, lm

Robert
P
Ashley
fOVeffiell t (Don Leaves Linda)
 l
Dise 1 (44:00J Dise 2 (44.05)
1. THE ARGUMENT (PRSLUDF) {1:29) 1. THE BIG CITY (Sc. 13) (:53)
2.SUNSET AT THE TURNOFF (Sc.l) {1:08) 2. TARZAN (3:03)
3. THE AIRLINE TICKET COUNTER (Sc. 2) (1:40) 3. THE BIG CITY (CONTINUW) (:40)
4. THE CORRESPONDENCES TEXT (Sc.3) (2:42) 4.THE 00CTOR (Sc.14) (3:53)
5. THE RIDE To TOWN (Sc.4) (6-38) 5. THE .OFFERING OF IMAGES (4:20)
6 THE AIR'LINE TICKET COUNTER (Sc.5) (1:44) 6. THE GooD LIFE (Sc.15) (5:10)
7 THE INDIFFERENCE TEXT (Sc.6) (4:36) 7 TROUBLE (Sc 16) (.27)
8. BACK HOME .. , (Sc.7) (2:01) 8. THE GooD LIFE (coNT1Nurn) (13)
9. M R, GEORGE PAYNE (Sc.8) (2:09) 9. TROUBLE (CONTINUED) (2:40)
10. THE CONTENTS OF HER PURSE (Sc.9) (10:14) JO. THE GooD LIFE (coNT1Nueo) (:40)
11.SUPPER WITH MR. PAYNE's MOTHER (Sc.10) (4:40) l i . A PLACE IN THE COUNTRY (Sc.17) (2:46)
12. GOLF LEFT·HANDED (Sc. l I) (3:27) 12. HAPPINESS, PROSPERITY AND fORGETFULNESS (Sc 18) (9:06)

13.A MOMENT (VERY LATE) .. , (Sc.12) (1:32) 13. THE BRIDGE GAME (Sc.19) (5:03)

14. NORTH (BERLIN/A TANGO) (Sc. 20) (2:03)

15. EAST (RIVER ROUGE) (Sc.21) (:30)

J6SOUTH (CAMPO DEI flORI, ROME) (Sc 22) {1:20)

17. WEST (ATLANTIS) (Sc 23) (1:18)

1 I ffi p f OVe ffi e Il t (Don Leaves.Linda)

MUSIC & LIBRETTO BY ROBERT ASH_l,J:Y

Jacqueline Humbert Linda

Thomas Buckner Don, Mr. Payne, Linda's Companion

Joan La Barbara Now Eleanor

Sam Ashley Junior, Jr.

Adam Klein The Doctor

Amy X Neuburg Mr. Payne's Mother

and Robert Ashley The Narrator

f
Jffi p f OVe ffi e Il t (Don Leaves Linda)
, THE ALLEGORY
Linda
Don
The Jews
Spanishness
Now Eleanor America
Junior, Jr. The descendants of J ews
and non-Jews (i.e., us)
Idea EXPERIENCE Mr. George Payne Giordano Bruno
Mr. Payne's mother The Roman Catholic Church
Arena THEATER
Tap dancing The Art of Memory
Imagery LANDSCAPE f A car with a rumble seat Integrated Philosophy
Technique Cou.ACE Left-handed golf Cosmology (Bruno's)
(3-D ejfects) The Narrator Omniscience
Protagonist LINDA The Airline Ticket Counter The Inquisition
"A sense ofselfsatisfaction, given off, The Correspondences T ext Exploration
follows everything she does. " The Unimportant Family The Star Chamber
Style ANSWERS
The Indifference T ext The Affirmation
Requiring an attitude of restrained Back home .. . Sorne recanted
exaggeration. Every point seems to A moment (very late) .. . Exile
portend more than can be justified. The Big Ciry Assimilation
The Doctor Analysis (Marxism, etc.)
Mode! ALLEGORY
The Good Life Art
"Also, as part of the nesting instinct
she puts things on al! of the chairs." Trouble Politics
A place in the country Israel
Subject A PEOPLE Happiness, prosperiry ... America 1952
Example THE]EWS The Office The idea of an hisroric refuge
Reference THE KABALA The Bridge Game Self-image
North Berlin (Sryle)
The me IDENTITY
East River Rouge (The Movement)

l
Code 1492 South Campo dei Fiori (History)
West Atlantis "as far back as you can go
(at least, on this system) ... "
 SYNOPSIS
, THE RECORDING

ACT 1, SCENES 1-7

Don leaves Linda at a roadside turnoff vista somewhere in the Southwest. He returns the
rentai car and undergoes questioning at the Airline Ticket Counter. Linda gets a ride to town
with the Unimportant Family and is taken to the same Airline Ticket Counter, where she
answers the same questions from a different point of view. At home, finally, she pretends that
she is someone else.
ACT 1, SCENES 8 -12
On the flight home Linda has met the amazing Mr. Payne, who remembers everything, and
who proposes marriage to her. After the proposa!, which she declines, he takes Linda and her
son, Junior, Jr., to supper ac his mother's house. Junior, Jr. recalls chat Mr. Payne tried to
ceach him golf (left-handed). Linda faces her life-dilemma (symbolically) in an encounter in
an all-night delicatessen.
Produced by David Rosenboom and Robert Ashley.
Executive Producer: David Bither
Voices were recorded ac the Center for Contemporary Music, Mills College, Oakland, California:
Tom Erbe, recording and computer engineer.
Digital editing and mastering by Allan Tucker, Foothill Productions, New York City.
Final mixing was done at 10 Beach Street, New York, NY:
Tom Hamilton mixing and computer engineer.
Act I voices and rhythm orchestra were mixed by Tom Erbe (except Prelude and Scenes 8 & 10.)
Act II (and Prelude, Scenes 8 and 1O) voices and rhythm orchestra were mixed by Tom Hamilton.

ACT Il, SCENES 13 -16
Linda moves to the big ciry and cornes up against public opinion in various forms.
Everything seems to have a meaning chat is hard to decipher. After a typical, big-city party,
she and a companion, having a lace coffee and discussing nutrition, are chreatened by four
drunken men. They are saved in the nick of time, but the experience is ominously
unpleasant.
ACT Il, SCENES 17 -2 3
Linda has almost completely adapted to her new life, but chere are still problems of meaning.
At a crucial moment she catches a fleeting glimpse of Don (much changed), who seems to
recognize her, but "disappears;' in front ofher eyes. She decides not to chink about chis
experience. Finally, playing bridge with friends, she reads them a letter from Junior, Jr. in his
new (mysterious) job and goes over the high points of her life in memory.
Additional orchestra parts for Act I were programmed by Sam Ashley.
Additional orchestra parts for the final mix were designed and programmed by
Robert Ashley and Tom Hamilton.
"Tarzan" (Scene 13) was recorded and produced by Sam Ashley. The singers from the Sanuma and
Ye-kuana tribes (verses 1 and 5) were recorded near their homes on the Rio Paragua in Venezuela.
The singers from the Dominican Republic (verse 2) were recorded in Rio San Juan, Dominican
Republic. The Haitian singers (verses 3 and 4) were recorded in Port Au Prince, Haiti. The
Sanuma, "Alehandro" (his Spanish name), is a master singer of his village.The Ye-kuana singer
Marias Fortunato helped in directing the Sanuma and Ye-kuana singers.
The quarter of operas, Now Eleanor's ldea, which includes lmprovement (Don Leaves Linda) and
eL/Aficionado, was written and developed with the assistance of grants from The Rockefeller
Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts' Opera Musical Theater Program.

_________________.,._____________
Preliminary rehearsals were made possible by a workshop gram from the National lnstitute for
Music.Theater. Thanks to Performing Arcservices, Inc.
--··
To continue
I must explain
An idea that
I am inadequate
PRELUDE
THE ARGUMENT
The Narrator

