Did you ever hear the story of the old man and the sea?
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007PATHNUDIUS: Did you ever hear the story of the old man and the sea?
THAIS: No.
PATHNUDIUS: This old man, he gets up one morning and he travels, a long way, to the sea. And when he gets there, he stays very still, waiting. The sea knows it’s him. And the sea says, “What do you want?” “What do I want?” says the old man, “I’ll tell you, but I’ve traveled very far so can I just come in a little bit first?”
“All right,” says the sea. The old man steps in, till he’s up to his ankles, and then his knees. The water is very cold. “Why have you come to me?” asks the sea. The old man says, “I’ll tell you, but let me come just a little bit further in.” “All right,” says the sea, impressed, “You’re very brave for an old man. The water is cold.”
The water is cold, but the man steps in, till he’s up to his chest. “Now tell me,” says the sea, “what do you want?” “I’ll tell you,” says the old man, “but you need to let me come still further in.” “All right,” says the sea, and the old man steps in till he’s up to his shoulders, and then his neck. “Now tell me,” says the sea. “Why have you come to me?” “I’ll tell you, but let me come further in.” “No,” says the sea, “there are sharks and you might get hurt.” “I wanted to go swimming,” says the man.
THAIS: Swimming.
PATHNUDIUS: And the sea realized that for all its sharks, and even though it was cold, the man still wanted to go swimming.
THAIS: Did you make that up?
PATHNUDIUS: It’s a teaching aide.
THAIS: What happened to the man?
(Excerpted from “L-”, a play I wrote in 2004.)
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