to me, any woman under fifty is a girl - I helpeddeliver Jesus..




1-2-12

RENEE

(Pauses)You know Teddy?

MIMSure - he’s Cap’s grandson - I just came by to visit with Cap..

RENEEI used to be Teddy’s girlfriend.. I came down to see him - he gave me this address -“Crest of the Waves” - but two men on the porch said he’s gone to sea..

MIMThat was his grandpa, Cap, and his Uncle Ralph - Ralph always comes to visit Cap onSundays - used to bring his wife, but she broke her hip..

RENEEWhich one is Cap?

MIMThe ornery one..

RENEE

(Going to the foot of the steps, looking up atthe screen door)

Sure wish I could talk to him..

MIMSounds like you did talk.. he don’t favor you people, unless he thinks you know yourplace..

RENEEI thought the Jim Crow days were over..

MIMWell, this is the South, and Cap’s from the old days - put those together, and it mightspell prejudice..

RENEE (Pauses)What about you?

MIMI’m not particular to nobody! - but at least I’m even about it - I figure folks is folks - but Ikeep my mouth shut around here.. if Teddy’s gone to sea, he won’t be back for a coupleof weeks, maybe a month, dependin’ where he shipped to.. now, what you gonna do?




1-2-13

RENEE

(Pauses)Guess look for a little place to rent, wait for him - I quit my job in California - got nothingto go back to..

MIMYou got money?

RENEEEnough for awhile..

MIMWhat’s your name?

RENEE

Renee.. Renee Every..

MIMTell you what, Renee.. I own a place down the street - small apartment house - I got alittle unit with a kitchenette.. promise it to my brother when he comes down everysummer, but until then, I could rent it to you for a month, maybe..

RENEEHow much?

MIM

Fifty a month plus utilities - and no visitors at night..

RENEEWell.. could I see it?

MIMSure.. and if you takes it, keep a low profile..

RENEEWould Cap call the police, if he sees me after dark?

MIMHe can’t call the police! - there’s no law on you people being on the island, whenever -and don’t worry about Cap - I’m as ornery as he is! - come on, honey, grab your bag..

RENEEThanks, Mim.. still wish I could talk to Cap..

(MIM and RENEE EXIT, as theLIGHTS DIM)




1-3-3

MRS. TILSON (Con’t.) (They watch across the street)Weren’t you a sailor on the ships?

CAPChrist, long time ago.. I became captain...

MRS. TILSONOh, that’s where you got your name - Cap...

(They watch across the street)

You can call me Ruth...

CAP

Shore, Ruth... there’s that gal goin’ to that feller’s room with a bottle, agin.. probably full

‘o holy water, gonna sprinkle it over him, get him holy...

MRS. TILSONCap, you’re terrible! - how’s your grandson doing?

CAPTeddy? - tol’ me, “Gonna be a millionaire!” - shore, by totin‘ paint pots ‘round.. he’s richin his mind...

MRS. TILSONWhy doesn’t he go to sea, like you did?

CAPLike I hadta.. Ma put me on Uncle Ned’s old three-masted schooner - cabin boy on thMaise Hassell, tradin’ with th other islands, sometimes run up ta New York - laterbecame mate, pullin’ watches, steerin’ by th stars, never sleepin’ really.. there was fiveschooners owned by me five uncles, all brothers - me Pa, n’ me Uncles Ned, Tommy,Ben, n’ Tater - four died at sea, n’ then me Pa... (They watch across the street)

MRS.TILSONWhat happened to him?

(LIGHTS DIM on The Porch, and LIGHTSRISE on The Plot - a boy and a man with amachetes stand on the ground - the SOUNDof goats scrambling above them on the cliffs -the SOUND of a small rock, represented bylight, bounces past them - they both look up)




1-3-4

MAN

Goats..

BOY

How’d they get up there?

MANSome goats got away in the old days, went wild, and now they been livin’ for years upthere on the cliffs... (He wipes his brow, looks off)That sea is sure sparklin’ down there.. sometimes, wish I’d never left it..

BOYDon’t you like farmin’, Pa - ‘n bein’ home wit us?

MANIt’s not that, boy.. there’s just somethin’ about bein’ on the sea, sailin’ a good ship with afair wind and a current runnin’ your way.. smellin’ the salt, the riggin’ creakin’, deckrollin’, watch bell ringin’ - and th sunlight dancin’ off the crest o’ th waves! - and there’sthat feelin’, too, boy - o’ bein’ part ‘o them what come before - men from The Rock... (The SOUND of hoofs scuttling on the cliffs

above, a few rocks bound down, representedby flashes of LIGHT and SOUND)

Mind those rocks, boy! - those goats gettin’ frisky up there.. now, let’s get this plotchopped, so’s we can plant... (The LIGHTS DIM on The Plot and LIGHTS

RISE on The Porch - CAP and MRS. TILSONwatch across the street)

CAPDon’t wanta think ‘bout it no more.. me Pa was th oldest, n’ Uncle Ned were thyoungest... now, I remember one time Uncle Ned sailed down ta Bird Island innineteen-ought-eight... (LIGHTS DIM on The Porch, LIGHTS RISE

on UNCLE NED leaning on The Railing, theropes of the rigging going up off the railingoffstage to the masts above - the SOUNDS

of an old sailing ship at sea - waves against thehull, the cracking of wind in the sails, thecreaking of the rigging)

UNCLE NED

(Looking through his sextant)Fifteen degrees, forty minutes south, sixty three degrees, thirty seven minutes west.. (Lowers the sextant)




1-3-5

UNCLE NED (Con’t.)We’ll set course for Bird Island, make landfall tonight, and with the moon full, rowashore in the skiff - night’s when them big green sea turtles come ashore and layeggs - we’ll grab some of their eggs, take ‘em back to the ship, and then tomorrow

gather as many bird eggs as we can - put ‘em all in a hold full o’ straw, and raise anchorfor The Rock...

(Puts down sextant, gazes out to sea)Bird Island.. men from The Rock been sailing there two hundred year, just to get themeggs - eat some, make a buck on the others... nothing little island, thousand foot long,fifty wide, twelve high - but when we pull her in sight - clouds of birds rise up in the skyand dozens of turtles swim ‘longside the ship - food and money to us on The Rock!

(LIGHTS DIM on The Railing, LIGHTS RISE onThe Porch)

CAP

Bird Island, kinda’ low in th water.. men from The Rock set sail wit Ned on th MaiseHassell - they was lookin’ ta find some bird n’ turtle eggs ta sell - but met someVenezuelans come up from th south, lookin’ for them eggs too, neither knowin t’otherswas there.. met wit a bang in th middle o’ th night - big fight broke out over them eggs -Uncle Ned got chopped in th head wit a hatchet ‘n his sailors carried him back ta th ship- they set sail for The Rock, then ran outta water when a storm pushed ‘em off course -poor Ned didn’t make it - they rang eight bells for him ‘n slid him inta th sea.. they wasout five day - people on The Rock waitin’ n’ hopin’, ‘til they spotted sail n’ th MaiseHassell hove to n’ dropped anchor, without her captain...

(They watch across the street).. same family from last year - them Pennsylvania plates...

MRS.TILSON

Which family?

CAPTall guy wit’ glasses, four kids, a dog n’ a little-bitty wife - he keeps comin’ down wit’ ‘emeach summer..

MRS. TILSONThey must love these beaches.. ever go to the beach?

CAPChrist, I was on the water fifty year! - why I wanta’ go ta th beach?


CAPThen there’s Uncle Tommy.. went out the aft deck o’ his schooner, th Ina Vanterpool,with his brother Ben at the helm..




1-3-6

(LIGHTS DIM on The Porch, LIGHTS RISE onUNCLE TOMMY at The Railing, coiling ananchor rope)

UNCLE BEN (Offstage)

(Calling)Tommy! - drop the aft anchor, soon’s I get the anchorage!

UNCLE TOMMY (Calling)OK, Ben!

(He stands, coiling and uncoiling the rope)She’s gone...

(Coils and uncoils therope)

Wasn’t I enough?

(Coils and uncoils therope)

I can still see her face, her long black hair..

(Looks off).. her soft brown eyes... (Coils and uncoils the

rope)

UNCLE BEN (Offstage)

(Calling)

Tommy! - drop anchor! - we’s driftin’ off the buoy!

UNCLE TOMMY

(Calling)I’m droppin’ it, Ben!

(He coils the anchor rope around his neck,goes to The Railing - the LIGHTS DIM - a loudSPLASH. LIGHTS RISE on The Porch.)

CAPTied th anchor rope ‘round his neck, n’ dropped hisself overboard...


MRS. TILSON

What was that about?

CAPSome young girl... n’ then Ben, Uncle Ben.. he sailed inta harbor on Martinique in thMona Marie, his big two-master..




1-3-7

(They watch across the street - the LIGHTSDIM on The Porch, LIGHTS RISE on UNCLEBEN leaning on The Railing)

UNCLE BENWe dropped anchor last night in the harbor here at Saint Pierre - big volcano up behindtown - strange lightnin’ flashin’ ‘round its top as we sailed in, red and orange glow..actin’ up, again, I reckon.. we’ll be in and outta’ harbor quick.. I’ll take the sugarcane onthe skiff, row to the wharf and get it sold, row back and we’ll sail down to Barbados, flatas a pancake - check your course or you’ll sail right past her! - buy some rum there for agood price, and then it’s back up the islands! - tradin’ the rum for stuff we need on TheRock... rough life on The Rock, sometimes think about leavin’ it - but where would I go?- another island that got white sandy beaches and big towns, where I don’t knownobody? - no, better to stay safe up the cliffs of The Rock, with people like me and themwhat come before - not much changes - you either grow somethin‘, or put to sea.. but

it’s a paradise on The Rock - and you don’t need to die to get there! - just set yourcourse, put up sail, and her beautiful steep cliffs will rise into view.. there’s some moreo’ that strange lightnin’ up top the mountain - better row into Saint-Pierre and unloadthat sugarcane..

(Calling OFFSTAGE)

Mind the anchor rope, mate - tide’s turning!

(LIGHTS DIM on The Railing, RISE on ThePorch)

CAP

Uncle Ben took th skiff inta harbor ta sell some sugarcane.. while he were on th wharf,volcano blew, n’ a big cloud o’gas n’ lava came down quick over th town - lava killedeveryone in town, thousands - ‘cept one guy in jail, thick walls - Uncle Ben jumped in thskiff n’ started rowin’ back ta th ship.. but th lava went right out in th water, caught hisskiff n’ burned him up..

(They watch across the street)Now there’s proof Uncle Tater got lost at sea in th Rebecca Palmer.. (Gestures to bell)This here’s its’ bell - Madge hooked it charter fishin’, right out there off Egmont Key -now they’s almost all gone, them what come before, men from The Rock that sailed th‘ol sailin’ ships...

(They watch across the street)Finally I got offa them leaky windjammers - hadta keep puttin inta’ port so they wouldn’tsink under us - Christ! - came up ta New York ta work th steamships..

(Cap grabs the rope clapper of the ship’s bellabove his head, RINGS it twice, pauses,RINGS it a third time)




1-3-8

MRS. TILSONWhy ring that bell?

CAP

Marks th watch - ever’ half hour, one more bell - eight bells, yer watch is over - in th ol’days, we also rung eight bells when a dead sailor got slid inta th sea...

(The SOUNDS of low surf on the beach - theSOUND of Jimmy’s Buick pulling up on theshell road, the engine turns off, a car doorslams - JIMMY comes up on the porch - hepauses as he sees Mrs. Tilson)

MRS. TILSONHello!