DON LEA VES LINDA

SCENE ÜNE:
SUNSET AT THE TURNOFF
Chorus

LEAVES 15 CERTAINLY THE WORD

THE PICTURE 15 TAKEN AT SUNSET
Two PEOPLE ARE ON THE HORIZON
' Do you have a ticket?
Yes.
May I see ic please?
ScENE Two
THE AIRLINE TICKET COUNTER
Don goes by the name of CARLO. The Agent at The
Airline Ticket Counter (Linda) is named CARLA
Another person.
Is that persan a woman?
Yes.
The ticket says chat you have rented a car.
Yes.
Do you have the rented car to rerurn ac chis cime?
Yes.
The ticket says chat you will return the car with your wife.
To communicate A cynic might say where else could they be Yes. I know.
In the music THEY HAVE PARKED IN A TURN-OFF The ticket says thac it was issued as one of two. If your wife appears without the car, ic is possible chat her
ln the settings A rurn-off in chis case means: picked for the view Yes. ticket will not be honored.
In the actions COMFORT JS ADVERT!SED The ticket says chat you came here with your wife. I understand.
In the intentions Comfort in chis case means: separate facilicies Yes. What will happen to your wife,
Now Eleanor' s idea !CE MELTS IN THE 1HfilMOS Where is your wife? if her ticket is not honored?
Conceived as if What a beautiful way to begin a story She is not here. I do not know.
ln a flash of light 5HE HAS JUST THOUGHT OF THE WORDS: A CASTLE Why is she not here? Where is your wife now?
The offering of images is ÀT NIGHT HE DOESN'T SPEAK She stayed behind. I do not know.
A radical form ofJudaism A CAMERA CLICKS IN THE DISTANCE Ordinarily we would not honor such a ticket. Does she have transportation to the
Which has corne to us A dog barks I understand. Airline Ticket Councer?
Unacknowledged THE MOMENT 15 WADED But today is a special day. I do not know.
In the same form as THEY STOP HOLDING HANDS I know. Does she have resources other than
Protestantism THE JET TRACKS ARE FADING So we will honor the ticket. the airline ticket?
Modernism THE DECISION 15 MADE Thankyou. I do not know.
Science 5HE STEPS AWAY FROM THE SIGNAL Do you have baggage? Does she know where she is
And Theater as we know it THE l!GHT HAS MOVED Sl!GHILY Yes. in relation to the Airline Ticket Office?
Her idea explains THE BUILDING JS TOO SUBSTANTIAL You have more baggage chan you are allowed. 1 do not know.
Ac least ta her how The door on the left is marked women I have my wife sbaggage and my own. And she has neicher baggage nor the renced car?
All of chese chings have corne togecher HE WALKS TOWARD THE CAR Why do you have your wife' s baggage? Yes.
And differences have disappeared fT STARTS ON THE KEY She stayed behind. This is a racher unusual situation.
For the sake of argument Don is Spain in 1492 A song on the radio finishes Why did she stay behind. I understand.
And Linda is the Jews HE DRIVES AWAY I leji her behind. Where was you wife when you left her?
Why did you leave her behind? She was in the toi/et at the turnoff.
REACHES THE AIRPORT FINALLY.
I had to leave urgent/y. She wenc inco the toiler and you left her?
GOES TO THE COUNTER AND UNDERGOES
Whac is the reason for such urgency? Yes.
QUESTIONING. WONDERS WHY HE THINKS OF
My reasons are my own. You took her baggage and the rented car?
H!MSELF AS CARLO. SUBVERSIVE.
Do you refuse to tell me the reason? Yes.
No. You lefc urgencly to meet another persan?
Whac is the reason? Yes.
That person is a woman?
Yes.
Your wife will be angry and jealous.
No.
How is that possible?
SCENE THREE
THE CORRESPONDENCES TEXT
Don and Chorus
As if The Commander had spoken sharply to them, they
ground ... (LONG PAUSE)-what is rhe word' - "they
ground ... " (LONG PAUSE FOLLOWED BY EX111AVAGANT
GESTURE
TO SIGNIFY THE ABSENCE OF THE ADVERB)- to a halt.
This simple sentence, with the hole in it,
occupied me for years. Nor have I found the solution, yet.
What is the word' "They ground ... " (LONG PAUSE, THEN,
THE SAME GESTURE)- "to a hait."
The word I need should symbolize the whole of the
psychology
of the process or attitude of what is not - I repeat,
not - subservience, which is the way we see ic
from the "oucside", so to speak. Remember "as if'.
"As if' The Commander had spoken sharply to them,
etcetera.
In other words, "rhey", acting co ail appearances in unison,
ground to a halt. And, for us, how is chat unanimity
of purpose and action to be achieved, if not
in subservience? We have a special view of the world.
The roads, for instance, are underscood.
They represent a unanimiry of purpose that is understood,
because, in my view of things, rhey are unframed in time.
When did they begin and when did they end are questions
we have not asked ourselves, because -
ALTHOUGH, MAYBE THERE IS NO "BECAUSE",
HOWEVER, IMPOSSIBLE THAT MAY SEEM-
as accomplishments they are "on-going."
But architecture has irs accomplishments "framed in cime."
The great "accornplishments" of architecture are, finally,
"finished", rhey are "framed in rime", and, because we have
no understanding of our schedule on a scale so vase,
the "accomplishments" of architecture are a rnystery cous,
and we explain chem to ourselves in simple words
of great significance, whose meanings we barely have
exarnined- much less "undersrand."
There is a precise - perhaps, even co the moment -
correspondence, in rime measured,
between the Ziggurars ac Ur, "stepped pyramids"
(THEIR "DATE''. HOWEVER THAT IS DETERMINED),
co the gleaming, polished Pyramids at Giza
- "c-.LOC:KS ·: 7HEY THINI(, FOR THE WHOLE WORLD -
and the "stepped pyramids", unnamed,
chat are the accomplishments of the great Aztec Tribes,
to the World Trade Cemer at New York.
This is one example among many; but, then,
I don't have rime to discuss this in detail;
I mean, the correspondence.
This is certainly a puzzle; I mean, the precision
of these correspondences. And ,it is not co be explained
in stupid and arrogant concepts, such as
the concept of"subservience." As in:
"They were ordered to do it, and they did it. We made
chem doit, and it is clone." Boy, how srupid can you gec?
The Ziggurats at Ur - on what sustenance we have
not named - and the great "Clocks" at Giza - on garlic,
it is said (AND 1HATMAKES SENSE 70 ME, WHEN 1 E4.T
GARLIC)
- and the great stepped pyramids thrown toward the sky
among the Aztecs - on coca leaves, it is surmised
(AND, BOY, THAT MAKES SFNSF TOME, EVFN AT THIS
DISTANCf)-
and the World Trade Center at New York- on grain
carbohydrates,
I assume - ate, obviously, the "will of the people."
Consider the stupidity of the concept of
' "subservience" on a scale so vase and the concept
disappears, like the value of flesh and blood as
sustenance CO a monumental task Do you know what I
mean?
You apparently have been deserted.
!t happens ail the time, really.
Especially here. This is the perfect place:
The desett, the lack of public eelephones,
thar cosmic feeling of our singular
INSERT END OF SCENE Two relationship to God, and the feeling of
detachment from the things of the world.
W ell, sort of. I get the idea that rhis is a subject that you
They just drive away.
are interested in.
Somecimes one, sometimes the other.
Thats one way ofputting it.
Maybe it's no more than who has the keys
Have a good trip - Carlo.
and, of course, that madness
Thank-you. (What?)
that cornes to each of us so suddenly.
SCENE FOUR We corne here ail the time.
THE RIDE To TOWN We live in a nearby town with telephones,
THE UNIMPORTANT FAMILY radios, airplanes, the works,
and there, burdened with the "works",
MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE TURNOFF, we have a hard time seeing.
LINDA 15 OFFERED A RIDE TO TOWN. So, we corne here ail the rime.
SHE DOESN'T LIKE THE LOOK OF IT. First, of course, the reason was the vista:
FOUR PEOPLE TOO MUCH ALIKE. pale, purplish blues and pale violets
A TYPICAL TRAP. SHE ACCEPTS. at sunset, the gleaming stars ac midnighc,
Go FOR IT, LINDA. Gooo LUCK. wild yellows reflected off the morning rocks,
and, at midday, the blast of whiteness.
Weil, here's a cute litde thing, That wore off, of course.
just came out of the toilet, If you've seen one, you've seen chem ail.
and she appears co be alone. Then, among ail rhis stage-business,
A maiden in distress. we began co see the drama.
Madam, my name is unimportant, and chis is my wife, Finally, accustomed to the light,
whose name is unimportant, and our two, lovely we began to see the drama.
children, whose names are unimportant. The children enjoy it. My wife packs the
We are the Unimportant Family, picnic lunch. I clean up the van, which is
but we are a family, nevertheless, what we call our vehicle, leaving room always
and chat is our charm. for rhe extra person, who, like yourself,
~
You appear co be alone, the victim of circumsrances - needs a ride CO town, and we corne here.
circumstances of your own creation, Probably, were we elsewhere, rhere would be opera,
according to one point of view,
or not, according to anocher - and
we can offer you a ride co cown.
I don't even know the wo7
or the theater, or the promenade -
except from books.
So, this is it. This is your life.
Excuse me for the little joke.
And we can offer you a ride to town.
lt takes on the order of an hour.
Just rime enough for the separation to
be accomplished, ail things going
right, without embarrassment
to either party
I can tell, just from the look in your eye, that
you don't believe me - that this happens
all the time. You are convinced of your
uniqueness. What has befallen you
has befallen you alone. Is this not true?
Let me tell you, you are wrong. Why, just
last week, we picked up a guy out here whose
head was three rimes the size ofhis body.
Where do they corne from, the kids say.
Who do they call, when we drop them at the
airport, the wife says.
I say, don't ask. Believe in
God, and don't ask.
This attitude usually gets us to the airporr, ·
and then we have our ice-cream canes
and go off separarely to think it over.
Until the next rime. ·
Do you believe in God? Of course not,
or you wouldn't be here.
People who believe in God don't
stand around looking at the vista -
that is to say, pretending they are
looking at the vista, and waiting
for the drama to unfold.
People who believe in God pray,
right? Pray constantly.
·Take œn minutes off to eat a pizza.
Are you kidding?
Ten minutes off to look at the sunset?
Are you kidding?
That's why you're here, seven paces from the toiler
under the golden sky -
see how it changes just at the edge to blue;
the cule of complementaries they say;
bullshit, 1 say; the largest part is
modulated gold, and just at the edge
there is blue; period -
' Notice chat even the landscape itself
looks worn. I don't mean the road.
ln my opinion they do
pretty well at keeping up the road.
I mean the landscape and the
feeling rhat it gives you.
So many people have looked at it before.
So many people have felt these feelings.
Do you have a ticket?
Yes
May I see it?
SCENE FIVE
THE AIRLINE TICKET COUNTER
Linda goes by the name of CARLA; The Agent at The
Airline Ticket Counter (Don) 1s named CARLO
and, if there is a God, prayer is sufficient.
And it is impossible to conceive, Yes
Thar' s why you' re here, seven paces from the toilet
is ir not, thar your feeling - The ticket says rhar it was issued as one of two.
under the golden sky,
I mean, the feeling that you have now; Yes.
ralking to a creep in whose name
God knows, we cannot "possess" The ticket says that you came here wirh your husband.
the van owned in common law by
feelings; that figure of speech Yes.
the Unimporrant Family is registered -
is just a convenience - Where is your husband?
because you don't believe in God,
is yours uniquely or, to involve He is not here.
else you would pray consrandy,
rime in the concept, yours alone. Why is he not here?
and rhar would be sufficient.
So, here we are at the airport, He stayed behind.
This ride is uncomfortable, I know.
where we must part. Good luck ttying to Ordinarily we would not honor such a ticket.
T ry as I will to keep things up to date -
use your ticket. We would help you l understand.
I mean the van, as we call ir,
if we could, but probably But today is a special day.
the stereo cassette player wich its
it would only make things worse. l know.
four loudspeakers placed
So, we will leave you and have our ice-cream, So we will honpr the ticket.
around the enclosure,
and you will leave us for whatever Thankyou.
each separacely controlled for
your destination is, and, Do you have baggage?
ideal balance of the sound
God willing, we will meet again No.
among the passengers wich the
under less dramatic circumsrance. Where is your baggage?
sole exception that the ideal balance
lt is with my husband.
does not include the possibility of
REACHES THE AIRPORT, FINALLY. Why is it with your husband?
no sound at all for one passenger,
GOES TO THE COUNTER AND UNDERGOES Because he went ahead.
if any orher passenger wants or
QUEST!ON!NG. WONDF.RS WHY SHE THINKS OF Why did he go ahead?
needs a sound,
HERSELF AS CARLA. SOUNDS LIKE A ln order to leave me behind.
rhe fuzzy seat covers washed almosc
NAME FOR A SPY. YOU'RE READING THE Why did he leave you behind?
monthly by the wife, and the air-condirioner -
PAPERS TOO MUCH, LINDA. He had to leave urgent/y.
there is a certain wornness about it, 10
What is the reason for such urgency?
and this wornness makes the
His reasons are his own.
passenger uncomfortable,
Do you refuse to tell me the reason?
reminding hirn or her that chis
No.
event is probably not unique.
Whac is the reason?
-----~
 T
Another person. No. of complacency is too complicated to He would never go out after dinner to buy a pack of
Is that person a woman? How is rhat possible? go into here, except to remark that cigarettes and not return. His imagination is
Yes. rhere is some connection berween the rhreat and bigger than that. But we crossed the threshold
The ticket says that you have rented a car. SCENE SIX the continuing illusion of stability and and a solution to the difficulties of rhat
Yes. THE INDIFFERENCE TEXT reality, which illusion is so valuable to us ail. situation had to corne about. He had corne to be -
Do you have the rented car to rerurn at this rime? Linda l have driven my husband from me by my I speak, of course, from my singular "point of view"
No. . complacency and my indifference. The moment of (as people say). There are things we can never
To ail appearances I am complacent and indifferent. his deparrure, which was inevitable, is of understand, rhoughts that we can never have -
Why do you not have the rented car to return?
Thar is, 1 appear ta be complacent and indifferent. litde consequence, except for the drama - which too much like me, too much of me. Before,
My husband returned it.
And, in fact, 1 am complacent in that I am purports to teach us something. My husband it had been mysterious, exotic; he had a
Do you know that as a certainty?
indifferent to appearances. My apparent indifference is embarked upon an adventure of the mind - language of his own, apart, leaving me
No.
and my apparent complacency would seem to be if l may use that word. lnevitably, "free" - if rhere is any meaning to that word -
Why do you believe that he returned it?
the result of my position in the social world. his partner in the adventure would be another woman - free to sec the world in him, free to learn,
Because he went ahead.
I am well-fed. 1 am well-dressed. 1 am, to address the question that is most troubling to you - free ta possess the fact of what is termed
If he has not returned the rented car, your ticket cannot be
to all appearances, without need. No one would challenge else the adventure would not be, precisely, "of the "experience", free of the presence of the mirror.
honored.
me that I do not understand the value of my resources, mind." He has gone to determine if there is Gradually, then, ~e changed himself in my image.
I understand.
that I should have underraken actions that would result continuance apart from the continuance of things. He became me in many parts of himself, because
Will you allow me to determine if the car has been
in waste and make me a burden ta society. ln my complacency I have but litde respect we are not strong enough to behave orherwisc. He became
rerurned?
These ourward manifestations, these appearances, for the purpose ofhis adventure. My me, because I am a woman - as l became him,
Yes.
show nothing about my- if l may use the word - attention is ta the chings of this world because he is a man - and my particular womanness
The car has been returned.
spiritual or my intellectual well-being, and precisely ta the order of things in him got to be as unbearable to me
I know.
though commonly they are taken to do so. - to their social value apart as, certainly, ir-is unbearable to him.
We will honor the ticket.
Our common experience is rhat spiritual from immaterial continuance. We all resent, 1 believe, imitations of ourselves.
Thankyou.
or intellecrual degeneration cannot take place Another answer ta your stupid question is I have heard, or I imagine I have heard, that
You have neither baggage nor the rented car.
without outward manifestations. Our common that inevitably we had to part, for some in other parts of the world - among other peoples -
Yes.
experience is that beggars on the street or period of rime, as the result of having this is not truc, that among some peoples of the world
This is a rather unusual situation.
madmen who rant and tear their dothing become more alike, more like each other. imitation is not resented. I don't believe it.
I know.
should not,be approached except in acts of Apparently, at some moment in the recenc past Thar idea seems to me to be wha'r the Viennese called
Where were you wnen your husband left?
défense of sociery. .So, my indifference is . we crossed the threshold of tolerable "wishful thinking." lt hardly matters, does it? Our
I was in the toi/et at the turn-ojf
different from the indifference of the beggar or similarity. Thar that moment- the moment of case could be particular in the extreme and still
You wem to rhe toilet building and your husband lefr you?
the madman. My indifference is wedded to complacency, crossing the threshold - should corne in a form you and 1, here at the ticket counter, would have corne to
Yes.
and complacency is reassuring at all rimes, rhat seems dramatic to you, that understand it for ourselves. No that's not truc. Were it
He took your baggage and the rented car?
Yes.
signifying as it does, the stability and
reality of the things of this world.
., it should corne while I am in a toiler in particular in the extreme l would be exiled from the
He left urgently to mèet another person? the middle of a desert, is more acceptable to me, community. lt's not particular. lt's common. 1 came to
Thus, you have honored my ticket, which certainly more generous on his part, more friendly, dislike the image of myself in him. How can we conceal our
Yes.
you should not have had I appeared before you because it is dearer and, thus, more humorous, feelings? Enchantment lefr. Separation grew in us, a
Thar person is a woman?
as a beggar or as a madman. more human than had it corne hidden, ambiguous, pact becween us. lt' s my feeling rhat I drave him out, in
Yes.
The irony of the threatening aspect timid and without confidence in me. order again to acquire facts from the material world,
You are angry and jealous.
which acr of acquisition was blocked for me by his No.
,~- No, George, there is your mother, my mother and and for how long: immediatdy, tcn minutes Laer ar the
presence. I wish I could help yoo. birrh control. end of the day, forcvcr? No, the trick of memory, or the
No. These are three reasons why we should not get married. dance
INSERT END OF SCl:NE F1vr. Of course. I have a car with a rumble seat. Iris better than the car of of mcmory, as wc say, mcaning the same thing, is in the
Yes. your positioning of the information. The dance of memory is
Will you see him again?
Goodbye. brother-in-law. Iris better than the car of your brother just that,
Without a doubt.
ON THF TH/RD CAU SHT:~' who assures us rhar he is nor inreresred in driving. Iris and music is the rehearsal of that dance. Do you follow?)
Have a good trip-Carla
TOLD THAT DON HAS BEEN SEJ:,N better You made a point or rwo diar l could bear to hear again.
Thank you. (What')
ON THE ROAD W!TH FJ,FANOR. than the car of your brorhcr, who modcsrly allows rhar, for ln rap dancing one retraces. Thac's why
SCENE SEVEN
AND TALK LOCALLY 15 THAT THEY'RE the rime being we are so often seen looking down. The observer
BACK HOME SOME DAYS SHE HEADED FOR MEXICO .. ail rhings of his marriage are the property of his wife, rhinks rhar wc arc looking down in order to keep rhings
PRETENDS SHE'S SOMEONE ELSE MORE OF THIS I..ATFR. in order rhar her mother's future is secure. Iris better right for the observer. T o prevent error.
LINDA AND CHORUS Hello. than the car of your brorher, who runs around with the The observer bas never seen whar rhc dancer sees
No. daughter looking down, or the observer wouldn't think that.
(LINDA ON THE TELEPHONt) Weil,. of the sofa-sruffing family, amazing as she is. The world moves on the air of music. There's nothing
Hello. Yes. Iris better than the car most people will ever ride in. like it. It's the only thing wc had bcforc
No. Yes. Another reason, Georg~, is your background. Or automobiles as four-dimensional.
I mean, no, ir' s nor she. Really. my background. We seem to see things so differently. L!N!JA Sff;'S JHL
No. No. My family is Payne and, though I am sure thcy merely CON!!:NIS or HU( PURSF
No. I can't say l'm exactly surprised. changed it from meaning bread, because that's the way the IN RFTROSP!:'CT
Wrong again. No. Officer
No. Of course. saw it, srill words would be useless, if SCENE N1NE-

