Greetings, Gentles! I am the Stout Master. Let us return to the chronicle of the Antagonistic Buddha's early travels. This was the time when he was still known by his given name, J_____.
Our last two articles were a necessary detour to regard J_____'s first meeting and subsequent martial training with his mentor, the Old Warrior. Before that, we were reviewing the history of the Drunken Disciples of God, a secret society devoted to debate and founded by J_____'s other mentor, the Drunken Master. We had established the permanent roster for the group; the Drunken Master, J_____, Tom Collins, and the two last members, Kate and Scratch. When we left them, conflict was brewing.
The source of this conflict was the Drunken Master's infatuation with Kate. The Drunken Master pursued Kate, and she -- from time to time -- allowed herself to be caught. This was amenable to both of them for awhile. And -- for awhile -- there was no rival to the Drunken Master. Scratch, however, changed that.
There was an undeniable -- almost animal -- attraction between Kate and Scratch. They tried, at first, to hide their affair from the others. But as the flame of their passion grew, caution fell aside. It was never clear why they had tried to conceal their relationship, but J_____ wanted to believe it was out of respect for the Drunken Master.
As the nature of the relationship between Kate and Scratch became open, the Drunken Master plummeted into an inconsolable, black despair.
The reader may well ask why J_____ did not do more to end the Drunken Master's downward spiral. Surely the wise counsel of a trusted friend would've helped the Drunken Master heal his broken heart and move on from his obsession with Kate?
Unfortunately, J_____ was deeply involved with another important project.
J_____ had landed his dream role as the scene-stealing, sadistic dentist, Orin Scrivello, in the Spring production of Little Shop of Horrors. It had long been a desire of his to appear in musical theater and he was determined to earn the audience's love. But he knew it would be an uphill battle.
So, while the Drunken Master descended into a personal hell, J_____ was studying old Elvis movies, or working with a voice coach. J_____ struggled to master the footwork of the grapevine and learned to properly shimmy his fingers for jazz hands. Traditionally, the actor playing Orin also plays many of the incidental characters who appear throughout the play. J_____ had to master the art of the quick change, and was the first actor to wear full costume in rehearsal in order to learn the timing of changes.
With all this going on, it wasn't until he was called out of bed early on Tuesday morning that J_____ realized something was wrong with his friend. J_____ responded to the Quad, where the Drunken Master was stumbling through his Drunken Monkey forms and throwing crumpled, empty beer cans at passers-by. As J_____ caught his friend, the Drunken Master began to sob uncontrollably.
Our last two articles were a necessary detour to regard J_____'s first meeting and subsequent martial training with his mentor, the Old Warrior. Before that, we were reviewing the history of the Drunken Disciples of God, a secret society devoted to debate and founded by J_____'s other mentor, the Drunken Master. We had established the permanent roster for the group; the Drunken Master, J_____, Tom Collins, and the two last members, Kate and Scratch. When we left them, conflict was brewing.
The source of this conflict was the Drunken Master's infatuation with Kate. The Drunken Master pursued Kate, and she -- from time to time -- allowed herself to be caught. This was amenable to both of them for awhile. And -- for awhile -- there was no rival to the Drunken Master. Scratch, however, changed that.
There was an undeniable -- almost animal -- attraction between Kate and Scratch. They tried, at first, to hide their affair from the others. But as the flame of their passion grew, caution fell aside. It was never clear why they had tried to conceal their relationship, but J_____ wanted to believe it was out of respect for the Drunken Master.
As the nature of the relationship between Kate and Scratch became open, the Drunken Master plummeted into an inconsolable, black despair.
The reader may well ask why J_____ did not do more to end the Drunken Master's downward spiral. Surely the wise counsel of a trusted friend would've helped the Drunken Master heal his broken heart and move on from his obsession with Kate?
Unfortunately, J_____ was deeply involved with another important project.
J_____ had landed his dream role as the scene-stealing, sadistic dentist, Orin Scrivello, in the Spring production of Little Shop of Horrors. It had long been a desire of his to appear in musical theater and he was determined to earn the audience's love. But he knew it would be an uphill battle.
So, while the Drunken Master descended into a personal hell, J_____ was studying old Elvis movies, or working with a voice coach. J_____ struggled to master the footwork of the grapevine and learned to properly shimmy his fingers for jazz hands. Traditionally, the actor playing Orin also plays many of the incidental characters who appear throughout the play. J_____ had to master the art of the quick change, and was the first actor to wear full costume in rehearsal in order to learn the timing of changes.
With all this going on, it wasn't until he was called out of bed early on Tuesday morning that J_____ realized something was wrong with his friend. J_____ responded to the Quad, where the Drunken Master was stumbling through his Drunken Monkey forms and throwing crumpled, empty beer cans at passers-by. As J_____ caught his friend, the Drunken Master began to sob uncontrollably.
2 comments:
I understand that when you're young you tend to think differently about poosible life and death situations, but even at what I'm assuming their age is at this point, I hardly feel that such an enlightened person as the Wise One would have turned a blind eye to his friend in need. Wishing the Drunken Master the best of luck, your fledgling follower Flint awaits your enlightenment.
Youth is foolish.
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