JIMMY (Gruffly)

Hello.

CAPMy son, Jimmy.. chief mate o’ a sulfur tanker...

MRS. TILSONOh, another sailor!

JIMMY

I’m a Merchant Marine officer..

CAPYour nephew Teddy’s in from California, Jimmy...

MRS. TILSONTime for me to put my pie in.. could you take a look at my oven, Cap? - I’m havingtrouble getting it to heat...

CAPShore, Ruth...

(She gets up and disappears into her side ofthe duplex)

Teddy’s inside, stowing his gear - maybe ya wanta take him down soon, see hisGrandma...

(Cap goes into Mrs. Tilson’s side of theduplex - Jimmy stares after him)




1-3-9

JIMMYRuth... (ENTER TEDDY from the right side of the

duplex)

TEDDYHi, Unc! - just got in from the Coast! - and already got a job painting at Mim’s! - youbeen at sea?

UNCLE JIMMYJust got in from Beaumont, boy, on the Marine Duval - your Granpot asked me to tryand get you on the sea - I’ll haunt the halls for you, but union’s not acceptingapplications ‘til shipping picks up.. but pack some of your gear into your Granpot’s oldseabag, in case you have to get underway in a hurry.. just checking in with Pop - gottanight mate now, the Louisiana Brimstone, pump sulfur - see you noon tomorrow, then

we’ll go down and see your Grandma.. pack that bag, boy!

TEDDY

(Saluting)Aye, aye, Uncle Jimmy! (He EXITS into the duplex - the LIGHTS DIM

on The Porch - the LIGHTS RISE on TEDDY atThe Podium)

TEDDYI always looked up to my Uncle Jimmy. I see him now as a big kid, staring out of a

picture of a snowy New York street, in a heavy coat and a hat with flaps, standing talland protective over his two sisters like a guardian angel. I knew how he graduated fromthe Merchant Marine Academy at the start of the Second World War, attending a party inhis honor, proud and resplendent in his uniform - only to discover forty men fromThe Rock, also in uniform, all outranking him. And how he and his father, Cap,sailed in the convoys to England in those Liberty ships - his father as captain on one,he as a young deckhand on another - and after the war, Uncle Jimmy sailed asmate on a freighter around the world, with his father as captain - together makingenough money to leave New York and move to Florida, where the weatherwas warm and the land was cheap - buying the “Crest of the Waves” to rent out, andthen Uncle Jimmy building another home for the three of them - Cap, Grandma and

Jimmy - but after a while, only Grandma and Uncle Jimmy stayed there - Cap movinghimself back to the “Crest of The Waves” - and always my Uncle Jimmy sailing away onfreighters and tankers, for weeks at a time - a gruff guy driving big Buicks and devotedto a little bitty dog he would take on the ships - working his way up through the decks tobe Third Mate, Second Mate, and finally Chief Mate - the guy who actually ran those bigsulfur and concrete tankers - he was our hero, Uncle Jimmy...




1-4-1

FOUR BELLS

(Cap watering his lawn - ENTER Teddy fromthe right side of the duplex)

TEDDYUncle Jimmy said he’d drop by, tell the latest on getting me to sea - I’m gettingdiscouraged - I’d rather go to the beach, Grandpa...

CAPYou stay fer yer Uncle - n’ if ya ever does go ta sea, remember boy, if a thing’s worthdoin’, it’s worth doin’ right..

TEDDY (Pauses)

It’s hot.. need some lemonade.. want some?

CAPHad some..

(TEDDY EXITS into the right side of theduplex - CAP continues watering his lawn -ENTER BILLY onto the walk, with someoranges)

BILLYCap.. I brought oranges...

CAP

(Watering a small tree)What’s this?

BILLY (Peering at it)Looks like a.. orange tree..

CAPLeave ’em on th chair up there..

BILLY

(Climbs the steps, sits in a chair with theoranges)

Cap.. know why I keep comin’ ‘round?




1-4-2

CAP

(Watering)So ya can give me more o’ what I already got..

BILLY

(Pauses)Because.. I’m lonely...

(CAP keeps watering)Don’t you ever get lonely?

CAP

(Watering)Christ, how can I be lonely, wit you always comin’ over?

(A pause, they both watch him water)

BILLY‘Member that biopsy they took?

(Takes out a cigar, unwraps it - CAP waters)Now I gotta go for an operation..

CAPWhat fer?

BILLY

(Lights the cigar)Cancer.

CAPWhere?

BILLYThroat.

(BILLY smokes - CAP looks over at him)

CAPSee ya learned yer lesson, Billy..

BILLY

(Blowing out a cloud of smoke)You smoke cigars - and a pipe...

CAP

(Watering)I prefer me pipe..




1-4-4

(JIMMY EXITS, the car door slams, the enginestarts up, the Buick drives off fast - a pause,ENTER CAP from his side of the duplex)

TEDDYGranpot.. you just missed Uncle Jimmy - he’ll be back - I think maybe I fixed it up withyou and him - about Mrs. Tilson!

(Leans forward, expecting thanks)

CAP

(Leaning into him)Boy, you keep yer beak out o’ my business!

TEDDY (Pauses, taken aback)

Okay, sorry!... Uncle Jimmy went up to call the power company - I think they run tugs -Uncle Ralph coming out?

(The SOUND of a car pulling up on the shellroad - a car door slams)

CAPHe’s here now, boy..

TEDDYHow’s his boardinghouse?

CAPMost rooms rented..

(ENTER RALPH with a paper bag)

TEDDYHi, Uncle Ralph!

UNCLE RALPH

Hello, boy - you been looking for a job?

TEDDYBeen walking all over, even walked downtown - there’s no jobs around, so I’m paintin’Mim’s fence, just finished for the day..

RALPHKeep looking, boy..

(Opens bag, takes out a bottle of rum)




1-4-5

RALPH (Con’t.)Cap?

CAP

(Stops watering)Teddy, get two glasses..

TEDDYYou mean three?

CAPTwo..

(TEDDY EXITS into the duplex)Have a seat, Ralph.. (They both sit, a pause)

RALPHHow’s his mother?

CAPOK, doin’ good - she’s been outta th hospital awhile.. (ENTER TEDDY with two glasses)

TEDDYHow come I can’t drink with you guys?

RALPHYou get a job, you get a drink.. you can get drunk as a skunk...

CAPTeddy, run up quick ta th corner store.. get hamburger for slumgullion n’ flour for

johnnybread..

TEDDYSlumgullion like you used to make? - don’t you need onions and green peppers?

CAP

I grows them, me boy! - top o’ my dresser, there’s a twenty - n’ get some eggs n’ sugarfer bread puddin’..

TEDDYOK - be back, Uncle Ralph!

RALPHOK, boy, I’ll be here..




1-4-6

(TEDDY EXITS - we hear the screen doorslam. RALPH pours them each a drink - theydrink in silence for a minute)

RALPHAny news from Jimmy?

CAPNot so far..

RALPH

Any chance he can get the boy to sea?

CAPJimmy’s been hauntin’ th halls, but cain’t get Teddy inta’ th union - nobody’s hirin’, don’t

need sailors right now..

(They start drinking)Jimmy’s gone ta phone a guy named Browley, hirin’ agent for some company - askin’ ifthey got anythin’ - said he’d stop back..

RALPHWhat company?

CAPThe power company... Jimmy told me once they runs a fleet o’ tugs pushin’ barges o’fertilizer ta New Orleans - then pulls ‘em back wit coal for th power plant..

RALPHPushes or pulls?

CAPJimmy says near shore they pushes ‘em from a notch they tie inta back o’ th barge, thenoffshore they turns ta pullin’ ‘em wit a big hawser.. makes more knots..

RALPHMore knots, more profit..

CAPYeah, man..

RALPHHow long was it.. from The Rock to New York.. in the old three-masters?

CAP

Uncle Ben ran one ‘o his schooners, the Esther Anita, up in nine day..




1-4-8

RALPH“No room in the lifeboat, Captain!” - I pulled out that pistol..

CAP

That ‘ol Johnson revolver they give us skippers..

RALPH

(Waving an imaginary pistol) “Mister Johnson says..”

CAP

(He’s heard it before)“..make room!”

(They both laugh and drink - the rhythmicSOUND of cicadas in the heat - then theSOUND of Jimmy’s car pulling into the

driveway, the engine turns off and the car doorslams - ENTER JIMMY, striding)

JIMMYWhere’s the boy?

CAP

Up th corner store, gettin’ some grub...

JIMMYHe’ll have to get his gear - Browley at the power company says they need a deckhand

on the tug Ruby Hays at Dock Nine this afternoon - steam for New Orleans tomorrowmorning...

RALPHWell, there’s some news - Teddy’s shippin’ out!

CAPFinally goin’ ta sea - that boy’s got blood from The Rock in him! - but, he’s gotta finishMim’s fence..

JIMMY

Gonna take a week - I’ll finish it! (TEDDY appears, with a sack of groceries)

TEDDYHi, Unc! - any news?

JIMMYYou’re goin’ to sea!




1-4-9

TEDDYGoing to sea.. now?

JIMMY

You got a job on an ocean-going tug, pushing fertilizer to New Orleans, and bringingback coal for the power company..

TEDDYFor how long?

JIMMY

Each trip around twelve days - two trips on, one trip off..

TEDDYNow what? - I gotta finish that fence!

JIMMYI got the fence, boy..

TEDDYNever been to sea before...

JIMMYPut down those groceries and grab your gear in your Granpot’s old seabag - I’ll driveyou down to the docks - turn to, sailor!

(TEDDY drops the groceries off, EXITS quickly

up porch steps and up through screen doorinto duplex)

CAP

(Looking after him)Goin’ ta sea on his first trip!.. I remember mine - cabin boy on th Maise Hassell,watchin’ our little mother wave’n a big sheet from th cliffs.. n’ seein’ The Rock sink backinta th waves.. that was.. nineteen-ought-four - Christ!

(Drinks)

RALPH

Yeah, man! - and I followed you, nineteen-ought-five... (Drinks - TEDDY appears through the screen

door, dragging a heavy seabag down thesteps)

UNCLE JIMMYLet’s get underway, sailor!




1-4-10

(TEDDY tries to lift the seabag on hisshoulder, drops it - UNCLE JIMMY raises it upfor him)

UNCLE JIMMY (Con’t.)Stow it in the trunk, boy..(To CAP)

I’ll stop back, after I get him shipshape on the tug..

CAPRemember, boy.. if a thing’s worth doin’, it’s worth doin’ right..

TEDDYI got it! - bye, Uncle Ralph - guess I’m going to sea!

RALPHYou’ll be all right - your people are from The Rock! - see you in a couple of weeks, boy...

TEDDYHey - I’m going to sea! (TEDDY and UNCLE JIMMY EXIT, the trunk

and car doors slam, the car starts up andbacks out of the driveway - CAP and RALPHlook after them - CAP gets up and RINGS thebell twice, a pause, then RINGS it twice more -the SOUND of cicadas in the heat - the

LIGHTS DIM on The Porch - the LIGHTS RISEagain on The Porch - Cap sitting, drinking -ENTER MRS. TILSON from her side)

MRS. TILSONWant more pie, Cap?

CAPMaybe in a while, Ruth..

(MRS. TILSON EXITS into her side of theduplex, Cap sits drinking on the porch -

ENTER RENEE down the sidewalk, shepauses in front of the duplex - he glares downat her)

Told ya, get th hell off this island!