Well, it's not exactly charming. Yes. the sound were not the meaning, and so l live in Payne, THE CONTENTS OF HER PURSE
No. Goodbye. ro make a silly joke, I am, as it were, inside of Payne, LINDA, MR PAYNE AND CHORUS

Of course. and from rhar perspective I ask you ro reconsider, to

SCl::.NE EIGHl This is the kind of talk
Yes. remember
flNALLY, SHE STARTS SEEING thar gor me rhrough.
Goodbye. rhar my origins suggest a certain skill in providing,
MR. PAYNE, AN ITALIAN MAN, Iris so full of somerhing or other -
BACK HOME as in to provide, that a person would not be named bread
WHO TAP DANCES li trie injections of regret:
SOME DAY, and have in him a characrerisric inability ro provîde.
MR. PAYNE, LINDA AND CHORUS "amazing as she is"
SHE PRETENDS Another reason, George, is your name. There are
"to make a sil/y joke"
SHE's SOMEONE customs
FtNALLY, SHF STARTS SF.F!NG "as it were"
HSE. in my family about how men should 1e named.
MR. GEORGE PAYNE "as in to pro vide"
Hello. -,. George is practically unheard of. They w<,mld never
AN lf AL/AN MAN "as you know"
No. ger it srraight. Do you know what I mean~ .
Wuo TAP DANCES "but they are wrong"
I mean, no, ir's nor she. fu you know, ail rap dancers :ue named George. Ir means
(MR. PAVNC AND LiNDA 5PEAKING) "as wesay"
No. "lighthearred." ln tap dancing one retraces. (Rehearses is
lt is so ..
No. the word they use, but they are wrong, trapped in the firsr
lt i~ too big to have been thought out.
She hasn't been at this number in some time. stage or first test of memory; how many syllables

