For once—and only once—I'm happy to be proven wrong. Congratulations, Cubs.
"FAILURE" by Robert Cass
3/14/04
(version #2)
CAST
Peter Hillman - white, 36
Alex Hillman - Hispanic, 12
(The Hillmans' backyard on an afternoon in April.)
(Peter and Alex are playing catch.)
PETER
You're
going to have the best time tomorrow, son.
ALEX
I guess.
PETER
Your
first Cubs game. Your first chance to
see the legacy up close.
ALEX
I've
already been to a Cubs game.
(Alex drops the ball.)
PETER
What?
(Alex picks up the ball and throws it back to Peter.)
ALEX
When I
was six. It was Orphan Night at Wrigley
Field, so the orphanage took us.
PETER
(disappointed)
I didn't
realize.
(loudly)
Grounder!
(Peter throws a grounder to Alex, who bobbles it.)
ALEX
All of
us got our picture taken with Sammy Sosa and the Dominican flag. Nobody seemed to care that we were Puerto
Rican, but it was still fun.
(pause)
I still
want to go tomorrow.
PETER
Okay. Good. Because becoming a Cubs fan isn't just about baseball. It's about learning how to live with failure.
ALEX
What do
you mean?
PETER
The Cubs
haven't won the World Series since 1908. They haven't even been in the
World Series since 1945, which was almost a century ago.
ALEX
Well,
actually, it's 1908 that was almost a century--
PETER
(continuing to talk)
Some
people would say the Cubs aren't worth the hair that's about to start growing
all over your young body, Alex, but those people know nothing about hope. They think it's easy to create a winning team
out of thin air, but it's just like bringing a child into this world. It takes perseverance. And lots of money. And maybe even a scientific breakthrough of
some sort.
ALEX
The Cubs
never give up, huh?
PETER
No, they
give up every season sooner or later. But the fans never give up, no matter how many times they're let
down. And tomorrow you'll begin to
understand what hope really is. Tomorrow
you'll begin to see what failure is all about.
ALEX
What if
the Cubs win?
PETER
(laughs)
That's
my boy!
(loudly)
Pop fly!
(Peter throws the ball high up into the air. Alex catches it a few seconds later, then
speaks.)
ALEX
Dad?
PETER
Yes?
ALEX
I don't
want to play Little League this summer.
PETER
What are
you talking about?
ALEX
There's
a summer math program at MIT that my teacher told me about. It sounded like fun, so I applied for it.
PETER
Well,
don't be disappointed if you don't get in, okay? Think of it as a learning experience so you
can brace yourself for future disappointments.
ALEX
But I
got in. The letter came yesterday.
(Peter doesn't say
anything.)
ALEX (cont'd)
So is it
okay with you if I go? Mom said I could.
PETER
Alex,
you signed up for Little League last month. You have to honor your contract, just like the Cubs do.
(loudly)
Hard
grounder!
(Peter throws the ball at Alex's chest. Alex catches it, then drops it, then picks it
up and throws it back.)
ALEX
That
wasn't a grounder.
PETER
I
changed my mind. You've got to stay
focused.
ALEX
Okay,
but ... see, MIT's practically paying me to go there for the summer. The Stanley's Wash-and-Shine Rangers aren't
paying me anything.
PETER
That's
not how Mr. Stanley operates.
ALEX
But I
don't like playing baseball. I'm not a
good athlete.
(slight pause; proudly)
I'm a mathlete.
PETER
Alex,
remember what we said about not using made-up words in the house? That applies to the backyard too.
ALEX
Sorry. But it's true. I'm never going to be any good at baseball.
PETER
(long sigh)
You're
right. You're absolutely right. You're not that valuable to the team.
ALEX
(surprised by Peter's
honesty)
Well ...
yeah, I guess.
PETER
So you
admit you're a failure at baseball! See,
Alex, you're no better than the Cubs or
me!
(Alex holds the ball in his throwing hand and doesn't toss it back to
Peter. There's a long pause.)
ALEX
I don't
think you're a failure. And I'm not a
failure, either. I just know what my
strengths and weaknesses are, and I try to concentrate on the strengths the
best I can.
PETER
(at the borderline of a breakdown)
Oh, so
if I was able to conceive children with your mom, that would be one of my
strengths, but since I can only shoot blanks, that's my weakness? Well, I can't control that, my darling little
boy! And you can't let the things you
can't control control you!
(There's another long
pause.)
ALEX
I'll
just be gone for eight weeks.
PETER
(composes himself)
Sounds
good.
(pause)
And I'm
sorry for that little outburst. I just
... it's just that I sometimes forget you already had a father before I came
along.
ALEX
But I
never even knew him.
PETER
I know. But you're his flesh and blood, not mine. You'll never be like me. And I
can't change that.
ALEX
But you're my dad. I don't have your eyes, or your smile, or your
short temper, but I do have everything you've taught me.
(Alex throws the ball back to Peter. They resume playing catch.)
PETER
Alex,
there's nothing I can teach you that you don't already know. You're a kajillion
times smarter than I'll ever be.
ALEX
(slight pause while he
thinks)
But I
wouldn't be this good at math if you hadn't asked me to calculate the stats
from all those scouting reports during the off-season.
PETER
I won a
lot of bets in spring training because of those stats.
ALEX
You sure
did.
(Peter walks over to Alex and puts his hand on the back of Alex’s
head.)
PETER
Hey,
here's a math problem for you, buddy -- if you add a little brother or sister
to our family, how many family members will there be?
ALEX
(excitedly)
You're
serious?
PETER
I've got
to have somebody to take to Cubs games while you're gone. I can't just lay in bed with your mom for
eight weeks!
(Blackout.)
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