RENEECap..




1-4-11

CAPWho said I was Cap?

RENEE

Can we talk?

CAP

(Pauses, drinks)‘Long as you stay down there..

RENEEIn my place?

CAP (Stands up)

Get th hell off my property, nigra!

RENEEThis is the sidewalk - you own the sidewalk?

CAPI’ll call the police! - n’ you’ll spend th night in jail, with th rest o’ yer kind!

RENEECall the police! - there’s no law against being black!

CAPThat’s right, you black!

(Turns to go into the duplex)I don’t talk ta uppity niggers.. n’ stay away from Teddy!

RENEEYou can’t keep me away!

CAPYou’ll never see him here, ‘cause you’ll never set foot in me door - now, get out!

(Turns to exit)

RENEEWhat are you afraid of? - think I want to marry him?

CAP

(Turns back to her)No nigger bitch is marryin’ my grandson!




1-4-12

RENEEI’m not a nigger bitch! - you don’t even know me!

CAP

I know ya need ta get out o’ town, ‘fore th sun go down...

RENEEOh, yeah? - well, I just want you to know.. I don’t have to leave! - I rented a place on thisisland - and Mim says I don’t have to leave at sunset!

CAP

(Pauses)How you know Mim?

RENEE

I’m renting from her!

CAPChrist! - there goes Mim, again..

RENEEAnd there you go, again!

CAP

(Sits down, takes a long slug on his rum)Before you people came to this island, things was good.. but long as you left Saint Pete

Beach by dark, we didn’t bother much wit you - even let you use our beaches!

RENEEYou don’t own the sand!

CAPQuiet here - waves roll in, waves roll out - sun shines, rain comes, sun dry it up, thingsgrow, n’ th lizards run ‘round - me daughter lives wit me, me son sees me every day, mebrother once a week - me grandson comes down n’ I gets him ta sea - n’ you hastacome down n’ mess it all up!

RENEE (Pauses)Okay, I’ll leave you alone..

(Starts to leave - has a leg cramp)Ow!

(Rubbing her leg)Mind if I sit? - my leg’s cramped from so much walking.. just for a minute, then I’ll get onmy way.




1-4-13

CAP

(Pauses)Sit on th bottom step.. I can hose it down, later..

RENEE

(She tentatively sits on the bottom step)So, Teddy’s gone to sea.. well, I know something about the sea, Cap..

CAPYou knows nothin’ ‘bout the sea..

RENEE

(Pauses)My great-grandfather went to sea.. oh, not as captain! - they wouldn’t allow that! - hewas just a deckhand, down in the Caribbean, on those old sailing ships..

CAP

(Pauses)I knows ‘bout them ‘ol ships..

RENEEGrandma says he drowned, as a young man..

CAPShip went down?

RENEE

In a big storm..

CAPWal.. storms come n’ go - tha’s life on th sea..

RENEEThe storm was something called a.. southwester.. somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico -maybe near here, I think..

CAP

(Pauses)

What year, th storm?

RENEEOh.. long time ago - after the turn of the century..

CAP

(Pauses)What name, th ship?




1-4-14

RENEE

(Pauses)The Palmer.. something like that..

CAPTh Rebecca.. Palmer?

RENEEThat’s it - the Rebecca Palmer! - Captain was.. something.. Holm..

CAPTater.. Captain Tater Holm..

RENEETater - like potato! - that’s how I remember it!

CAPThe Rebecca Palmer went down with all hands aboard, in nineteen-ought-seven..

RENEEHow do you know?

CAP

(Pauses)Tater Holm was me uncle..

RENEEOh! - sorry..

CAPAnd I’m sorry fer, fer.. what was yer great-grandpot’s name?

RENEEPeter.. Peter Every.. he was from some little island, in the Caribbean..

CAP

(Pauses)

I’m from some little island in th Caribbean... (Pauses)I heard o’ a Peter Every, when I were young..

RENEEGrandma says he saved a white man once from drowning - their ship was struck byanother ship and sank, sailing out of harbor at night - and the other ship just..




1-4-15

CAP.. kept on sailing into Georgetown harbor - it were a big four-masted schooner...

RENEE

That’s it! - you heard the story?

CAP

(Pauses) Me pappy used to tell that story.. me pappy worked the ships, but couldn’t swim..

RENEEAnyway, that’s all I know about Great-grandpa - they never found him, after that storm..

CAPWal.. maybe you have found him..

(Pauses, gestures to bell)This here’s the ship’s bell from th Rebecca Palmer.....

RENEEOh!

(Pauses)Can I see the bell?

CAP

(Pauses)Come on up..

Renee goes up the stairs, stops in front of thebell, looks at it)

RENEECould I touch it?

CAP (Pauses)Shore...

(Renee touches the bell)

RENEEGuess that’s all that’s left of Great-grandpa, now..

CAP

(Pauses)Same for me uncle..

(Pauses)




1-4-16

CAP (Con’t.)Why don’t you sit...

RENEE

What if somebody sees me?

CAP

(Pauses)Then, they sees you.. I wants to tell you somethin.. (Renee sits down in the other lawn chair)

RENEEAbout Teddy?

CAP

(Pauses)‘Bout me Pappy.. n’ bout’ Peter Every, yer great-grandpop..

(Pauses)Me Pappy.. was that sailor who couldn’t swim, outside Georgetown Harbor - n’ PeterEvery saved his life - ever one on The Rock knew that..

RENEEWhat’s The Rock?

CAPThat little island in th Caribbean.. I was born there, n’ me Pappy n’ me Ma.. n’ Peter

Every was born there - when I were a boy, we all knew Peter Every - good a sailor asany man, sailed on our tradin’ schooners..

RENEESailed with you.. white people?

CAPBlack folk lived there, too, on The Rock.. n’ we worked side by side..

RENEE

(Pauses)

Were the black folk.. slaves?

CAP

(Pauses)Some, fer awhile.. afore I were born..




1-4-17

RENEE

(Sarcastically)Did they know their place?

CAP

(Pauses)Wal.. they didn’t have much place ta have - most didn’t own much - hadta work fer whitepeople.. that’s how it were, in th ‘ol days..

RENEE

(Pauses)Was Peter Every a slave?

CAPNope.. free..

RENEEUntil he drowned..

CAPDrowned a free man..

RENEEThat must have been some comfort..

(Pauses)If that’s how it was with black and white folk on The Rock.. then how come you.. you

know, don’t like.. us...

CAP

(Pauses)Don’t know that...

RENEEWell..

(Gets up)Know where I can shop? - I got a kitchenette in my new place..

CAPWinn Dixie.. five blocks thataway - you can walk it..

RENEEI won’t offer my hand..

(The SOUND of the Buick pulling up on theshell road)




1-4-18

CAPThen I won’t shake it.. (A car door slams)

RENEEMim was right.. you are kind of ornery..

(Cap says nothing, as he watches RENEEEXIT down the sidewalk - a pause, and thenJIMMY comes up the sidewalk, stands, lookingback at Renee)

JIMMY

(Calls up to Cap)What’d that nigger gal want, Pop?

CAP

(Pauses)Jes directions...

(The LIGHTS FADE on the two of them in atableau)




2-1-1

FIVE BELLS

(LIGHTS RISE on The Railing, Teddy stands atthe black steel gunwale of a tugboat, looking

out to sea - the SOUND of powerful tugengines throbbing.)

TEDDYHere I am - my first day at sea!.. last night they had me stay up all night, checking thelines tying the tug Ruby Hays to the dock - making sure they weren’t too tight and nottoo loose - just keeping me busy - they knew I didn’t know anything.. the next morningwe chugged slowly down Tampa Bay, pushing this big orange barge called the WandaWheellock - I was standing aft on an open steel deck with steel railings, watching thebig wake, the seagulls flying above, darting down to grab the fish raised up.. then wesailed out into the Gulf, the steady roll of swells hissing by - that’s when I got the

important job of throwing the garbage overboard - I was holding the can up high, tryingto gauge when the waves would stop sluicing down the gangway, so I could toss thisgarbage - after that, we had to change the tug and barge around, from pushing topulling - the barge was loose on a slack line for awhile, drifting past us as we got aheadof her to pull - a big operation - didn’t want to lose her! - I was put in charge of a big potof grease that one of the AB’s - means Able-Bodied Seaman - was smearing on theback gunwale, so the big rope tying the tug to the barge wouldn’t rub on the gunwaleand fray - now the barge is bobbing up and down in the waves, a half mile behind -barge looks like an orange ship, with a ship’s bow, but no decks, just a hull - they hadme watch this gauge near the aft deck - measures the pull on the rope - if it went above90,000 pounds, I was to to notify the captain - well, it went to 93, and I told him, and he

jumped and ran up to the wheelhouse, slowed the tug down so that big rope wouldn’tpart... there’s ten men on this tug.. the captain, two mates - one’s OK, he’s fromTennessee - the other seems to be drunk all the time, he’s from Mississippi - then twoOrdinary Seaman - I’m one, the other guy is always seasick, we never see him, neverleaves his bunk.. then there’s the two AB’s, who actually know what to do - one’s a bigguy from North Carolina, he’s cool, showed me how to use the washer.. the other guy’sfrom the Dominican Republic, he’s the lead AB - he’s shorter, but with big powerfulshoulders and a big gut - I don’t think he likes me, because I wear the same sunglassesas him.. then there’s two guys down in the engine room - we never see them, exceptwhen they come up for meals, wearing big headphone things, that drown out the enginenoise from the two big diesels.. and then there’s Slim, the cook from lower Virginia -

“Mawnin!”, he says, and that’s all I can understand of what he says - tomorrow, I gottahelp him take all the food out of the freezer, so it can defrost - maybe we’ll use handsignals - I can’t understand the captain, either - he’s from another part of North Carolina- “Te-ead, wouldya’ payess th kateshup?” - he asked me that three times, before the bigAB from North Carolina told me he wanted the catsup...

(Looks off)




2-1-2

TEDDY (Con’t.) Now, we’re headin’ to the mouth of the Mississippi - gotta change from pullin’ to pushin’- we’ll go upriver and unload our barge full of fertilizer, then they’ll load the barge backup with coal for the return trip - they said we’ll be on the river five days..

(Teddy looks off)The waves out there are getting kinda big - maybe twelve, fifteen feet.. but these guysseem to think it’s OK - guess I won’t worry -.Granpot says the Ruby Hays is unsinkable,got a steel hull - hope so, I can’t swim too well...

(LIGHTS DIM on The Railing, LIGHTS RISE onCAP and MRS. TILSON sitting in their lawnchairs, looking and watching across the street -the SOUND of steady rain on the roof of ThePorch - CAP holds a plastic cup)

MRS. TILSON

I love how it rains down here.. every afternoon, a clear blue sky clouds up and rains -- it rains for an hour, then the sun comes out and dries it all up, like it never rained at all!


CAPDidn’t seen th black cat today, on my way ta Winn Dixie.. (He takes a drink)

MRS. TILSONI saw him yesterday down the street..


CAPNiggie gal came by from California, lookin fer Teddy..

MRS. TILSONThat his girlfriend?

CAPChrist! - I sent her on her way..

(They watch across the street - he drinks)

MRS. TILSONWhat’s that you drink?

CAPRum..

(Drinks)




2-1-4

CAP (Con’t.)... one time I invited th Mafia feller ta dinner - nice guy, he was OK wit me - after dinner,my family sittin’ ‘round, he n’ I havin‘ a rum - n’ he says, “Thanks, that was a real nicedinner.. Cap, ya got anybody ya want me ta rub out?”