··----·---------------------~
Detail upon detail.
Never repeating itself.
lt agitates the air.
I heard it beside me, first -
THIS IS LINDA SPEAKING.
as the Airline Ticket Counter agent questioncd me.
How can we conceal our feelings?
Enchamment lefr.
Separation grcw in us.
I heard myself saying these things to a strangcr.
l was almost in tears.
Then I heard him beside me,
speaking ta me:
The Indifférence Speech, naturally, doesn 't impress
me at ail. You hear that stufj'all the time.
I couldn't bclieve it.
I was almost in tears.
And this guy had stopped ro insulr me.
!iJGHT Ar !HE AIRLINF T!<.Kf I CouNTEII.
I dropped my pursc.
Everyching came out.
And chat was everything.
Everything else gone you know where.
And whac' s left scattered ail ovcr rhe terra-cotta.
And this guy is saying about my lndifference Speech,
You hear that stuffail the time.
And then he rook me by the arm.
I was about to fall on my knees.
You know how women are made ro act silly in ail thosc
srupid films. 1 hadn'r made a move.
I was waiting for my hearr ro break.
I saw mysclf scrambling around on rhe floor,
trying to pick up all chat precious trash.
And then I felt his hand on my arm,
and the picrure disappeared.
Everything chat had gone wrong in my life up to that
moment
disappeared. 1 lost the past of problems -
like some sort of royalty.
And then I watched the Airline Ticket Counter Agent
corne out
from behind the counter, right over the luggage scales,
clumsily, and ~tare picking up my things.
HL WAS NOT IN A (,'()0/J MOOlJ.
He hadn't intended ro do what be did.
But he found himself picking up my things,
and apologizing.
I had the feeling that Mr. Payne had just taken conrrol of
the
idea rhar f had projected wirh me in Ît
and crased it and corne up with a ncw one rhat had the
Airline
Ticket Counter Agent picking up my things.
This uncanny feeling came to me more rhan once, when
wc were together. He would rcarrange things,
as if in the power of his imagination. No, obviously-
or, I should say that now ir's obvious, remembcring rhat
cxperience of the intensity being directed,
of things being moved around,_ being arranged
according to some plan, it is obvious
what had happened, it is obvious why my things were
on the terra-cotta, it is obvious why l dropped
my purse - he memorized the contents.
Why? 1 asked mysclf so many rimes.
Why did he need ro know' Why, with his commanding
presencc,
was the theater of the "accident" requircd,
the drama of the tears that had ta corne inevicably?
Why not just make friends and ask?
OR, IN THE STYLE OF THE Sf:CRFT Jl(,'!:NI;
MAKE FRIFNOS, JlNJJ, THFN AT THE R!G!!T MOMENJ;
OPbV '/HL /'UR.SE AND STU/JY.
Why involve so many unknowns? One hesitates CO
in his case, imponderables.
Anyway, I learned this power of his only later.
First, rhcrc was the tangible magic of bis
presence. We sat togerher on the plane. Whcre the great dams are and who made chem and what
Bravely, 1 had recovcred poise. they do.
This was just hours after Ancient migrations, no problem.
I had emerged from the moment of the parting Whcnce and where from the past in such
cq look at the desert of the setting sun detail and with such understanding
alone. thar the past became indistinguishable,
When I told him this later, magically, from the future.
when I rold him what had happencd ro me, And then we landed.
and I was going on just about this way And I pretended I was headed -
and with these words, home - to something.
he said, "lt's always setting." And rhen after a decent period
He knew everything. le was or !)AYS
as if he had memorized the contents of a vesse! OF Wk'FK.\
that had in it all of...experience. Of MONTHS
we talked about everything. 1 thought the reason was WHJlJEVER,
mine. he called, and
I thought that having found him out - we dropped the pretcnsc,
a persan who wanted to know everyching and-
- 1 had found a weakness. Why do we do that' We droppcd the pretense.
And so I decided ro talk about - everything. And.
I moved the conversation pointer What happened then?
as fast as I could. WHLRI:: HAVJ;' THOSE DAYS (;(JN/!?
Overconfidence, they used to cal! it. I have forgotten and
He, brought this out in people. he showed me how - never co forger.
Thë - uhn - predator It begar as a game berween us.
bas the victim in sight. I wonder what Let me gu,ess what's in your purse.
it would be like co play tennis with one of the great ones For everything I get right I get a kiss.
- \vho had decided ro make the returns all playable. l'i! bet a dozen, which is modular.
We talked about everything, We made a picnic, the two of us
and everything was there in place. on a Sunday afternoon in the shade
AnjAlexandrian libtary of a box-eider near the river.
for 1one persan ac a rime. I asked him why we rook
MUST BF READ H!:RE. No CHECKOUTS. his precious Sunday afternoon of golf.
No EXCEPTIOIVS. 1 got drunk on the abundance. He said that we should marry.
say, Ball bearings, no problem. l could learn to play golf. And we could
A hiscory of ball bearings in a few sentences. spend every Sunday afternoon together,
_I As if from scripture.
E!ectrica! power, no problem.
forever. I think hc said,
"... TH!IOUG/f FTFIINf'l'Y. "I said I didn't think that
I could learn co play golf. He said,
"lt's just like what's in your purse.
"fts the same thing. lt nmls
"going over now and then to make sure
"it's ail there. That's the only reason
"we do it. The scale is diffèrent, but
"thats al/. Every position
"over the who!e course,
"consideration,
''as a jàct. On a certain
"Sunday we retrace a certain number,
"more or Jess. That collection
"is a foct - a larger jàct
"composed ofsmaller fiuts,
''and to play golf with enjoyment
"each larger jàct
''and ail ofthe smaller fàcts
"must be remembered
"as
"in
"wander around in uncertainty, as if
"the game were mostly chance, as if the
"responsibility were too big to bear, and - "
If I knew more about the way we express things
ta each orher, maybe I could finally undersrand
and explain bis - "and - "
"AND-"
As if leaping früm one star
co another. "and -
''finally the accumulation ofexacc
"experiences, remembered
"exact/y, becomes wisdom,
"even before al/ of the infinite possibilities
"have been exh1wsted, and -
discover that the wisdom,
other
''You can use it in
"To know every jàct ofgolf ( :ompare it to the pattern. If you want to srart over again, that's your business,
"in the experience ofplaying it And, then, but you'll have to do it larer, once you've setcled.
"is to know 1nonths later, you can bet If I gec into chat kind of thing here, nobody will ger
"with the same certainty kisses that you know it all. through.
"how people beget people, how the car l 'hat evening, having Everybody trying co figure out whar chey want to be called,
"with the rumble seat is made to run and ""' played golf, can you imagine?
"what's in your purse, JOr insttmce." M r. Payne took Junior, J r. lt's Flat-Tire. That's the best I can do. Plcasc.
I was a little frightened. .111d me to supper She pauses. (SOTTO VOCF, LINDA) Offers pasta.
Did J dare suggcst rhat he knew what was in my purse, .ll his mother' s bouse. Mostly I am glad that we came in by the eastern route,
from the very beginning? where Payne was allowed.
Then, it occurred tome, l'I IAT EVCNING HAVING Only rarcly I am not.
finally- \'( H Pu\YED GOLF (UMMMMM)
1 mcan, finally, 1 got it, MIC PAYNE TOOK JUNIOR, JR. What is the reason
and the fear went away- \ND LINDA TO SUPPER for serving pasta
that, if my purse had changed its contents \ 1 HIS MOTHER'S HOUSE. at every meal?
_how man y rimes After years of experience -·· and this goes back to
SCENE ÎFN
sincc the moment at the Airline Ticket Counter, rimes before my rime or my mother's rime,
SUPPER WITH MR. PAYNE'S MOTHER
he would be betting kisses I am not sure about che beginning,
MR PAYNt'S MOTHER/LINDA AND CHORUS
ON Tif[;' PAST !ŒCA/'iUHJ:JJ probably it is lost in rime - it was discovered
1
only in a snap shot memory. How is it that (SLOWLY TO MAKE THE WORIJS chat proper weight keeping finally
So, the purse had fallcn at the Airline UNDERSTANDABLJ:) with the name of Payne has to abandon all external measures.
Ticket Counter, in order that we could you serve pasta at every meaP (Sono VOC'E, LINDA) followed by quick glance at
get to know each other quickly, and bath of I t iS because we immigrated by the eastern route. Junior, Jr., who has
us were at fault, finally, My child, full grown now, who has brought you here to corne along roday,and who bas corne abruptly to
for why it fcll. ,upper, attention,
The golf course, .tnd J, alone after bis father's dearh, came in from the east. almost as if anticipacing where the argument is headed.
the contents of the purse l lad we corne in by the southern route, the mcaning of the The first responsibility in eating is to measuee
and the infinitely complicated ,mmd calorie value to the immediate future.
recircling retracking - due to the typically southern way wirh vowels - Allowing roughly five hours for sleep, the rest of the
rerracing but final!y I ranslares, as they do at the southern entrance,
clay can be divided in to periods of three houes each.
fini te series of points 10 Flat-Tire, as in Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and such.
The discovery that l mentioned is that three hours
on the route of rhe car with the rumble seac What is your name? - you give the sound - The Officer is just about the longest average time that any of us can
indeed had a common pattern, replies: You shall be called Flat-Tire. Next please. look ahead. So, it is possible to figure out
and to know one was to know them ail, But, Officer, Flat-Tire is so different from the meaning, how many calories will be needed for the next three houes,
in every moment of the ever changing world. which is to provide. Please reconsider. The Officer replies: and, since pasta is a constant measure,
As IDNC,' AS VOU HAVF A P!.!ICE TO STAR/: You can keep the dash and pretcnd it's English. approximately 300 calories per cup, with sauce,
Stan at the Airline Ticket Counter. Were not going to call you Payne, if that' s what you want. eat no more than necessary.
Take a reading. We don't like for our children to hear those sounds. The importance of pasta is the importance of a standard.
With training one can learn to know to within
ten calories how much one bas eaten.
(UMMMMM)
Is there an advancage to this
way oflife in which pasta
is eaten ac every meal?
k I said, ir is the perfecr dier. Thar is
important to us, because - the habit of dancing
runs deeply in this family. And, finally, the
heroism of dancing in a heavy body is forgorren.
Of course, age and the dignity of age play a
part in rhis, too. One encourages cap dancing
up ro a certain point. The reasons must be obvious.
Where ta stop is a question of dignity. The sense of
the importance of a good family, the importance of
caution in one' s behavior, cornes from the need ro
keep the image of digniry important in the family.
A quick glance at Mr. Payne, who is alternately
absorbed in thought - and rigidly attentive.
I am reminded of a large cat. (Sono VOCE, LINDA)
Ballroom dancing can go on forever, of course.
One never tires of the gracefulness of abstinence.
Tap dancing, beyond a certain point, bas roo much of
self-gratification about it. Beyond a certain point,
tap dancing works against sociery in many ways.
Self-gratification is one: wasre.
Nirrogen intoxication is another: uselessness.
Contagion, the social networks filled wirh ephemeral
information, is another: confusion. There are
many reasons. 1 prefer to think of the marrer as closed.
CLOSED ff 15.
Now LET~}UMP AHEAD INTIME.
GJVE OURSELVES RELIEF FROM ALL THIS -
QUE5710NING.
fMAGINE]UNIOR, ]R. YEARS J.ATER
(CHANGED HIS NAMt; OF COURSé!)
