{"id":934,"date":"2017-04-08T13:28:44","date_gmt":"2017-04-08T17:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takethepatience.com\/?p=934"},"modified":"2017-04-08T13:30:06","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T17:30:06","slug":"95-america-street-chapter-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/takethepatience.com\/?p=934","title":{"rendered":"95 America Street, Chapter 12"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 9th<\/sup>, 2012<\/em><\/p>\n

The day started with Ripps changing the street signs on our street from Forest Hills Street to America Street.\u00a0 He said he always wanted to live on a street named \u201cAmerica\u201d but got tired of waiting for the opportunity to present itself.\u00a0 Instead, he would create this opportunity.\u00a0 Stever liked that and although the behavior was illegal, he would use this act as an example of how we can control our environment instead of our environment controlling us.\u00a0 A concerned citizen walked by Ripps as he exchanged one of the signs and tried to protest his actions but he simply flexed his arms and said \u201cGeek!\u201d and they moved on.\u00a0 Ripps even went as far as to call the Post Office and inform them that our address had changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you moved?\u201d the postal employee inquired.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201c Ripps answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, well\u2026that\u2019s odd.\u00a0 I see no record of a street name change on your street. Hmmm\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

A long silence ensued.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell I guess I\u2019ll just go ahead and make this change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood\u201d.<\/p>\n

And just like that, we now all lived at 95 America Street.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Arguably the greatest result of our helping the community center was that the kids got to perform their play. \u00a0Barry, Danny, Ripps, Stever, Terrence and I all attended.\u00a0 Of course Barry was with lady.\u00a0 I think her name was Adriana but I\u2019m not sure.\u00a0 All I know is that she had what Barry would refer to as a \u201ctop-shelf figure\u201d and had recently arrived from South America. \u00a0She somehow found herself being shown the highlights of Boston by a more than capable guide, free of charge.\u00a0 In a quiet voice, Barry spoke to her in near perfect Spanish.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t catch it all but I could tell he was explaining the origins of his suit.\u00a0 Barry\u2019s use of \u201cBangkok\u201d and \u201cThailand\u201d elicited a \u201c\u00a1Dios\u00a0m\u00edo!\u201d from his gorgeous companion.\u00a0 Barry\u2026he had all of these ladies all over him but he still managed to keep things classy.<\/p>\n

As we sat in the back, I looked around the gym.\u00a0 Only two days ago, a very deadly play was performed in the very same spot.\u00a0 Where there was near-death and violence, now there was innocence and joy.\u00a0 It always struck me how quickly a physical place can change.\u00a0 Certain places seem to maintain the old horrific ghosts of past events, leaving its confines forever tainted.\u00a0 Other places seem immune to good or evil and are simply defined by the current moment.\u00a0 So perhaps this place with its \u201cin the moment\u201d nature could be called Bhuddist.\u00a0 Whatever it is called, none of the smiling faces sitting in the audience would have believed such rough doings transpired here 48 hours ago.<\/p>\n

I had been so distracted that I had not bothered to find out what this play was about.\u00a0 We arrived late so none of us had time to look at the playbill.\u00a0 This is just as well for it was a sensational surprise to discover this play as it happened.\u00a0 Once I knew what it was, I began to laugh so hard that much of the audience turned around and stared at me.\u00a0 They were doing some Shakespearean treatment of the Transformers!\u00a0 I could not believe this.\u00a0 Someone connected with the center was a massive Transformers (and Shakespeare apparently) fan and wrote this unexpected gem.\u00a0 Here I was, preparing to fence with boredom for 45 minutes and instead got something that caused my focus to be aroused.<\/p>\n

A child dressed in an outfit consisting of cardboard and clothing, resembling Optimus Prime spoke, \u201cMegatron, oh, Megatron! \u00a0Thou shall not take thy energon cubes on thee Space Bridge back to our beloved Cybertron!\u201d<\/p>\n

A child on the other side of the stage, also in a cardboard\/clothing outfit replied, \u201cThou art a fool, Optimus Prime! \u00a0Thou shall taste thee pain from my laser cannon!\u00a0 Decepticons\u2026attack!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Children with cardboard wings flooded on to the stage from the right and children on small tricycles and little cars come out from stage left.\u00a0 They acted out a battle with each other while laser noises were heard over the sound system. \u00a0At certain points, transforming noises recorded from the show, like the laser noises, were played as the children got out of the cars or off their tricycles or made changes to their flying outfits and became more robotic in their appearance.\u00a0 Ripps and Danny seemed to absorb more meaning and emotion from this pretend battle for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The play ended and all the children bowed in front of a genuinely enthusiastic audience.\u00a0 Most of the audience was comprised of parents and relatives that knew what had been happening the past few weeks.\u00a0 This night was like some kind of overwhelming release.\u00a0 A great fear had passed and although they didn\u2019t quite know the exact role we played or how it all went down, they seemed to be applauding not just their children but the unknown heroes that restored peace and happiness to their center.\u00a0 Amanda Pimmsley approached the microphone.\u00a0 Although we instructed her to not mention our involvement, she acknowledged us in a very indirect but tasteful manner.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for watching our play tonight.\u00a0 The children worked very hard on this.\u00a0 A big thank you to Jason Bishop for writing a very unique play, to Shelley Adamson and her gang for handling all the tech, to Maria Gutierrez for organizing the ticketing and refreshments and to all those special, unnamed angels that watched over us and saved our center in what felt like the final hours.\u00a0 As you all know, we\u2019re now going to have our \u2018adult\u2019 party so please stick around and enjoy yourselves.\u00a0 And to entertain us, I introduce to you, Bermuda\u2019s own\u2026BARRY TATTLE!\u201d<\/p>\n

I had no idea this was going to take place!\u00a0 This night was becoming legend.\u00a0 The curtain parted and there stood Barry in his signature burgundy silk.\u00a0 Behind him was Franny, the fine gent that ran the open jazz jam at the Milky Way, and his band.\u00a0 Before the clapping died down, they launched right into a jazzy version of the Transformers theme song.\u00a0 Listening to Barry\u2019s jazzy handling of the science fiction cartoon lyrics was like being born all over again but this time, born with the full mental capacities of an adult.\u00a0 I had not had anything to drink yet but I already felt quite heady.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 9th, 2012 The day started with Ripps changing the street signs on our street from Forest Hills Street to America Street.\u00a0 He said he always wanted to live on a street named \u201cAmerica\u201d but got tired of waiting for the opportunity to present itself.\u00a0 Instead, he would create this opportunity.\u00a0 Stever liked that and … <\/p>\n

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