MRS. TILSONRub out?

CAPHe meant, ta shoot... I said no, n’ that was th last I saw o‘ him - job lasted all summer -two trips on, one off - one trip I had off, th Feds caught th other skipper - same run, thHalycon - took him in n’ tied up th ship..

MRS. TILSONA rumrunner, huh?

CAPAfter that, hadta ta work for th WPA, durin’ th Depression - they’d march us inta CentralPark, make us dig a big hole - at three o’clock, make us fill it back in - end o’ th week,pay us our checks - that government had no more sense than a billiegoat - there’s thatblack cat again..

MRS. TILSONProbably after your lizards..

CAP

Never catch ‘em - they got them tails..

MRS. TILSON

You’ve got them tales - tall ones...

(CAP gets up, goes to the bell,RINGS it five times)

MRS. TILSONMust you strike that bell?

CAP

Ol’ ships had a hourglass - every half-hour, you turned it over - n’ then you rang thwatch bell ..

MRS. TILSONIf it’s an hourglass, why not turn it over every hour?

CAPOnly half hour o’ sand..




2-1-7

MATE (OFFSTAGE)Ay, ay, Cap’n.. sailor, toss that garbage overboard! (The SOUNDS of garbage cans being emptied

onto ice)

Cap’n.. some o’them POW’s are runnin’ out on the ice, headin’ for the garbage...

CAP

(Looking through binoculars, calling O.S.)I sees ‘em, Mate..

MATE (OFFSTAGE)Cap’n, they’s eatin’ th garbage!

CAP

(Calling offstage)

Let ‘em, Mate - it’s food to ‘em..

(The sudden SOUND of tommy guns firing,cries and moans from below The Railing - CAPstares down - the firing stops)

MATE (OFFSTAGE)Russians shot ‘em all, Cap’n!

(Moans from below The Railing)They’s some still alive! - request permission to take ‘em aboard ship!

CAP

(Pauses, looks down - calls offstage)Leave ‘em, Mate - it ain’t our fight...

MATE (OFFSTAGE)

(Pauses)Aye, aye, Cap’n... (CAP looks down, slowly turns away from The

Railing, LIGHTS DIM on The Railing, LIGHTSRISE on The Porch)

CAP

We finished unloadin’, n’ sailed back up that Russkie river, bound fer New York..(They watch across the street)

MRS. TILSONYou could have taken them off the ice...

(Cap says nothing - the SOUND of Jimmy’sBuick driving up on shell road - Mrs. Tilson getsup hurriedly)




2-1-8

MRS. TILSONWant more pie, Cap?

CAP

(Pauses)Shore..

(He gets up, follows Mrs. Tilson into her side ofthe duplex - they both EXIT through the screendoor - JIMMY ENTERS quickly up the stairs,pulls open Cap’s screen door)

JIMMY

(Calling inside)Pop! (ENTER CAP onto the porch, from Mrs.

Tilson’s side of the duplex, piece of pie on aplate - he starts eating it with a fork)

JIMMYI got a call from the captain of Teddy’s tug last night, when I was night mating the MarineDuval - Teddy’s pulling his watches and having a ball! (Pausing)That Mrs. Tilson’s pie? - what were you in there for?

CAP

(Eating)

She’s me renter, me boy...

JIMMY

(Pausing)Pop..

CAPYeah, man..

JIMMYI was with Mom down at the house..

CAPChrist..

(Mimicking)“He’s at th duplex getting drunk.. never sees me no more..”

JIMMYShe started going on about Mrs. Tilson..




2-1-9

CAP

Leave Mrs. Tilson out o’ this..

JIMMY

Whenever I drive up, I see you and Mrs. Tilson sitting together on the porch...

CAPWe’re just talkin’..

JIMMYPop - you’re married!

CAPWe lives apart..

JIMMYI knew she was going to be trouble, when Mr. Tilson passed..

CAPI said, leave Mrs.Tilson out o’ this!

JIMMYYou should have put her out, when he died!

CAPShe had nobody n’ nowhere to go!

JIMMYShe could of gone back to New York!

CAPShe wanted ta stay right here!

JIMMY

You spend too much time with her!

CAP

She’s me friend!

JIMMYPop, she’s going to have to go!

CAPShe ain’t a’goin’ nowhere..




2-1-10

JIMMYI pay half the mortgage on this place! - you’ll have to come back and live with me andMom!

CAPLive with that ol’ billie goat? - boy, you crazy as a bedbug..

JIMMYPop.. I’m evicting you!

CAP

(Getting up)Boy, yer a horse’s ass...

(Jimmy stares at him, turns and clambers downthe steps, EXITS striding down the walk, the

SOUND of the Buick starting up and drivingaway - Cap goes down the steps, uncoils thehose, turns on the water, starts watering hisplants - ENTER RENEE up the sidewalk - shestops and watches him watering - he pauseswith his hose on a plant, when he sees her)

RENEEWhat are those.. little lizards?

CAP

They’s me friends.. that’s Rufus.. there’s Brutus.. n’ Cassius...

RENEEYou named them?

CAP (Turning off his hose, coiling it up)Shore.. everything’s gotta have a name..

(He starts to go up his steps)

RENEE

Heard from Teddy?

CAP

(Pauses)Me son Jimmy got a ship-to-ship call on th tanker he was night-matin’ last night..

RENEEOh! - from Teddy? - how is he?




2-1-11

CAPDoin’ okay, pullin’ his watches..

RENEE

When’s he coming back?

CAPNot sure..

RENEE

(Pauses)Does he like being at sea?

CAPTold Jimmy he’s havin’ a ball..

RENEE

(Pauses)Long as I have to wait, I might as well enjoy myself.. think I’ll take a walk on the beach -it’s bein’ daylight and all - that’s if you don’t mind.. (She starts to exit)

CAPWait a minute, ah..

RENEE

Renee.. Renee Every...

CAP

(Pauses at the foot of the steps)Come, sit, Renee.. been thinkin’ ‘bout yer great-grandpot - got somethin’ ta tell ya...

(He turns and goes up the steps - she follows -they both sit in the lawn chairs)

RENEEWhat about?

CAP (Pauses)In th ‘ol days, down on The Rock, one o’ me great aunts.. sorta.. got together wit.. someblack feller.. ‘n they had a kid... name o’.. Peter Every...

RENEESo, Peter Every is your..




2-1-12

CAPWhenever he come by, me Pappy let him in, ‘cause he was..

RENEE

..blood...

CAP..family..

RENEE

(Pauses)So there was a nigger in the woodpile!

CAP (Pauses)

Might say that..

RENEE

(Pauses, turns, looks at him in the eyes)That makes us.. distant cousins!

CAPSorta..

RENEEWell! - this mean you’ll have to let me in your house?

CAP

(Pauses)S’pose..

RENEEYou want to, Cap?

CAP

(Pauses)Don’t know...

RENEE

(Pauses, gets up)Time for that walk..

(Starts down the steps)See you later..

(Pauses, turns)..cuz...




2-1-13

(RENEE EXITS, Cap looks after her -MRS. TILSON calls down to him through herscreen door)

MRS. TILSONCap!.. want company?

CAP (Pauses)Shore...

(Cap turns off the water, coils up the hose asMRS. TILSON ENTERS from her side of theduplex, sits down in a lawn chair - Cap climbsup the steps, sits down next to her - they watchacross the street)

MRS. TILSONTeddy said you got a medal in the war.. he showed me an old newspaper clipping hismother had given him.. what was it for?

CAPNothin’ much..

MRS. TILSONThe clipping had a picture of some big muckety-muck in the Merchant Marine pinning amedal on you..


CAPWe was inna convoy, but they kept us three ships apart from th rest, spread us out..

(The LIGHTS DIM on the porch, RISE on CAPin uniform at The Railing, looking at the skythrough binoculars - the buzzing SOUNDS ofpropellor planes approaching)

CAPHere they come.. looks like.. German divebombers.. three Stukas.. one for each ship..

(Lowers the binoculars)We’s carryin’ aviation gas - n’ now them Germans gonna try n’ make us pay for it..

(The SOUNDS of the screaming dives of twodive bombers nearby - CAP quickly raises thebinoculars to his eyes, a pause, and twomuffled explosions)




2-1-14

MATE (O.S.)

Cap’n, two of the planes have bombed the other ships! - they’re afire! - requestpermission to change course for rescue!

CAP

(Calling O.S., looking through binoculars)Stay th course! - I see th ships.. they’s explodin’! - all hands lost, Mate! - n’ one o’ themStukas is comin’ for us!

(The SOUND of a diving plane)Mate - hard right rudder! - bearin’ three o’clock - all ahead full!

(The screaming SOUND of the dive bomber)

MATE (O.S.)Gunners, get your bearings on him - make ready to fire - fire at will! (The SOUND of anti-aircraft guns firing - a

splash in the ocean - a muffled explosion)Cap’n - bomb missed, fell on the port side - but here he comes back again!

(The SOUND of the plane circling around)

CAPTAINLeft hard rudder! - bearin’ nine o’clock - stop engine!

MATE (O.S.)Gunners, get your bearings - fire at will!

(The screaming SOUND of the dive

bomber, the SOUND of the anti-aircraft guns

- a muffled explosion)

CAPFull reverse - hard a-lee!

MATE (O.S.)

Bomb dropped in front of us, Cap’n! (The SOUND of the plane circling around)

MATE (O.S.)Gunners, get your bearings - fire at will!

(The SOUND of the anti-aircraft guns -OFFSTAGE, the loud steel SOUND of thebomb clanging into the ship)

MATE (O.S.)Cap’n - we took a hit in the forward hold - but the bomb didn’t go off!




2-2-1

6 BELLS

At Rise: CAP is watering his plants in front of The Porch. ENTER BILLY, with bandagesaround his neck. He holds up a breadfruit for CAP to see.

CAPWhat you got there, Billy?

(BILLY says nothing, gives him the breadfruit)Looks like.. a breadfruit... wal, this time ya got it right - I ain’t got a breadfruit tree... (Stares at the breadfruit, then looks up at Billy)What’s th matter, cat got yer tongue?

(BILLY gestures at the bandages around

his neck, struggles to speak, but no soundcomes out. CAP looks at him, then back at thebreadfruit)

Wal, a breadfruit’s not good for much, Billy, not much taste.. we used ta grow it on TheRock - we’d eat anythin’ really, on The Rock.. th ‘ole Rock...

(He looks down at the breadfruit in his hands).. I remember a rock, a rock from me past...

(He looks up at BILLY)Billy.. they take somethin’ out? (BILLY nods “Yes”) Cain’t talk?

(BILLY shakes his head “No”)Ne’er agin?

(BILLY shakes his head “No”)

Wal, Billy... I want ya ta know.. whatever words come between us, whatever we thoughto’ each other.. I just want ya ta know.. we’re friends always.. we don’t need no words...

(Pauses, looks at BILLY, holds up breadfruit)Nice present...

(BILLY shakes his head yes, gestures towardthe sea - makes motions)

Oh.. for Teddy? (BILLY nods yes - CAP holds the breadfruit

up in his hands)Shore, I’ll give it to him, soon’s he steps ashore..

(BILLY nods, slowly starts to EXIT)

Cap’n Billy... (BILLY stops, turns back)

You’s a tough SOB...

(BILLY smiles, points back at CAP, gestures“You, too..”, EXITS. MRS. TILSON ENTERSfrom her side of the duplex - CAP stopswatering, walks up the steps carrying thebreadfruit.)