IMAGINE HES THE PRESIDENT, JUST RETIRED, OF
SOME HUGE CORPORA TJON.
]UST RETIRFD, HE REMIN/SUS.
SCENE ELEVEN
HE TRIES TO TEACH JUNIOR, jR.
TO PLAY GOLF LEFT HANDED
JUNIOR, JR., MR. PAYNE AND CHORUS
Disrrust in me of foreign things
- THIS !S]UN!()R, ]R. SPEAKJNG-
made it impossible frorn the start.
I loved the two-roned shoes.
I lovcd rhe bag.
I loved the names,
the angles of the face places,
the idea of the special purpose clubs
sheathed until the moments when they are
precisely needed. 1 loved ic ail, bue ..
THIS 15 JHJ:.' MJ::ANING OF REGREJ~
THE WSGUJSED JONE OF
IMPATltNCE IN HIS VOICE.
We stand there in rhe quack grass,
unrendcd front yard. Tries to teach me
how it get it off the ground at least.
I will not suddenly catch on arid smack one
rhrough the box-elders inca the traffic.
AF!ùlll) OF JHE SUN, HE TH!NKS TO fl!MSELF.
Too confident absolutely in himself,
the expensive sweaters, the two-toned shoes,
the dark hair swçpt back neat,
the smell of cigarettes, the knowledge chat
tomorrow in the presence of the boys and girls,
in the presence of their morhers
he will dance again. HOW !T~Ç DONE.
Roman tic place in town, waiting there,
paid for by the mon th by dancing.
T oo confident absolucely in himself,
dancing, a roadster with a rumble sear,
to think even for a moment thar
distrust in me of foreign rhings
is a disrrusr of himself, not
fear of golf lefc handed,
k.11 of free lance living.
/ 111, IS THE MEAN!NG OF REGRET.
11\l'y seek security, Mom and Dad,
\l'('k it so that I do as a child
w1t hout knowing rhar I seek ir, what I seek.
H< 1v child turned extremist,
l1.11dy a decade, recenrly abandoned,
.1~ r.1rnesrly desires security
.,, ,t /csuit, living wildly
111 11nagination only, within
~1111 t secure limits of security,
1ïH (111nters a man who lives
n11111rh ta month by dancing.
1.1p :tnd ballroom dancing. His studio
.1 1< ,mamie place in town. (The Arcade,
,,., mormous gallery, jilled with people,
l,g/,1 filtered through the glass above,
111,0 stories high, a block long,
11•,tll()ut rain, perfect temperature forever
,111 irone pavements made beautijùl with use.
1 ,,11hedral, secular, just big enough.
N11)1/ll chambers on the second jloor.
\n rd stairways, go!d lettered windows,
/,,, 1-,·d doors. The studio itse/f
1•,/11 hardwood, perfect in tongue and groove,
t/ likes of which, etcetera. The Arcade
1(
l•uilder, Worth, knew what he was up to.)
Now dancers every day rhere,
1,111xy children, mother vicarious,
1\1 cpt weekends. Sarurday market.
\X1 dd flowers. Fear of mushrooms.
I orrîgn things. From farmers,
1H1ions for the married sister.
f )If. GEORGE, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE.
11.cn, Sundays, lefc handed golf,
I IH" Country Club. Businessmen.
N11rthern stock. This country needs
1, " dancing. Right handed golf.
Credit Gad for good government.
Social Security enacted. Y'HAVE JO
PUT SOMEJ'HJNG IN TO GET SOMETH!NG OUT.
Years lacer, evenings, 1,
Junior, Jr., see him.
The drugstore with music.
The bookrack, English self-caught.
Well-dressed, of course. Stopped smoking.
Sometimes he doesn't know me.
Remembers, but doesn't know me.
Elegancly cordial, when he does.
I srudied with this man one cime.
Tried co teach me golflefc handed.
Tried to teach me living
month to month by dancing. lnsread,
lcarncd whar I knew already. Love for
good government. Social Security.
He's only cordial. Little wonder.
To HONOR MR. PAYNE,
WE'LL LET H!M DESCR!BE THE NEXT SCENE.
MR. PAYNE, JT's ALL YOURS.
Weil, lets just say it didn 't
work out. She danced away.
I stopped calling. So!tl the car.
She likes loneliness. She will
spend her days in loneliness.
lt's written.
SCtNf- ÎWH VF
A MOMENT (VERY LATE) IN AN
ALL·NIGHT DELICATESSEN
ÎHE NARRAlOR, LINDA AND CHORUS
Abrupcly we have moved ahead in cime.
She is not particularly older,
but she is noticeably changed.
The cime is evening, very lare.
Whom she is calking co
is out of sight. Hidden,
but near. She speaks sofdy
and with force. We warch.
And they are watching.
You don't hear me.
I try to tell you.
You don't lïscen.
You couldn't understand,
if you could hear me.
This person's aunt.
Thar persan' s brocher.
The girls at the office.
That'sit.
lt'll change.
People say so.
Wirh eye contact.
!T CAN'T BE THAT BAD.
CHANGE 15 GRADUAL.
PROGRESS TO BE NOTICED SOON.
What do I care?
Look at the cime.
This is Linda speaking.
Beyond her in the aisle
four or five people
secretly drunk,
the joy of char moment
when the alcohol cakes over,
notice she's distressed,
beckon silenrly to ber
to leave with them. Oh,
how we misunderscand.
I END OF Acr I
5CFNF Î-1-IIRTEEN
THE BIG CITY
(BUT ÔNLY As IF IN A DREAM)
Now ELE'ANOR AND CHORUS
THIS ACT
SPEAKING GENERAU.Y
IS ABOUT - UHN -
PUBLIC OPINION. BUT, OF COURSE,
ONLY AS IF IN A DREAM.
She gets a call from the ciry.
EVERYTHING HAS STARTED TO GO R!GHJ'.
Stronger for what she's been rhrough.
APPROACHING THE AGE OF PERFECTION.
The future no longer a burden.
LEAVE EVERYTHINC BéHIND.
Hang no regrets in the doser.
BACK TO H!Gll HEELS AND FR!éNDS.
Speak sharply if I disagree.
(UMMMMM)
About now the radio stations ,
5TART ?LAYJNG A SONG W!TH A MESSAGE.
She disagrees with the moral
(WHEN THE WORDS CAN BE UNDERSTOOD.)
But the song has something for her in it.
THEMES o'p MIGRATION AND CHANGE.
A positive negative feeling.
NATURE CORRUPTED AND THRIVINC.
On irony, language and greed.
(UMMMMM)
Here corne Tarzan.
Look at that suntan.
He's a big swinger.
J He got a wifè an'
Her name Jane an'
She sa humdinger.
They gota son an'
He name Boy an'
l /1·; a gunslinger They got a thing that s
/ 111;n 'in a tree an' Very selective.
llopin'to bea Lotta fine clothes an '
Noi"k and roll singer Three or four cars an'
//.iNG!N' AROUNIJ W!TH THE APES ALL DAY. A private detective.
\\''IIATA WAY TG RA/SE A FA-MG-LY. To guard ail the things that
t Jiœ day here come Tarzan regard as
fo10 that jungle A social Corrective.
:1 movie director. HANG!N'AROUND W!TH THEAPESALL lJAY.
Il,· see Tarzan WHAT A WAYTO RA/SE A FA-MO-LY.
I 1()/n' his thing an'
Like ail ofthe rest ofus,
Jfr quite ajfected
Tarzan and Jane sometime
l /1· frlJ Tarzan Peel sentimental
/ f,l/le a cigar, man.
The pool is cool but
) '1111 been selected
The jlow is slow an'
) i)// represent that
The drain 's temperamental
( h1t element that The neighbors are animais,
, ;111 't be corrected Strange in their ways,
/ f.lNGIN' AROUND WITH THE APES AI.!. DAY. Whose troubles are mental
\\'IIAT A WAY T0 RA/SE A FA-MO-LY. Oh, bring it back, please,
1;,,.zan and Jane sign
The house in the trees an '
I If' with the man for
The breeze sweet and gentle.
\omf' compensation.
HANGJN' ARUUND W!TH THE APES ALL DA Y.
I ""k up the hut an ' WHAT A WAYTO RA/SE A fA-MO-LY.
\\",ish up the boy an'
The song stays on the air for some weeks, infecting
/ nive ftom the station.
Almost everyone. If Ît is not so good in
I ;,kin 'their thing to
The world capital of civilization, where is it good?
/ /,,, world capital of
Celebrities continue to die of disappointment.
r ·,flilization.
The very poor continue to die of hunger.
/lopin' to achieve, if The unrecognized continue to die of striving.
l ·ou can believe self-
And in the meantime, as if in a dream, the parties go on
N1"11lization. Almost nighdy in the ciry. At a party one drinks cautiously,
//1!NGJN' AROUND WITH THE A?ES Al.L DAY. Avoids the room where the heavy smokers have gathered,
WIIAT A WAY TO RAISE A FA-MO-LY.
Now Boy doin'fine.
( ,·ot a thing goin:
Expresses for the record some degree of vulnerability
In matters of health, habit and desire, tries to be helpful,
Waits inconspicuously, exchanges dreams with strangers.
11t' gone electric.
I ~trzan and Jane, man,
 SCENE FouRrfEN
THE DOCTOR
(ALL THINGS ROLLED INTO ONE)
LINDA AND THE 00CTOR
Last night I dreamed rhar -
Oust a moment, please.)
l'm sorry. Last night I dreamed that - this is a cornmon
dream for me
(A woman, recendy hurt by circumstances, begins her
dream
with the insight chat the dream, itself, which we have not
experienced, remember, is a common dream for her.)
l'm sorry. What I meant was chat last night I dreamed as
I ordinarily do, and I wanted you to know chat the dream
was a common one for me, which I thought you could
noc know unless I rold you.
Oust a moment, please.)
l'm sorry. I dreamed that I was standing in a beautiful
meadow on an almost cloudless day. The meadow seemed to
go on in soft rolling hills almost forever.lt was covered
with early summer flowers. The sun was shining.
Oust a moment, please.)
l'm sorry. The SWl was shining. 1was alone. 1was at peace with
myself It was a rare moment. lt was wichout any foreboding.
(The dream began in foreboding. T o appreciate that the
dream is commonplace even before the dream has begun
is a version of foreboding.)
I' m sorry. There was no foreboding. !fi gave you that
impression, it was a mistake. There was no foreboding.
Thar is the part of the dream that I don't understand.
The moment that is so memorable in the dream came with no
foreboding. Unlike most of the moments in my life.
Oust a moment, please.)
I' m sorry. This is bard for me to explain.
Oust a moment, please.)
l'm sorry. What is bard to explain is that I was taken so
much by
surprise by what happened, and at the very same cime it
seemed so natural.
It was surprising and natural at the same rime.
Oust a moment, please.)
l'm sorry. lt was such a pleasure to be surprised. 1 had
forgotten.
(A woman is shaken by the absolute rariry ofher dream.)
l'm sorry. 1 was standing in a vast meadow chat was, at
the same rime, the front yard of my house. 1 had those
feelings at the same rime. 1 don't remember any details
from the dream that gave me the idea that the meadow was the
front yard of my bouse, but the feeling of the identity
was clear. And I remember it clearly even now.
(The language of describing the dream describes the
foreboding,intentionally or not. The memory of the
dream has no sense
of foreboding. The language describes an image with two
identiries. The memory of the dream reconciles the two.)
l'm sorry. Neither of chose things seemed important tome
compared to the power the dream had over me.
Oust a moment, please.)
l'm sorry. As I was standing in 'the meadow, an airplane
flew over at a great heighr. Ir was an old type of airplane
with a propeller engine. Thar sound is easy to recognize.
I could barely see the airplane, it was so high. But, when I
noticed the sound, the airplane was almosc direcdy
overhead.
The idea of the distance of the airplane is very clear.
(The language for describing the dream is full of
foreboding.)
l'm sorry. 1 don't know any other way to tell the story
of the dream, without telling you why the dream could
surprise me sa and still seem natural.
(The image of the dream has about it the structure of
foreboding.)
I' m sorry. 1'11 go right to the thing that happened in the
dream.
Oust a moment, please.)
l ,n ,orry. Somebody called tome from the airplane. They
,.dled my
11.i111i:. 1 could hear Ît as clearly as if the caller were only a
kw f~et away. But the sound of the call was at a great distance.
l lic ,<,ound of the call came from the airplane.
Oust a moment, please.)
l '111 .,orry. There was a great difference between the sound
1 ,1 1lie call and the sound that I could imagine côming from
il1(· .tirplane, especially because the sound of the airplane
1 111•.mc was so natural
(A woman is distressed by a dream, because the image
of the
dream differs from any image in her experience.)
1'111 \orry. The dream made me very happy, and it was
111(·1norable,
lin <1use it was sa surprising and so natural at the same cime.
(Just a moment, please.)
1·,n ,orry. l'm finished telling about the dream. That's all
ilH·1c was tait.
I w,i, standing in a meadow chat had some kind of
11w.ming chat I could feeL,
1\11 ,1irplane flew over at a great height. A voice called ta me,
