Shane has reached a conclusion as Randi makes a revelation.
Cast
Randi Halle Millien
Shane Mark Millien
SFX and Music Contributors
SFX
Q Tone [Query]
Tone 4.wav by patchen of freesound.org
Q Tone [Response]
Tone 3.wav by patchen of freesound.org
Music
Edge Of Cool by Fredbau of looperman.com
Created by Mark and Halle Millien
Cover Art by Halle Millien
Written, Directed and Produced by Mark Millien
Auntie Lolo’s Letter:
Breakfast. Have you ever thought about that word? It’s kind of disguised because of how we pronounce it, but it literally means breaking your fast, the one you conducted while sleeping. Language mutates over time to suit the needs of whoever is speaking, but it loses some of itself along the way. There’s a new valediction taking hold. Stay safe. There is one world of people who offer it to anyone they come within six feet of as a way of saying don’t die, I hope your friends and loved ones don’t die, because so many people are dying and they may have no symptoms and you may have no symptoms so you may not know it yet, so do what you can with what you do not know to evade something that you cannot see, but will kill you all the same. There is a whole other world of people who are operating as if the dead are so far removed or inconsequential to the patriotism demanded of normalcy, that the living do not deserve any inconvenient precautions. They are using language differently. “Freedom over Tyranny,” or “My body my choice” or “Vaccines are for sick people” with a picture of Bill Gates. It’s confusing. The vast majority of Americans don’t want to rush the process, but this discontented few have chosen the language of militancy to battle policies designed to fight a pandemic. For some reason I’m reminded of Basheer Al Assad gassing his own people so that he could rule them. Not because they are the same thing, but because it seems rooted in a similar type of nihilistic narcissism. We try to explain so many things with words designed to explain something else. More people have died from COVID-19 in the last three months than in all of the Vietnam war. More than double, almost triple the deaths of any other nation. The president’s son in law called that a success story. White people armed with assault rifles and shotguns descended on the Michigan state capitol in Lansing and threatened lawamakers with violence in what was deemed a “protest”. I remember last summer I was in a Chic Fil A and a stranger said God bless you. I hadn’t sneezed, he just used as a way of greeting. I said thank you. He seemed dissatisfied somehow with my response. As he left he said, Merry Christmas. It was June. He was trying to mark out territory that I didn’t understand completely. But while I shelter at home and have time to think about the shape of words I think I have a more complete understanding of the threat he perceived to his way of life. He thought he was in a “safe” place, where his Christianity would be enthusiastically reciprocated. He needs a place like that wherever he goes, and if he winds up in a temple and doesn’t see enough heads bowed, he reminds them of where they are. Except we were only in a sacred place in his own mind and even if it had been hallowed ground, is this his best interpretation of the edicts captured in the Bible? It was my fault for being at a Chic Fil A in the first place. It’s just so damn delicious. And the customer service is unmatched. But I digress. Words matter is I guess what I really want to say. You are growing up in a really tricky world. It’s going to try to deceive you at every opportunity. Most people will reveal themselves to you despite their attempts to hustle you. Listen to their words. Their actions are important, but listen to the words they choose. They chose them for a reason. It isn’t arbitrary and it isn’t an accident. We are our words, even when we lie. Farewell.
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