2-2-3

MANGo to the pack and fetch us some water, boy - then gather up the brush - we gotta’ getthis choppin’ finished..

BOYOK, Pa...

(He goes to the side to a pack, opens it - theSOUNDS of more hoofs scuttling and morerocks come bouncing down - the SOUNDSintensify, as more and more rocks come down -the BOY and MAN looks up the cliffs, the MANwith his machete raised - the MAN starts to

jump and dodge the flashes of rocks - suddenlyone flash of a rock strikes the MAN in thetemple - he drops the machete and collapses)

BOYPa!

(He runs to him, kneels down by him)Pa? (The MAN motions to him, and the BOY raises

his head off the ground)

MAN

(Looking into the BOY’S eyes)Son.. take care ‘o yer Ma...

(His head slumps to the side)

BOYPa!

(He picks up a rock the size of a breadfruitlying by the man - looks at it, then throws itdown, runs off shouting)

Help me, help! - Pa’s been hurt!

(LIGHTS DIM on The Plot, LIGHTS RISE on

The Porch - CAP is still looking down at thebreadfruit)

MRS. TILSON

(Looking over at him)What, Cap?

CAPGuess Pa’s hourglass run out..




2-2-4

(Cap gets up with the breadfruit, goes to thebell, grabs the rope clapper, RINGS bell twice,pauses, then RINGS it twice more, pauses, afinal two RINGS, releases clapper)

MRS. TILSONI’m still not feeling well.. think I need to lie down, Cap...

CAP

Okay, Ruth.. call me, if ya need me...

(She gets up, EXITS into her side. CAP sitsdown in his chair, holding the breadfruit- CAP stares far into the past - the LIGHTSDIM on The Porch, then the LIGHTS RISERISE on CAP sitting on The Porch with his

glasses on, reading his paper - MRS. TILSONspeaks through her screen door)

MRS. TILSONCap...

CAPHo.. you feelin’ better, Ruth?

MRS. TILSONA little...

(She come out and sits down - they watchacross the street)

CAPThere go th two of ‘em, agin’ - that girl and her guy - down ta Davey Jones Locker, thebar at th Pass..

MRS. TILSONHow do you know where they go?

CAP

I seen ‘em..

MRS. TILSONYou go to Davey Jones Locker?

CAP

Used ta.. th owner was a friend o’ mine..




2-2-5

MRS. TILSONUsed to? - then how.. never mind - what was your friend’s name?

CAP

Davey Jones..

MRS. TILSONI’ve heard that name before - is this one of your stories? - why’d you stop going?

CAPMim told me he died..

MRS. TILSONSeems I saw you heading over to Mim’s place this afternoon..

CAPJust for a drink..

MRS. TILSONA drink..

CAPShe’s me friend..

MRS. TILSON

You got a lot of friends..

CAPShore..


MRS. TILSONWhat did Davey Jones die of?

CAPLiver..

MRS. TILSONCancer?

CAPFailed ’im..

MRS. TILSONMust have been a drinker..




2-2-6

CAPWasn’t much.. (They watch across the street)

MRS. TILSONYou drink a bit..

CAPShot o’rum, now ‘n then..

MRS. TILSON

You and your brother, Ralph..

CAPShore.. we likes a nip when we gets together..

MRS. TILSONSeems the two of you try to drink the whole world up, sometimes..

CAPThere’s that black cat, again - here, Blackie, Blackie, Blackie!

MRS. TILSONI try not to drink - I want to live a long time..

CAP

Shore.. (They watch across the street)

MRS. TILSONI’m afraid of dying.. you afraid of dying, Cap?

CAP (Pauses)Almost died last winter.. from p-no-mia.. was lyin’ in me bed with a fever.. felt myselfgoin’, n’ a long tunnel opened up ‘afore me, with a bright light at th end..


MRS. TILSONYou don’t seem to have died..

CAPHadta.. get up n’ take a leak - that sorta.. broke th fever..




2-2-7

MRS. TILSON

I thought you were going to say, “Divine intervention..”, or something..

CAP

Coulda’ been... there go th black cat, on a mission!

MRS. TILSONProbably to see his girlfriend for a drink..

CAPShore...

(They watch across the street - whenMRS.TILSON slowly slumps in her chair))

MRS. TILSON

Cap.. help me inside? - feeling dizzy all of a sudden - need to lie down...

CAPShore..

(Cap helps her up, she leans on him and hehelps her into her side of the duplex - theSOUND of JIMMY’s Buick pulling up - theengine turns off and a car door slams - ENTERJIMMY, striding up the walk, running up thesteps - pulls open right screen door, callsinside)

JIMMYPop.. Pop!

(No answer - he goes inside, comes out,stands on The Porch - the left screen dooropens - CAP comes out)

CAPJimmy!

JIMMY

What you in there for?

CAPMrs. Tilson!




2-2-8

JIMMYI’ve heard enough of Mrs. Tilson - listen, Pop - that souwester’ off Mexico has taken aturn for the worse - turned east, right across Teddy’s course comin’ home - he’s in forsome heavy weather..!

CAP

(Interrupting)Jimmy! - Mrs. Tilson got dizzy n’ I helped her inside - n’ she just collapsed on th floor -we gotta call an ambulance! (JIMMY pauses, then strides to the left screen

door, flings it open, goes inside - CAP leansagainst the door - JIMMY comes back out)

JIMMYShe might of had a stroke - I’ll have to go up to the phone on the corner! - you stay with

Mrs. Tilson!

CAPMaybe we can bring her back - sit her up inna chair ‘til they come!

JIMMYShe’s not breathing, Pop - got no pulse!

(CAP pauses)Her eyes are open and staring.. I think she’s...

(Pauses, Cap looks away).. I’ll call an ambulance.. and the coroner..

CAP

(Pauses, looks off to sea, listens to the SOUNDof the low breakers, turns back to Jimmy)

You happy now, Jimmy?

(JIMMY pauses, goes down the stairs andEXITS quickly. CAP slowly sits down in a lawnchair, stares - the LIGHTS DIM on The Porchas the storm is howling with the SOUND ofwind and rain on the roof, the SOUND ofbreakers on the beach - LIGHTS RISE on

TEDDY standing at The Railing - he is wearing a watchman’s cap and a yellow slicker - it’s

daylight, but dark - the SOUNDS of breakersand the powerful throb of tugboat engines)




2-2-9

TEDDYWe’re about to leave the river and sail back to Tampa Bay.. there’s breakers ahead,crashing right into the mouth of the Mississippi - the captain said the Ruby Hays gotorders to sail into the Gulf, even though a storm has turned our way... I guess the power

company needs their coal - there’s five of us tugs and barges keeping them supplied, just so they can keep the lights on in Tampa...

(Looks off)Here we go, right into the first breaker! - this doesn’t look good.. and we’re not headingwest to California - we’re going east, away from my girl!

(Pauses, looking ahead - the SOUND ofcrashing breakers)

This could get rough...

(The LIGHTS DIM on The Railing - LIGHTSRISE on The Porch - two empty lawn chairs - apause, and then Renee ENTERS on the

sidewalk, pauses in front of the duplex, looksup at porch, then slowly climbs up the steps,knocks on the screen door of Cap’s side of theduplex - no response, she knocks again - thescreen door opens and Madge comes half outthe door)

MADGEWhat?

RENEE

Is the owner here?

MADGE

(Pauses)We don’t need our windows cleaned, and we don’t need a cook..

RENEEI just want to talk to Cap..

MADGE

(Pauses)

How you know Cap?

RENEEI just want to find out when Teddy’s coming in..




2-2-10

MADGE

(Pauses)And you know Teddy?

RENEEI used to be his girlfriend..

MADGEGirlfriend! (ENTER CAP up the walk, carrying a small bag

of groceries - pauses at the foot of the steps)Get out of here!

CAPIt’s all right, Madge.. she’s a friend o’ Teddy’s..

(He comes up the steps)

MADGEFriend - hah!

CAPHere.. (Hands bag of groceries to her).. put these away for me..

(Madge stares at Renee, takes the bag ofgroceries, turns and goes back into the duplex,slamming the screen door shut behind her)

CAPCome, Renee.. have a sit..

(They both sit down in the lawn chairs)Me son, Jimmy, says Teddy’s coming in today..

RENEEOh! - who’s going to pick him up?

CAPJimmy’s gone ta get him..

RENEE

(Pauses)Any chance I can wait for him here?

CAP

(Pauses)Don’t think so - we’re takin Teddy ta lunch, after Jimmy brings him..




2-2-11

RENEE

(Pauses)So you don’t want me to go..

CAPJimmy says it’s a family thing..

RENEEThought I was family..

CAPWal.. it’s not me, it’s t’others..

RENEE

(Pauses)After lunch, you bringing Teddy back here, again?

CAP

(Pauses)Nope.. takin’ him back ta th tug - gotta ship out fer ‘nother two weeks, a’fore he’s home..

RENEE (Pauses)So I won’t be able to see him for another two weeks?

CAP

(Pauses)

Might say that..

RENEEIs this how family treats each other?

(She turns and goes down the steps, EXITS,as Cap watches her - the LIGHTS DIM)




2-3-2

TEDDY (Con’t.)I was okay sailing to New Orleans, ‘cause I was somehow heading back to my girl - butafter we were on the river five days and started sailing back to Tampa... I felt I wasgoing in the wrong direction, away from her! - I just couldn’t take it, Granpot, made up

my mind to fly back to her, soon as we docked and got paid - I went up to thewheelhouse and told the Captain I wanted off the Ruby Hays...

(Cap and Ralph still say nothing, a pause)

RALPH (Finally)Quit the sea? - you quit, Teddy - really quit?

CAPHe quit th sea - th boy quit th sea, n’ he were just gettin started... boy, you crazy as abedbug...

TEDDY

(Pauses)I know how you feel - and I’m sorry.. but the sea’s in your blood, not mine - love is in myblood!

RALPHLove! - see what love gets you, boy...

CAP

(Getting out of his chair)Christ! - wal, yer girl’s out here now, lookin fer ya..

TEDDYRenee’s out here? - where?

(Cap goes to the edge of the porch, looks outto sea, the SOUND of the waves washing ontothe beach - ENTER MADGE from the right sideof the duplex)

MADGEYour Uncle Jimmy told me you quit..how could you? - you let him down, Teddy - andyour Granpot and your Uncle Ralph - they were counting on you to continue the

sea-faring life - the men in our family have been going to sea for centuries! - couldn’tyou carry on the tradition? - be a man.. like the men from The Rock?

TEDDYI’m sorry, I’m sorry, Aunt Madge!

(ENTER JIMMY onto the porch from the rightside of the duplex)




2-3-3

JIMMYHe quit the sea for some silly little girl.. a black one at that!

TEDDY

I’m sorry, Uncle Jimmy!

JIMMYTake your gear out of your Granpot’s sea bag, and put it back in your old suitcase -you’re flying back to California this afternoon.. (TEDDY EXITS into the duplex - the low

SOUND of the distant surf)

RALPHWell, that’s it, then...

CAPShore, no more to it...

RALPHThe end of our sea-farin’ life...

CAP.. th last o’ th blood o’ th men from The Rock...

RALPHWhen Jimmy retires - that’ll be the last of us...

JIMMYI’m not retiring!

(Goes back in duplex, slamming screen)

RALPH

I need a shot of rum.. how about you, Cap?

CAPDon’t feel like it, Ralph..