, ilkd my name, from the airplane. Ir was all very clear.
(THE DOCTOR)
l lic Offering oflmages, as a spiritual activity,
li.q1laces the impulse to find a persona! vision, an kan.
1\ , ,i spiritual activity ic distracts the individual from
l l1c rask of finding and recognizing a singular, true path.
l l1r Offering of Images categorizes human activity and offers
l l1l' sum of the categories as a sum of possibilities and
/\l1nnatives, each one of which must be equally good and
1 11 ually valid, else the system of categories breaks clown.
1 1kc Modernism, Science and Theater as we know it, the
t lfli.Ting oflmages and Protestanrism, hand in band,
\1c cgalitarian, democratic and communistic.
I lic Offering oflmages is a secular spiritual activity.
I l1c Offering of Images has in our era attached itself
As a spiritual activity to Judaism as a secular corrective
To mysticism and individualism. The Offering of Images is a
Secularization of Judaism, as Protestantism is a
Secularization of Christianity, Modernism is the
secularization
Of taste, Science is the secularization of memory
And Theater as we know it is a secularization of experience.
There are other examples, but you get the idea.
Remember that we have yet ta find a language chat is
common to the Occident
And Orient, except for the language of technology.
Consider, then, the difficulties of speaking to the Fourch
World, the world of
Those who are "different" with a difference that is
independent of geography;
For instance, the mencally different. Secularization
Must exclude the mentally different by definition.
The mentally different share no images with us and they
share no
History with us. The mentally different cannot be Modern.
The mentally different cannot be trusted in Science.
The mentally different cannot appreciate Theater as we
knowit.
One supposes chat other differences than mental differences
Separate the Fourth World from the chree that communicate
With such difficulty now. For instance, feeling.
Suppose for a moment that beginning this instant, while
Nothing in you changès mentally, you el)ter into astate of
Permanent rapture, maybe .not more intense than the
pleasure
You felt standing in the mcadow of your imagination' and·
being
Addressed by name, without the ambiguity of distance, by
Sorne animate being or knowing system in an elevated
position
- to simplify the image a great deal without changing it
Strucrurally- but as intense
And without the encumbrance of the image.
l think this is what is meant by pure bliss. Remember who you are. Stay near help. And don't give up. You' re looking tired. You' re not taking care of yourself. pictures of women (who look like women),
The feeling without the image. You could not be Modern. Eventually, you will corne to pure bliss. The images will 11 lo I look tired? I thought I looked good. He should have What about the pictures?
You could nor be trusted in Science. You could not disappear. '-1Tn me a year ago.) letters to the editor saving the language, comic strips, mast
appreciate Dreams will stop. You won't need me. 11 >o,-s she look tired' She thought she looked good. heads, - then, the order gets blurry.)
Theacer as we know it. You would be in the same relationship THANK YOU, DocTOR. l /1· ,hould have seen her a year ago.) OK, you cail count the pictures, but not the astrology.
To the Real Worlds, One, Two and Three, as ifyou were Nor TOO WELL SAID, BUT SOMETHING. Now, what have you had to car coday? Don'c leave (Saturn: A long day, with a lot ofexcitement. You tend to
Mentally different, and you would never be able to GRANTED IT's A HARD !DEA. anything out. draw attention
communicate to HARD TO EXPRESS AND FAR FROM REASSURING. Even a cup of coffee counts. to yourse/f
Those worlds that while inrent upon a state of permanent BUT WÜL KEEP YOUR CARD ON HLE. }UST IN CASE. l hrrc was my alarm radio. I left the music on for about What about the flowers you-ga.ve me? What about the smells?
rapcure, 1w1·nty minutes, Take chances, but be prepared for a hard knock or two.)
SCENE f1FTEEN
You are mentally OK. You could doit by reference to the I l1t"11 1wanted co get the weather, I turned it off. If you count smells, you have _to count the bad ones, too.
Dream, but remember you would not have had the dream - THE Gooo LIFE
( \l,t left the music on for about twenty minutes, (Jfyou count smells, you have to count the bad ones, too.)
Mighc not know what dreams were - and to try to LINDA AND HER COMPANION WITH Now ELEANOR
Music has no calories. OK. No smells.
AND JUNIOR, JR.
communicate 1/,,·11 she wanted to get the weather, then she turned it off) Doit as fast as you can. l'll bet you can't get half of them.
Through the image of the dream would reveal the passing But you have to count the toothpaste. (Hal[of what')
l can't imagine why I told that doctor my dream.
nature of your / 1 mt the smell and then the _toothpaste.} The toothpaste.
(She can 't imagine why she told that doctor her dream.)
Rapture. The Fourth World is different from the other 1(u11hpasre ... I got soap in my mourh.
We had just been introduced.
Three, I I oothpaste ... ) One prescription anrihistamine.
(They had just been introduced.)
Otherwise we wouldn't need words at ail, and it is different l 1•,1)! <.;orne soap in my mouth, when I was washing my face. Half a valium.
We might have made friends.
in the words. , \/1<' .~ot some soap in her mouth, when she was washing her face.) Two cups of te~ with nothing.
(They might have made ftiends.)
Now, the problem you will have in dealing with your l'11 ber I can list them for you. Glass of orange juice.
lt was like I was showing him pictures of my family from
dream as a 11 d()rù know about that.) Piece of toast with butter.
mywallet.
Yardstick in you life is that it will fade. The greatest of the Coffee. Two cups of black coffee.
(ft was like she was showing him pictures ofher fomily ftom
Prophecs, Moses, the first Jew we can remember, was 11 ~t, tea.) Two nicotine cigarettes.
her wallet.) 11
Very discouraging about the use of images. He thought that First, tea. Small amount of cocaine.
Fourteen dollars and twenty-eight cents for your
Any attempt to animate the world in one's imagination, to !More caffeine.) (By mouth, now. Wish I could go back to the real way,
thoughts, Linda.
give it 'roast with butter. One nicotine cigarette.
I' m sorry. 1 was day-dreaming.
Any meaning at ail, is a big mistake. If you, for instance, (Shes sorry. She was day-dreaming.) 1( )11c hundred calories.) but thats gone forever. Regret)
think of You're not kidding. l've been sending you signais for Orange juice. Toothpaste.
Dogs as "little" because they are smaller than you think r / lus is sixteen hours ago.) Trace of mouthwash.
the last five minutes.
You are, you have a long way to go before you rest. Your morning cigarette. Four cigarettes.
(Hes been sending her signais for the fast five minutes.)
Traditionally, when imagination becomes too strong, lf'.1y morning cigarette.) Black coffee
I was rhinking about that Doctor I met at the parry last
Cultures resort ro very strong chemical treatments, / h· newspaper. Part of a sweet roll.
night.
Usually from the vegetable world, to burn off the waste, 1 / l/'f1dlines, pictures, astrology, recipes with guilt, Three nicotine cigarettes.
(She was thinking about that Doctor she met at the party fast
Which is where the imagination arises. 1 think You can only count what you put in your body. Parc of a marijuana cigarette.
night.}
You must do some of that. Don't be frightened of the first ;•1, tures ofworld leaders, main/y men and women who look One nicotine cigarette.
And you know what he wanted!
stage, ld:t men, Glass of red wine.
(Does she know what he wanted!)
In which the imagination is purposely inflamed. II 1 .111 only count whar I pur in my body.) Two slices of French bread, with butter.
Sorne eggs cooked in milk and flour with small pieces of I could give ic to you now and you could do it in the Not any more. She walks past the table ahead of her companion.
vegetables almost tao small to count. bathroom. I Not any more.} As he starrs to walk past the same spot,
(But then what about the flavors' Why are they there!) No thanks. $CENE FIFTEEN INTERRUPTEO
the man at the table leans back suddenly,
Sorne lettuce with some kind of oil, cheap olive oil and (Men give drugs to women.) knocking him into a persan at a third table. Much laughcer.
vinegar and garlic. What happens when you get home? SCENE SIXTEEN Her companion puts the coats he is carrying, his and hers,
Black coffee. Cigarettes. Cup of tea to make me sleep. Maybe some TROUBLE on the nearest chair, and hits the man who leaned into him
One nicotine cigarette. marijuana. Now ELEANOR AND CHORUS more or less in the face. This is what it has been leading
Part of a marijuana cigarette. (The other halfofthe valium. Toothpaste.} up to. Two other men from the table grab her companion
Sorne nicotine cigarettes. Do you think that you could get through a whole day l l11ring this conversation a man seated at another table clumsily. The fourth is laughing loudly. She
Black coffee. on your own? wuh a party of other men has begun attracting notices how much the men are grunting.
A piece of chocolate candy. (Does she think she could. get through a whole day on her own!) lin attention in the crudest kind of way. Other people in the restaurant are talking loudly.
Little bit of cocaïne. Do you mean without prayer? Where do they corne frorn, these guys? Two waiters are there almost immediately.
Sorne nicotine cigarettes. (Does he mean without prayer') What do they do when they're not acting like this? Their authoriry prevails. The man who was
Alcohol and fruit juice. Very funny. Do you pray? l he men are laughing loudly. She and her companion attracting her attention fakes some kind of
.11t· the subject of the jokes. That's obvious. emotion. He calls her ugly n.nnes.
Salry fried things. Do moods count?
{Who can tell anymore.) (Do moods count?) ,lie is afraid of what is hap~ening. There is still pushing and shoving. A woman from
Glass of wine. What do you rnean? another table is talking loudly to the drunken man who
SCENE SiXTEEN INTERRUPTEO
One nicotine cigarette. (What does she mean') started the trouble. He answers her in
(She'll never finish.} Sornetirnes I get in a certain rnood and I think it must be SCENE FIFTEEN vile language. Her companion, then,
A complicated dinner. l can't doit ail. what prayer is like. THE Gooo LIFE (coNnNurn) strikes the drunk very hard and quickly.
(Meat and vegetables, ail kinds ofjlavors, sugar.} (Sometimes she gets in a certain 1?70od, and she thinks that The drunk is obviously hurt. His face is bleeding.
1 ! hink we ought to go now. The other thtee men from the party
Black coffee. must be what prayer is like.)
1\/,e thinks they ought to go now.) talk loudly, but they are afraid.
Nicotine cigarettes. Maybe. l thoug}it you had to actually do something.
I do, tao. Those drunks are making me mad. · Suddenly, there are two policemen in the room.
A small amount of cocaine. (He thought you actually had to do something.)
! lon 't do anything. Just ignore thern. Everybody is surprised:Why are they
(Small amount ofcocaine.} You rnean like get down on your knees?
1\'ht asks him not to do anything. She asks him to ignore here? Wirh so much authority.
This is ail mixed up now. (Does he mean like get down on your knees?)
1/,on.) The drunken men pretend that they are sober.
(Sweet things. Cheese. Wïne. Cigarettes. Part ofa marijuana Weil, maybe. I thought that was the point.
We can pay the waiter on the way.out. But they respond tao quickly ta the policemen
cigarette.} (He thought that was the point.)