MADGEI could sure use a shot.... MADGE and RALPH EXIT into the duplex. Cap

slowly sits down in his lawn chair, looks off -ENTER TEDDY from the duplex, suitcase inhand - he pauses by Cap, looks down at him.)




2-3-4

TEDDYWell.. I’ll see you, Granpot - everybody’s mad at me, guess I don’t blame them...

CAP

(Pauses)Teddy... it’s not too late, me boy.. I was readin’ th shippin’ news this mornin’ - th T.E.Mitchell departs Dock Seven at eleven Thursday night, bound for Buenos Aires - bigship, I know th captain - he shipped twenty year ago wit me, as third mate - might needa deckhand, I could give him th word.. (Looks over at TEDDY - TEDDY says nothing)You can take me old greatcoat, th one I used ta wear on th bridge in them convoys.. likethe ones yer uncles n’ them wore, on th bridges of all them ships, of them what comebefore.. you ship out again, Teddy, n’ you’ll soon be a man from The Rock...

TEDDY

(Pauses)Granpot..

CAPWhat, boy?

TEDDYThe whole time I was out on the sea, I was thinkin‘.. I need to get back to my girl! - andnow, she’s out here somewhere!

CAP

She’s at Mims.. (Pauses)Boy, one day th girl will be gone n’ th sea’ll be gone n’ you’ll be paintin’ houses th rest o’your life - no kinda life - I done it! - it’s a life on th sea you want, boy!

TEDDY (Pauses)Granpot.. when you left The Rock, didn’t you have to chart your own course throughyour life?

CAP

(Pauses)Wal, shore, I hadta chart me course - I was on me own, once me Pappy passed...

TEDDY

You charted a life on the sea, that’s the course you sailed.. and that’s the course youcharted for me, as if I was following your North Star.. but, maybe Grandpa.. maybe I’mmeant to follow a different star, sail a different direction... (Pauses)




2-3-5

TEDDY (Con’t.)Granpot.. you disappointed in me?

CAP

(Pauses)No, boy, no.. a man’s gotta chart his own course, if he’s to be a man - otherwise, he ain’tworth a fart in a gale o’ wind...

TEDDY (Pauses, reaches into his pocket, pulls out the

piece of The Rock)Here, Grandpa.. I don’t deserve this...

(Gives it to CAP)

CAP

(Looking down at the piece of The Rock)No, Teddy, no - you keep ahold o’ it - just remember where it come from - where we allcome from - The Rock... (Hands the rock back to Teddy - Teddy

squeezes it - ENTER JIMMY from the duplex,he stands on the porch - ENTER RENEE onthe sidewalk, standing below them)

RENEE(Calling up to him)

Hi, Teddy! - how was the sea?

TEDDYRenee!

RENEEI came to see you!

JIMMY

(Looking down at Renee)What have you stepped in, boy?

RENEEWe’re just friends..

JIMMYI was talking to him!

RENEEWell, talk to me - I’m family!




2-3-6

JIMMYWe got no niggie branch in our family tree!

RENEEOh, no! - what about Peter Every!

JIMMY (Pauses)Pop!.. what’d you say to her?

CAP

(Pauses)She started talkin’ ‘bout how one o’ her people went ta sea, in th ‘ol days..

RENEEMy great-grandfather!

CAPTurns out his name was.. Peter Every..

JIMMYJeez!

(Runs his hand through his hair, turns away)That should have never happened!

(Pauses)

Well, Pop, did you tell her this?(To Renee)

Peter Every committed the only murder there ever was on The Rock!

CAPNow, Jimmy..

JIMMYThe two of them alone in the house.. and Peter Every shot his white mother with hisblack father’s gun!

CAPIt were an accident! - the boy was eight years old!

JIMMYNobody knows what happened!

RENEEWhat’s your point?




2-3-7

JIMMYMy point is a black man committed the only murder on The Rock three hundred years!years go!

RENEEHe was a kid!

JIMMYHe was black!

CAPPeter Every never went ta trial fer murder, Jimmy! - don’ that tell ya something?

JIMMYIt tells me Peter Every could never be white!

RENEE

(To Jimmy)And I can never be white! - I’m black, too - yes, I’m black! - but does that make you anybetter than me?

CAPNow, wait a minnit, you two!

(Calls back through screen door)Madge! - come out here! (Jimmy stands looking at Renee - ENTER

Madge from the duplex - stands by her father)Now, listen, you two billiegoats... this here’s th great grand-daughter o’ Peter Every, o’The Rock.. ‘member I told ya ‘bout Peter Every? - he not only saved me Pappy’s life -he was yer great-aunt’s son - n’ we always treated Peter Every as family.. that makesRenne here family, too - even if only a little.. Renee Every is our distant relative - but ourrelative jes’ th same, like Peter was - he were family, n’ me Pappy treated him likefamily, whenever he come by..

JIMMY

(Pauses)What’s she got to do with Teddy?

CAPRenee’s come down ta see Teddy..

MADGEShe says she used to be his girlfriend!




2-3-8

JIMMYJeez!

CAP

Renee wants ta know if she could come ta lunch wit us, ta visit wit Teddy..

JIMMYSure, she can come.. but she’ll have to run alongside my Buick!

CAPNow, boy..

MADGEJimmy’s right, Pop - I’m not sitting next to some black gal! - even if she is family..

RENEEFamily? - forget it! - who’d want to be family with a bunch of racists?

(RENEE runs down the steps, runs down thesidewalk, EXITS)

TEDDYRenee! - wait! - let’s talk somewhere!

(He runs down the steps after her, EXITS downthe sidewalk - a pause - the low SOUND of thedistant surf - the LIGHTS DIM on The Porch -the LIGHTS RISE on The Railing - Renee and

Teddy looking up into a night of a thousandstars - behind them, a low band oflights. A pause.)

TEDDYYeah.. thanks for coming out here with me..

RENEE

(Pointing)No problem.. what are those lights?

TEDDY (Looking)Yeah.. what lights?

RENEE

(Pointing)Those..

TEDDY




(Looking)Yeah.. that’s the shore - the lights of Saint Pete Beach..

RENEEWhere we just came from?

TEDDYYeah.. and if you look close enough.. there.. you can just about make out the lights ofthe Crest of the Waves...

RENEEOh.. and what’s that dark patch, to the left?

TEDDYYeah, that’s the Pass we sailed out of..

RENEE

(Looking up)Look at all those stars.. kind of romantic!

TEDDY (Looking up)Yeah..

RENEEWe’re all alone out here..

(Looks at Teddy)

TEDDYYeah..

RENEEThis boat have a bedroom?

TEDDYYeah.. it’s called a cabin..

RENEE

The cabin got a bed?

TEDDY

(Pauses)Yeah..




RENEE

(Pauses, looks at him)Are you getting any ideas?

TEDDY

Yeah..

(Looks up at the stars, looks back at her).. you’re tired?

RENEE (Pauses)This could be a long voyage..

(She looks back up at the stars)Does it ever bother you, I’m black?

TEDDY

(Looking up at the stars)Yeah.. no, it makes you interesting..

RENEEWell, I find you interesting, too, white boy..

TEDDY

(Pauses)Yeah..

(Teddy looks up at the stars)

RENEEHow come you left?

TEDDY

(Pauses)Yeah, I don’t know.. seems I couldn’t give what you wanted...

RENEE

(Pauses)I liked it when you were free and easy-going.. then you got too.. moon-eyed over me..

nothing wrong with it, just didn’t work for me..

TEDDY

(Pauses)Yeah.. well, that’s the way I get.. I’m sorry..

RENEEDon’t say you’re sorry!




TEDDY

(Pauses)Yeah.. I’m sorry..

RENEE

(Pauses)You’re kind of hopeless, know that?

TEDDYYeah..

RENEEMaybe that’s why I like you..

(Looking up)There’s no wind.. we seem to be going in circles..

TEDDYYeah.. we’re drifting..

RENEEWhat if we drift away from land?

TEDDYYeah.. tide’s pulling us in..

RENEEThat’s some comfort..

(Pauses, looks at the stars, looks over at him)I didn’t know you had a boat!

TEDDYYeah.. well, I’m just an old salt, it’s in my blood..

RENEEWhat’s the furthest you’ve ever sailed?

TEDDYYeah, I sailed to Key West.. on my way to The Rock..

RENEEThe Rock? - you sailed all the way to The Rock?

TEDDYYeah, by myself - took me about.. three weeks..




RENEEHow did you ever find your way there?

TEDDY (Deep breath)

Yeah, by the stars.. sailed by the stars..

RENEEYou know how to sail by the stars?

TEDDYYeah, have to - got no radio..

RENEEHow do you sail by the stars?

TEDDY

(Pointing up)Yeah, see.. there? - that’s the Big Dipper.. points to the North Star - that’s north, that’ssouth, east and west.. that’s all you really need to know..

(A pause)

RENEEWhy were the sails flapping so much, all the way out here?

TEDDYYeah.. shifting winds.. has to do with the tides, the currents.. and the Coriolis Effect..

RENEEThe what effect?

TEDDYYeah, basically, the spin of the earth causes currents to go from left to right in theNorthern Hemisphere, pushing us towards shore..

RENEE

(Pauses, looking up)What if the Effect isn’t working tonight - how we going to get back?

TEDDYYeah.. I’ll start the engine..

RENEEYou got an engine on this old, old..




TEDDYYeah.. two masted schooner, double-ender..

RENEE (Looking)

Well, start it up - those lights are getting dimmer!

TEDDYYeah, don’t like to - too noisy..

RENEEI’d rather not have a quiet death at sea!

TEDDYYeah, Renee - don’t sweat it! - I’m an old hand at this - been sailing since I was a boy..had to leave The Rock and go to sea, when me Pappy passed...

RENEEYou’re from the Rock? - I thought you were born in California..

TEDDYYeah.. no, I’m from The Rock...

RENEEWait a minute.. that story sounds familiar.. this really your boat?

TEDDY

Yeah.. (Looks at her, pauses)Yeah, it’s not..

RENEEWell, whose boat is it? - you didn’t steal it, did you?

TEDDYYeah.. I borrowed it, from my Grandpa..

RENEE

Does he know we’re out here?

TEDDYYeah.. I don’t think so..

RENEEHow long you been sailing?




TEDDYYeah, let’s see - what year did I start sailing? - only a boy, a boy.. about, uhyeah, two hours...

RENEE

You took me all the way out here, and you just started sailing yesterday?

TEDDYYeah, the day before, I think..

RENEESo, you borrowed the..

TEDDYYeah, the Little Nick - she’s the Little Nick..

RENEEAnd you borrowed her to impress me?

TEDDY

(Pauses)Yeah..

RENEEYou say yeah, again, and I’m going to slap you!

TEDDY

Um.. okay..

RENEEYou need to grow up, know that? - maybe you need to go back out on that tug, again..

TEDDYUm, okay, If I hadn’t wanted to get back to you, I would have never quit - it’s something Ialways wanted to do, go to sea - show I’m a man from The Rock, like the others - “allthem what come before..”, as my Granpot says..

RENEE

(Pauses)Well, maybe you should do that.. go back to sea...

TEDDY

(Pauses)Um, okay, if I do go back.. on the sea... what are you going to do?




JIMMY

(Calling down to Teddy)No lunch at Leverock’s! - when you flying out?

TEDDY

(Pauses)I’m going back on the tug.. Renee talked me into it..

JIMMYWhat’s she got to do with it?

RENEETeddy’s going back to sea - he needs to do that.. and you need him to do it..

JIMMYWhat you know about what we need?