/.\lie wants to pay the waiter on the way out. She is hervous. and to the commands. They argue.
Smoke from some powder heaced up that they say is a kind What do you rnean?
Mm acting this way conjùse her.) The younger waiter explains quickly to
of opium. (She wants to know what he means.}
(This is very special. Too expensive far her. And she doesn 't l thought you had to humiliate yourself or something the policemen. He called them earlier. He saw
SCENE FIFTEEN INTERRUPTEO
know who sells it to whom or how it's done.) like that. the trouble coming. There is very little discussion.
SCENE SIXTEEN This is the source of the police authority.
And here we are. (He thought you had to humiliate yourselfor something like
{And here she is and here he is.} that.) TROUBLE (CONTINUED) They have learned not to listen unless they have asked
More black coffee and more sweet chings. I guess I don't pray, then. to be told.
I hcy stand ta go. To walk by the men
(Another cigarette.) (She guesses she doesn 't pray, then.) They are not interested in blame. Before anyone is
l.111ghing at them is the direct way.
When we get back to the car, 1'11 give you some more You do exercises. aware that it has been done they have the names of
l'o rake another path would invite comment. everyone in the restaurant.
cocaïne. (He says she does exercises.)
They have moved the four drunken men to the sidewalk. SCENE SE VEN rf:fN / l11S is as high as I can go Pretends she doesn 't
Another police car arrives, lights f-lashing, but the A PLACE IN THE COUNTRY l l11u1 do you know that you know it? The way she thinks
policemen do not corne Now ELEANOR, THI:- DOCTOR, MR. PAYNE's \lil· visits Europe (parcially business) Now the idea of
into the restaurant. The four drunken men are gone. One MOTHER, WITH LINDA AND JUNIOR, JR. \lw .~ces too much chat reminds ber of home Refage, the idea of
of the policemen l\111 a sense of the pasc is still chere Looking ahead to
speaks briefly to the man who srruck the drunk and hurt She makes a name for herself ac work
//111 is as high as J can go The sun and a pool
She speaks sharply if she disagrees
him. The man looks very l l//lu do you know that you know it? "Wherever she goes
sad. His wife is trying to console him. The waiter explains Attracting respect for her opinions
lb k home she encounters the man from the restaurant she learns the dances
thar the This is as high as l can go
11 ... lcels sympathy and he doesn't know her she learns the language
restaurant does not expect to be paid. The man and How do you know that you know it?
11( \vcars the same brown shirt and rie /aster than anyone"
woman leave quickly, withour She wins a large cash prize in the lottery
! /1/1 is as high as I can go Miami (Cuba)
speaking. The waiter apologi= for what happened. He saw She allows her picture in ail of the papers
l /1111 1 do you know that you know it? Chicago (Germany)
the rrouble coming, bue he didn't know how to stop it. Showing a permanent disbelief
\lit· linally remembers ber companion's name Hollywood (Aztlan)
He called the police. They didn't get here intime. This is as high as l can go
\Il(' lises everything she's clone today Then gone
How do you know that you know it? Oh, well, forger it
1\\I diet and exercise (thoughts for the future)
END OF SCENE SIXTEEN She is trapped wich a man in an elevator
l l,11 is as high as I can go Scrapbooks ftom home
She imagines he looks like her father
I /1111 1 do you know that you know it? Old occupations
SCFNE F1FTEEN T elevision is there when they get out
THE Gooo LIFE (coNT1Nurn)
A craze fbr religion
This is as high as l can go 1\1 REACHED THE END, ALMOST. You CAN READ IT IN Changes her name
How do you know that you know it? 1111 VOICE, NOT TO MENTION WHAT SHE'S
Four nicotine cigarettes. Jesus Brings Happiness
"Approaching the present, rime is compressed , \Ill. So, IMAGINE, NOW, FOR THE NEXT fEW MINUTES, AN
(One leji for tomorrow morning.) Changes it back
Toward an infinite Now, infinitely fast" 111 ll·R WOMAN,
A little bit of brandy.
1
Thinks she sees ~
She tells rhem (Whar an Idea, Linda!) ', 1111 llF.AUTIFUL, SENSE OF WONDER INTACT, Pl.AYING
(/ts always too strong. Why do people drink it?) f'm almost positive
This is as high as l can go liltllH,E WITH FRIENDS,
Marijuana. Tanned (with a mustache!)
How do you know that you know it? 1111 l)AY DREAMING INSEPARABLE FROM THE NARRATIVE, More heavy and serious
End of the cocaïne.
She finally buys an aparrmenr in town Il AS IT IS.
Five grain valium. · 1 1 Careless with urgency
Through a cousin who works in the government N1 l l lCE THAT SHE TRIES TO TELL US ABOUT SOMETHJNG
(Use the broken tab tomorrow.) Troubled (she watches)
- and does real estate on the side 1 ·; 11.'iUAL. AN EXPERIENCE.
Toothpaste. She follows (unthinking)
This is as high as l can go \111 !lOESN'T TELL 1T VERY WELL. THEN A LEITER FROM He disappears
(A foke mint jlavor.)
How do you know that you know it? 1
111 1\ 'iON. THEN WHAT S IN THE CARDS.
ÀND THE TROUBLES ARE PUT AS/DE. She follows, approaches
The picture window reminds her of Don
WELL NOT QU/TE. LET's SA Y PUT He disappears
le looks west toward what could be water SCENE EIGHHl::N
INS!DE. BEST NOT THOUGHT OF. HeSgone
(The best views are ail bought by the Army) HAPPINESS, PROSPERITY AND
BUT THE CITY HAS LOST ITS CHARM.
This is as high as l can go fORGETFULNESS
For a few days she rhinks she should consult with someone
AND WHAT FOLLOWS ISA RECORD OF REWARDS
How do you know that you know it? 1 ·JE CHORUS WITH Now Eu:.ANOR AND LINDA
but these are the kinds of rhings chat when you tell people
WITHOUT SWE'ETNESS. WHAT ELSF JS THERE TO SAY?
She inherits a place in the country
l'l.11·ts better rhac's what you've experienced and thar's what concerns you
She visits once and then purs it in trust
II" the horizon they misundersrand and cake your concern (for your saniry)
"For cousins, Of cousins, From cousins, Forever"
/ /,,, Wanderer (copyright) more seriously than they cake the experience - what it
mighc mean if it were simply faccual and unincerpreted. changes in rune with chem chen she is allowing the tli.u he had been seriously hure. Ir seemed almosc The idea of the perfect machine. Admired.
Those men go out co space in chose liccle capsules wich experience co case a shadow over ocher kinds of chings 11n1maginable tome. lt was clear when I was with him What dues it cake co make one stop looking?
cheir chat are more important co her and that before the experience 111.11 he had co suffer. Thar was written all over him. First, midnight dancing in the arcade cathedral.
brains and cheir imaginations tested for any possible had gone unnociced, unatcended and unexplored. I l,c suffering was there, had probably always been there Pure happiness, if that word rneans anyching.
thing She says co herself whenever she gets trapped now in 111 liim. le must have corne to him and been accepted Then - this is funnier than I thought - Prosperity:
going wrong but they corne back "changed" by the "How many of us are chere" kind of questions h\' him when he was very young. But hurt is different "Gourmet Foods from Around the World (24 houes)."
l1ti1n suffering. lr's a kind ofinsulc. And soit was Finally, the idea of the perfect body. Forgetfulness.
someching and you have to learn co keep your mouch shuc about
chen we stop believing chem and believing in chem someching chat is only a part of you even if it is 11111111aginable that both could be together in one person, You'd think l'd look a little better than I do.
when jusc unusual or chat parc of you will get in the way of ,,nd 1hat that person could endure.
Nc,1 nearest in memory is the guy-whac is his name? SCENE NINE'TEEN
recencly cheir experiences were an ulcimate auchority having the "pleasure" of the other parts.
1'111\ moment! Now! rhis moment! No, now it's THE BRIDGE GAME
for us That's harder than you think because as we ail know
111u l.ne. Ifir's not there, it's never been LINDA, JUNIOR, JR. AND CHORUS
and cheir reports of cheir experiences are all we have. the palaces of the imagination are full of
,1 1i.111 of you. The Doctor tol4 a funny scory about
ln ocher words, ac the moment when you most need help people who have no imagination to speak of. I' d like to read you chis lecter from my son.
, 11u11 who lost his fiancee's name when he was
in the form of belief in the authoricy of your experience - Something happened to them that no one believes. My pride is boundless. le seems so perfect.
the extent of the experience (how it compares to others, ics They have become uncrusrworchy in our eyes. 11111mlucing her to someone ac the announcement party.
The way he has found a life that pleases him.
power) is the very way we measure whecher die experience is We musc convince them char chey are wrong.
1
1ht walked out and refused !O go chrough with
His mind is so clear about whac he calls
someching you might have had or whether it is just something Years pass tl11· 1mrriage. The Doctor was sure chat she had
"reality." No grudge against his father.
you dreamed up and you really need a different kind ofhelp. lts forgotten d111w the right ching, and I asked if he meant
No grudge against his mother, 1 hope. No
l'm almost positive Just forgotten 111.11 1rom a defensive point of view or wherher
trace of something l'\anging in the air about him.
1·1 uI uiuld cake ic from che point of view of jousting,
Butthen Proving that one Where did he learn to dress so well? How did he
Does it change anything Experience 111 wliatever. He didn'r understand my question.
corne by such confidence and poise - after
Whoever it was Among many is l li1 guy I wanted to put nearesc to Mr. Payne,
what he went through? lt makes him very happy.
Did it the same One among many. tl1, l',llY nexc in my life - the nameless one -
Dear Mom, everything is going well.
1 111ild never understand what I was telling him
What I said, though, Learn to play bridge J love the summer in the winter here.
He seemed to know The pleasure ofcompany 11111111 myself. We always scayed up coo lare,
I hope to get a new assignment.
•111< 1 - he could never underscand. Everything
Nosignof- Systems ofmemory The Office has a new, large project.
, 1·,1il could want, except- 1 had co leave.
"recognition " - and (Cards out offocus!} They cal! it by afa mous painter sname.
He seemed to lmow ''How to Remember" \X'l11i is nexr in memory? Oh, yes, my days with
You li read aboutit in the papers.
He was doser than you are M emories shared d11 lounder of The Paris Salon of Beaucy, Inc.
When you do, you 'Il know where I am.
1 ·· 1 .\rn A Reductionist:" By Appointment.)
Three steps away I used to smoke cigarettes That's as muchas J can say.
I saw the sign I used to love olancing ,\ , li.1rming view wich modernistic furnicure and
I meet the most interesting people.
not "recognition" I used to stay up late 1, 1( l\Ct full of French doching in America.
Yesterday it was a man who sells -
Acknowledgement Thengone l11u!',ine chose characters in the doser plotting.
I have to think about the way to say this -
("Which card is the red one!") 11 w .rngry exiles. Their revolution. Thar was
(LINDA) A very common object that we never see.
Thengone du 1nost fun about him and I couldn't tell him.
Nearest of all in memory is Mr. Payne: "it can end
Couldn 't get anywhere without it.
Oh, well, forget it. 11, was a charmer with cerraincy like sunshine.
so suddenly, so completely, and who remembers what Old as the wheel And thats a hint.
I t occurs co her finally chat unless chere are co be !~11il1mg without a reason. Daylighc. No whispers.
the reason was?" 1 heard, much after it had happened,
Sorne ltalians thought aboutit dijferently.
many of these things in her life and the whole life l Iio .11 d a constant whirring motion. High pitched.