RENEEI may not know much about your family - our family - but I do know something aboutTeddy - this is a chance to live the dream you all put on him - he needs to go to sea andprove himself a man!

CAPWal, that’s good news, boy!

(Pauses)N’ what you gonna ta do, Renee? - go back ta California?

RENEE (Looks at Teddy)No.. I’m going to stay right here - see Teddy when he’s off of his tug - we’ll work it out, ifthere’s anything to work out - I’ll have to look for another place - Mim’s brother is comingfor the apartment in a couple of days..

JIMMY (Pauses)Come on, Teddy we’ll take you to lunch after all, and then take you back to the tug - weonly got a couple of hours before she sails..

RENEE (To Jimmy)I know you don’t want me to come, so I won’t ask..

JIMMY

(Gruffly)Then don’t ask..

(To Teddy)




2-4-1

EIGHT BELLS

(The LIGHTS RISE on The Porch - only onelawn chair - Cap is sitting in it, staring off, and

listening to the SOUNDS of the sea - ENTERMADGE from around the back of the duplex- she runs up the steps)

MADGEDaddy! - I went to ask Roy could he make me some new cabinets - I knocked andknocked and called his name, then looked through the screen door when he didn’tanswer - he was lying on his bed, not moving - you better see if something’s wrong!

(Cap gets up, goes around back, EXITS, asMadge sits down in the lawn chair, agitated,looks out to sea, listening to the low surf

coming in and out - gets up, goes inside theduplex - ENTER RENEE up the sidewalk, shepauses in front of the duplex, tentatively comesup the steps, softly KNOCKS on Cap’s screendoor - when there is no answer, she sits downin the left lawn chair - a pause, and MADGEENTERS through Cap’s screen door, drink inhand - she starts upon seeing Renee)

MADGEWhat are you doing here?

RENEEI’m waiting for Cap.. he’s not in there, is he?

MADGENo.. do you have to wait on our porch?

RENEECap wouldn’t mind..

MADGE

Well, I mind!

RENEEI just want to know when Teddy’s coming back..

MADGEWhat do you care about Teddy?




2-4-2

RENEE

(Pauses)Maybe I like him..

MADGEMaybe you like him.. well, like him somewhere else..

RENEEMadge, please don’t be mean.. (Sits down in one of the lawn chairs)

MADGE

(Pauses, sits down in the other lawn chair)I see you’re hard to discourage... (Takes a drink, a pause)

Daddy went back to check on our tenant, Roy..

(A pause)

RENEEDidn’t you ever like someone?

MADGE

(Pauses)Once.. and I made the mistake of marrying him - twice!

RENEE

Why twice?

MADGEOnly The Shadow knows..

(Drinks)..anyway, that’s ancient history.. (A pause)

RENEEAre you retired?

MADGEI suppose you might say that..

(Drinks)

RENEEWhat did you use to do?




2-4-3

MADGEI was a legal secretary.. worked my way up through the pool, and became personalsecretary to one of the partners..

RENEE

(Pauses)I wouldn’t mind being a secretary - I was just a receptionist in California..

MADGE (Pauses)I volunteer now as a receptionist at the local hospice - just helping out..

(A pause)

RENEEI actually have a degree - a college degree, in Marine Biology..

MADGE

(Drinks)Well, good for you..

(Drinks)I never went to college - went to secretarial school.. what’s your degree in?

RENEEMarine biology.. but I couldn’t find a job, so I became a receptionist to pay the bills..

MADGE

(Pauses)What kind of job were you looking for?

RENEEI don’t know, something in the sciences, near the sea..

MADGEScience is good - my sister in California, she’s married to a scientist - makes goodmoney!

RENEE

Isn’t your sister, Teddy’s mom? MADGEYup..

(Drinks)Poor thing..

RENEEWhat’s wrong with her?




RENEEYou ever caught anything really big?

MADGEPlenty! - once I caught a giant grouper - swallow you whole! - but I used a big bamboo

pole with a great big reel - he didn’t have a chance!

RENEEReally?

MADGE

(Pauses, drinks)No, not really.. biggest thing I ever caught was that ship’s bell, there..

(Gestures at bell).. and even that gave me a tussle...

RENEE

(Pauses)I’ve never been deep sea fishing..

MADGE (Pauses)Well.. maybe we could go out fishing sometime..

(Drinks)

RENEEYou’d take me?

MADGE

(Pauses)You’re family, aren’t you?

(They look at each other - CAP ENTERS fromaround back with the little space heater, comesup the porch steps, puts the heater down)

CAPHo, Renee.. wal, Madge, reckon Roy won’t need th heater no more - he’s gone...

(The SOUND of the Buick pulling into the sand

driveway)Here come Jimmy...

(Cap sits down, looks out to sea)

RENEE

(Suddenly)I’d better go..




(She quickly goes down the steps, EXITSdown the sidewalk - a car door opens andcloses and UNCLE JIMMY, in khakis and anofficer’s cap, swings up the steps, stands nextto CAP)

UNCLE JIMMY

(Running his hand threw his hair)Whewww!.. what a job, night matin’ - rained all night from the storm! - and then thesulfur line got plugged, and the tower called the Coast Guard out - just a block in theline, I said to them - got a sailor to clear it...

CAP

(Interrupting him)It’s eight bells for Roy, Jimmy - he’s stiff as a board...

JIMMYI’ll go back and take a look-see, then call that coroner, if I have to.. and Pop..

(Pauses - gruffly).. sorry about Mrs. Tilson...

CAPWal, Jimmy - Roy was me renter - but Ruth was me best friend...

JIMMY

(Pauses - gruffly)I’m going back to Roy...

(Clambers down the steps, strides down thesidewalk, goes around the side of the duplex,EXITS - the LIGHTS DIM on The Porch -LIGHTS RISE on The Porch - Cap sitting in alawn chair, glasses on, reading the shippingnews. ENTER RENEE up the sidewalk, stops,pauses in front of duplex)

RENEE

(Calling up to Cap)How did it go at lunch with Teddy, Cap?

CAP

(Putting down his newspaper)We gotta him on th tug just in time - then she cast off n’ pushed her barge down th bay -Teddy’s out in th Gulf, by now..

RENEECan he call me from the tug?




CAPNope..

RENEEWell, I’ll just wait for him - at least this time he comes back, he’ll be around for awhile..

CAPShore, fer a week or so..

(Puts up his newspaper, again - she pauses,then turns to leave - he puts down hisnewspaper, again)

Find a place?

RENEENo, that’s where I’m going, now - get a newspaper and read the ads..

CAPWal, shore..

(Puts his newspaper back up - she turns toleave - he puts the newspaper back down)

Renee.. (She stops)I might have somethin’ fer ya..

RENEEOh.. you know somebody would rent to me?

CAP (Pauses)Me tenant in th one-room out back, Roy - passed away sudden-like yesterday..we sent his stuff ta his sister.. the apartment’s empty, now..

RENEE (Pauses)You might rent to me?

CAP

(Pauses)

‘Spose..

RENEE

(Pauses)What about Jimmy? - he doesn’t like me..

(Turns to leave)Thanks anyway, Cap..




CAPTrim yer sails, Renee , yer still family - just that, Jimmy’s.. not gotten that, yet..

RENEEI don’t like things unpleasant..

CAPWal, Jimmy’s a man who knows what’s right, even if he don’t like it..

RENEE (Pauses)Could I see the place?

CAP

(Puts newspaper down)Come on back..

(Gets up, goes down the steps - they EXITaround the back of the duplex - LIGHTS DIMon The Porch - the LIGHTS RISE on Capwatering his lawn, Renee sitting on the steps)

CAP.. n’ so Big Jim went down ta th spring - th only spring there is on The Rock - and thehuge Injun saw him comin, n’ while Big Jim was fillin up his jugs, the Injun snuck up n’attacked him - n’ they had a big fight, tumblin about on th rocky beach, neither havin thupper hand - until they rolled inta th sea, each tryin ta drown th other, ‘til they bothdrowned... when I was a boy, they said if ya went down fer water at night, ya could

sometimes see them ghosts, still fightin’ in the moonlight.. thas th story o‘ The GreatFight..

(Waters)

RENEEThat took place on The Rock, years ago?

CAPSo they say... Renee, I gotta go up n’ get some grub at Winn Dixie.. think ya could finishth waterin’? - me plants are parched from th heat..

RENEESure Cap..

(She gets up, he gives her the hose)

CAPSpecially me banana tree..




JIMMYDon’t tell me what to do..

RENEEYou’re watering everything but his banana tree..

JIMMYI know what I’m doing..

RENEEThe water’s running in the street!

JIMMYI pay for it..

(Sprinkles water her way - she doesn’t move)

RENEEOh, big strong tanker man hoses little black girl!

JIMMYGet lost..

RENEE

(Sitting down on a step)I’m waiting right here for Cap!

JIMMY

(Pauses, watering)I don’t know what he sees in you..

RENEEHe sees his black relative!

JIMMY How could we.. be related to you?

RENEEYou mean, how could you be related to porch monkeys, just down from the trees!

JIMMYYou said it..

RENEEA long time ago we descended from a common ancestor - who gave birth to two sisters- one the mother of the human race, the other the mother of apes!




JIMMY I’d like to see where it says that..

RENEEIn a book, a scientific book!

JIMMY I wonder which sister you descended from..

RENEEThe same as you - you’d know that if you could read!

JIMMY I can read!

RENEE

Books are like parachutes - they function best when open - that goes for minds, too!

JIMMYYou saying I got a closed mind?

RENEE You don’t trust new ideas!

JIMMY

(Pauses, watering)I don’t..

RENEEI’m a new idea - wanta trust me?

JIMMYIt’s not that..

RENEEWhat is it, then?

JIMMY

(Pauses, watering)I don’t know..

RENEEYou sound like Cap, until he finally came around..




JIMMY

(Pauses, watering)You.. are one confusing female..

RENEEThat’s progress - I’m a female! - even if I’m black..

JIMMYEven if, even if... (Pauses, turns away from her, turns back,

trying to keep from smiling)You think I’m acting stupid?

(Goes and turns hose off, starts coiling it on theground)

RENEENo more stupid than me..

JIMMY

(Pauses)Okay.. maybe we are related..

RENEEYou bet we are, Captain!

JIMMY

Not captain - chief mate.. you really are something else.. (ENTER CAP up the walk with a bag of

groceries - he pauses at the sight of thetwo of them)

CAPWal.. you two haven’t killed each other.. guess thas a good sign.. (Comes up the walk, goes up the steps,

EXITS into the duplex with the groceries)

JIMMY

Maybe you’re right, Renee - I have been acting like a kid.. (He comes down the steps - they stand next to

each other)

RENEEWhat if the neighbors see you standing with me?




JIMMYThen they see me..

RENEEYou sound like Cap..

JIMMYWe’re both men from The Rock..

RENEEYou’re from The Rock?

JIMMYBy way of New York..

(Pauses, looks at Renee)Want to come to lunch with us?

RENEEDo I have to run alongside your Buick?

JIMMY (Pauses)You can sit up front.. between Teddy and me..

RENEE

(Pauses)

Maybe I’d like that.. (She goes past him, climbs the porch steps,

sits down in one of the lawn chairs - hepauses, then climbs the steps, sits down in theother lawn chair - they watch across the street,a pause)

Is this what it’s like when you’re old?

JIMMY

(Looking across the street)If we’re lucky, we’ll find out..

(They look at each other and start smiling, asthe LIGHTS DIM - the LIGHTS RISE again onThe Porch - Cap and Jimmy sitting in the lawnchairs, listening to the sea)

JIMMYYou still own that plot of land on The Rock, where your Pop passed?




CAPShore, me Ma left it ta me...

JIMMY (Pauses)

When’s the last time you were down on The Rock?

CAPNineteen-ought-four, when I went ta sea..

JIMMYSeventy years and you haven’t been back! - how about you and me and Madge taking aflight down - we could stay at that little place cousin Ainsley runs - give you a chance tosee The Rock, again - we’ll hike over to the plot, under those cliffs...

CAP

Not sure I wants ta see th plot again, Jimmy - it’s below them cliffs where them rockscome down on me Pappy...

JIMMY

(Pauses)You’d be going back to your Pop...

CAP

(Pauses, stares out to sea)Wal.. maybe we should go, then...

JIMMYI’ll tell Madge...

(JIMMY EXITS into the duplex - Cap looks farout to sea - the LIGHTS RISE on ThePlot - large rocks are strewn around - ENTERCAP, JIMMY and MADGE - they wanderthrough the rocks, saying nothing - CAPpauses, then looks up at the cliffs)

CAPThem goats started it all.. here come them rocks n’ there went me Pappy.. n’ there I

went, sailin’ away from me Ma n’ goin’ ta sea.. it were them goats started me on melong voyage...

(The SOUND of goats above)

JIMMYHey! - there’s still goats up there, after all these years!

(They all look up - we hear the soft bounding ofa rock the size of a breadfruit coming down the




cliffs, in the form of a bouncing ball of light - itcomes to rest at Cap’s feet)

MADGEMaybe it’s a sign, Daddy...

(Cap looks at the rock, picks it up, looks downat it, then up at the cliffs - the scuttling SOUNDof the goats above)

JIMMY (Pauses, looks around)Tell you what, Pop.. I’ll get a house built for you on this plot - hire some of our cousins tobuild it cheap - even terrace a garden - you can plant your crops - maybe even abreadfruit tree!

(Cap looks up at the cliffs again, turns andlooks out to sea, listens to the waves crashing

below against the cliffs)

CAPWal, shore.. that’d be all right.. I could live down here part o’ th year, n’ be near me ‘olPappy... he’s down there, Jimmy, at th family plot, by th bend in th old stone road.. n’when it’s eight bells fer me, Jimmy, you just plant me with me Pappy ‘n all them whatcome before...

JIMMY

(Pauses - gruffly)

I’ll do that, Pop.. (The SOUND of goats scuttling above on the

cliffs - Cap looks up at them, as waves belowcrash against The Rock - LIGHTS DIM onThe Plot - LIGHT RISE on The Railing - Reneeis at the tiller, Teddy is looking far out to sea)

RENEESo, Cap left you the Little Nick..

TEDDY

(Looking off)Yeah.. and a little cash..

RENEEWho got the Crest of the Waves?




TEDDYSplit between Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Madge.. they said I could stay on, in Cap’s side -not sure I want to..

RENEE

(Pauses)I ever go back to California.. want to come?

TEDDYI don’t know.. right now, I’ll be working the tug, after I go down to The Rock for thefuneral - I’m saying a few words..

RENEEYou going to sail there on the Little Nick?

TEDDY

(Pauses)Haven’t got the time - and, Renee.. I can’t sail that far - I’m no sailor.. I mean, I can dothis, sail off the beach with you - but I’m not a real sailor, like those guys - “them whatcome before” - and I’ll never be like them - they’re from another time, when men sailedthe seas in those old ships - because they had to survive..

RENEEWhat about the tug? - you sail on a big tugboat..

TEDDYThat’s different.. a big machine with a radio, pushing through waves - run by men who

know what they’re doing - long as I do my job and don’t fall overboard, it’s no big deal... (Looks off to sea)Look, Renee.. here we are on this big globe, spinning around at five hundred miles anhour, our planet zooming around the sun at seventy thousand miles an hour - and ourhair’s not even mussed..

RENEE (Pauses)You’re a muss, know that?

TEDDY

(Pauses)Yeah...

RENEE

(Pauses)Want some company, on The Rock? - I still have a little money, could go down with you..




TEDDY

(Pauses)Maybe.. yeah, that could be a good idea.. let me run it by Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Madge- see if they’re cool with it.. (Looks up at the sails, looks over at her)

The sails aren’t flapping anymore.. you’re pretty good with that tiller, know that?

RENEE

(Looking up at the sails, looking back at him)It’s in my blood..

TEDDYDon’t tell me you’re from The Rock!

RENEENeither are you, silly!

TEDDYNo, I’m not..

(Pulling the rock from his pocket, holding it up).. but The Rock will always be in my blood..

RENEEWere you afraid when you were on the sea?

TEDDYAll tough sailors, we! - no, I wasn’t afraid, as long as the tug kept going and the engines

didn’t stop - we kept pushing through the waves, towing that big barge behind us - managainst nature! - the tug against the sea, steaming its small lonely way through a greatwatery universe - the tug forging through the mystery seas, bound once more for landand safety.. you know, Renee, life on the sea is good, at least for now...

RENEEAnd for now, you have twelve days off - want to spend some time together?

TEDDYWe’re spending time, now!

RENEE (Looking around)Yeah.. I don’t know how you got me back on this boat again, way out here in the Gulf.. Idon’t know if I should be scared, or what..

TEDDYI did better, didn’t I? - I mean, sailing us out here..




RENEEWell, the sails didn’t flap so much..

TEDDYBecause we’ve got the Coriolis Effect on our side!

RENEEThank goodness for the Effect.. what exactly is it?

TEDDYThe Effect? - The Coriolis Effect? - well, you see, Renee.. what it is exactly, is.. is that aperson down at the Equator is traveling much further in one day then someone up hereon St. Pete Beach, due to the curve of the Earth - and that means he has to be going alot faster than us in twenty-four hours.. and if he was to throw a ball to us in a straightline, it would land to the right of us, because we’re traveling slower than he is - he wouldhave to throw a curve to the left, for the ball to land in our glove!

RENEE

(Pauses)Why would he want to throw a ball to us? - we’re on a sailboat..

TEDDYThat’s just a figure of speech..

RENEEWell, that guy’s got some arm..

TEDDYThe Coriolis Effect is why hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere spin to the left, and inthe Southern Hemisphere spin to the right..

RENEEWhat’s that got to do with some currents pushing us to shore?

TEDDYWinds push rivers of water called currents - ergo, the currents are pushing us to theright, toward land! - I think that about explains it..

RENEEErgo, I think you made all that up..

TEDDYRenee.. don’t you have any faith in me?

(He looks up at the stars)

See, it’s not so bad out here..




RENEE

(Looking up at the stars)No, it’s kind of nice, actually.. even romantic..

TEDDY

You must have found another apartment..

RENEEYeah.. at the Crest of the Waves, Jimmy rented it to me..

TEDDYYou’re kidding me! - did you take over Mrs. Tilson’s apartment?

RENEENo, I couldn’t afford to - I’m renting the one-room..

TEDDYRoy’s apartment? - where’d he go? - Bermuda?

RENEENo, he went upstairs.. (Gestures at the stars).. to see the man..

TEDDYOh.. he died?

RENEE (Pauses)Yes, he died, too..

TEDDYToo bad - he was a cool old dude... what are you going to do when I go back to sea?

RENEEGet a job..

TEDDY

As a receptionist?

RENEEIf I have to.. right now, I’ve been checking out that new Seaquarium down on the beach- maybe I can use my degree, and get something - maybe help train the porpoises, orscuba dive for new specimens..




TEDDYYou know how to scuba dive?

RENEEI could learn..

TEDDYHmmm.. we’re going to be in pretty close proximity this week..

RENEEI know.. you’ll be up in the front bedroom..

TEDDYWe could spend some quality time together..

RENEE

Yeah.. maybe you can sneak back and visit me some nights..

TEDDY

(Pauses)Oh, Granpot wouldn’t have gone for that!

RENEEHe’ll never know, now.. want to go below?

TEDDYTo start the engine? - you want to go back, now?

RENEENo, silly - I want to see if there really is a bed in that cabin - and I might need your help..

TEDDY

(Pauses)Well.. I could do that.. help you out, I mean!

RENEEI was counting on it..

(Opening a small door behind them)

Well, come on!

TEDDYWait.. I’ll just put a rope on this tiller - that’ll keep the Little Nick on course!

(He puts a rope on the tiller)There, we’re good for awhile - this won’t take long, will it?




RENEEThat depends on you..

(She disappears through the door, EXITS -Teddy pauses, then follows her, EXITS, closingthe door behind him - LIGHTS DIM on The

Railing - LIGHTS RISE on Teddy at The Pulpit,looking out at his audience)

TEDDYOne of my trips off from the tug, Cap was back from The Rock - he sent me to WinnDixie to get the usual ingredients for slumgullion, johhny bread, and bread pudding - as Icame back the three block, I saw water flowing in the gutter - I walked the last block,and could see the water was flowing off the Crest of the Waves, from a dark shape lyingunder its sign.. it was Cap, face up, hose still in his hand, water running on a plant,lizards running around - Cap’s eyes staring sightlessly at a sun which had shone on himfor a century.. tourists from across the street came running - one a vacationing doctor

with bag in hand, pulling out a stethoscope and putting it to Cap’s chest.. after a minute,raising his head, and shaking it.. “No..” - we got Cap inside, lay him on his bed, face allcalm and smooth - someone called the coroner, and I went outside and turned off thewater, gently coiling his hose, watching water drain from the end.. and then stop.. Ilistened to the sound of the surf, ceaselessly flowing in and out.. then went back to thethree-room to tell my Aunt Madge news she didn’t want to hear, and up to call UncleJimmy on the Marine Duval, far at sea, in the vast, empty Gulf...

(Pauses)I finally made a place for myself in the world - but not on the sea - a few trips afterGrandpa passed, I left the tug behind, and went to California with Renee - where Icharted my own course and followed my own star - not an exciting life, a life on the

ships, but it was my life.. maybe Grandpa knew the seafaring life of ”them who comebefore” - men from The Rock - would end with the retirement of his son, Jimmy...I wonder what my life would have been like, if I had stayed on the sea - what voyages,what ports, what adventures!... guess I’ll never know... and so, a few years after comingback here to The Rock, Cap has passed back into his own century.. now here he lies.. inhis last port, on his last voyage, smelling the sea and hearing the waves crash againstthe cliffs of his beloved Rock.. ride easy now at anchor, Cap.. your watch is over... (Goes to the bell of the Rebecca Palmer,

RINGS it twice, a pause, RINGS it twice more,a pause, then two more RINGS, a pause,then a final two RINGS that echo away as the

LIGHTS DIM on The Pulpit, leaving only a lighton the coffin, which fades to black - theLIGHTS RISE on The Porch - with just oneempty lawn chair - a pause, and then JimmyENTERS from Cap’s side of the duplex with asign in his hand - he looks down at the emptylawn chair for a moment, then grabs it with onehand, swings it into the duplex, locks the door,




slowly closes the screen door, turns and looksout to sea - we hear the SOUND of low surf -he slowly goes down the steps, pauses andlooks at the “Crest of the Waves sign in front,attaches a “For Sale” sign to it, strides

OFFSTAGE, EXITS - we hear a car door slam,then the SOUNDS of the Buick starting up andcrunching away on the shell road, leaving onlythe SOUNDS of the low breakers hissing ontothe beach.)

CURTAIN

Crest of the Waves - Bells - 5:1 Copy 29 .pdf

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