ThatS as muchas l can say.
Anyway, we bought thousands of them.
Does that give you an idea?
He S the strangest man J've ever seen.
Didn t care about the Office Project.
Didn 't know the painterS name.
Took the Executive Washroom for two hoursl
Can you imagine? Two hours!
I asked a persan (whose name you know)
Why do we do business with him!
You 'li never guess the answer.
"HF MAKES THE BEST ONES IN THE WORLD."
The common object that we never see.
Two hours in the Executive Washroom.
So what! Disturbs the Office staff
So what' The best ones in the world.
He cal/s his employees, ''My subjects. "
And there sfan nier stujfthan that.
lncredible pictures ofhis family.
We 're in stitches. He S around
A few more days. Then he goes
Offon contract for the Office.
1
À consultation. COD KNOWS WHAT THEY Ll SEE.
The Office has a large-scale project.
I said that, already, didn 't l'
The Project sin my specialty.
Maybe the reason I was hired.
I want to measure the unmeasurable.
Reconcile the incommensurable.
The world could use this.
And I like the painters name.
lt even soumis like success,
ifyou begin with what is -
''silent, as in swimming."
Remember that o!d joke?
Then make the second sound
(FIRST, DROP THE ESS)
broader, as in jàther.
'-.,
l /
/ SCENE TWENTY SCENE TWENTY-ONE
Then, add an oh, as in, say -
NORTH (BERLIN/A TANGO) EAST (RIVER ROUGE)
Regret for a father lost.
CHORUS AND LINDA LINDA AND CHORUS
Thats as muchas I should say.
l'!! write to you again, soon. 11 \./A[!VE AND OF TWOM!NIJS SHE TH!i IJJ(,'C:J:S/' BU/LWNG
Maybe Ill have a permanent address. about the tango records is IN !HE WORI.O
Meantime, use the Office one. 1 \/1,1BOUTNOSTALGJA HERE PAYS ME FIVE A DAY.
Letters get to me eventually. .md in the pauses questions of BRAND NEW SUIT,
Hope your bridge is getting better. Ill'>/'/ C.'TAB!UTY ABOUT C!GAIIHTIEI,
Love, your hardworking Son. noscalgia great distances f DON'T CARE WHA'f YOU SAY.
His specialry is measuring the use of 1, !,\'1,/NGS FEAR AND BRAVERY M!XED WORDS CAN NEVER CHANGF 17'.
energy in what he calls "Unknown Systems." .1rgentina (etcetera) MONEYJMKS.
As far as l can understand it, Ir 111/, ! HE BOY HAS W/LD, YELLOW HAIR, WORK rs HERE TO S7ï1Y.
he thinks about whether humans .t cafe ("everyone's a spy")
could exist on other food than ~ ,./1/ / .V !/AIR, DARK HAIR, LAYERED BANDS OF 5CfNF TWENTY-TWO
what we cal! food. Imagine. r11ceting places in the open SOUTH (CAMPO DEI flORI, ROME)
He thinks vitamins are old-fashioned, , ./,' 1/ t J /'! ' .4 "ADVERTISEMEN!'S LINDA AND CHORUS
but a good idea. 1 take them. ·rt)r music, sir" (not anarchy)
God only knows what he takes. , 11/,'I,'/ r ïS HER ENCL/SH /S HAPPY
I say to them, look, rwemy-eight
I love bis letters, but I can't million, two hundred sevenry-eight thousand,
proud and fearful das gewissen
understand them. He' s so secretive. four hundred sixty-six (the figure
:1 / 1/ 1/ NLY THE MUSIC 15 BACK
But what he can't tell me in this one makes it real!), all facing the same way,
li\tt'n for words now the answer
will be in the papers and on TV t Ill ll/i,'ff DRUMS AGAIN {. .. PROPORT!ON.'i)
arms raised, allow their image to be snapped?
tomorrow. Just wait and see. We're supposed to take that idea
t'Vt'ning the idea of a place
seriously? You must be kidding.
111111\'/), WHERE THE WESTERN OCEAN
AND THAT'S THE END OF LiNDA's STORY. 8UTTHl'VDO.
I\ not far the usefulness of
PLAYINC BRIDGE WITH FRIENDS.
11 111 NON THE HA!R THE BEAUTY
Almost unimaginable. Twenty-eight
SHARING PICTURES FROM THE PAST - million, two hundred sevenry-eight thousand,
glistens something interrupted
TOO COMPLICATED FOR PHOTOGRAPHY. four hundred sixty-six (calculated
1111 !/!IA (A LITTLE WORN, NOW)
simply!), ail facing the same way,
THIS JS THE LAST HAN/J. fr's GETT!NG LATE. I he divided ciry penance
arms raised, allow their image to be snapped.
NORTH: BERi.IN, A TANGO. M!XE/J EMOTIONS. 1·. Il. ,1PART FROM THE !DEA ..
To represent an idea? You can't
EAST: RIVER ROUGE. THE RED RIVHI. THE MOVEMENT. .md watching a tango berlin
believe they could hold still.
SOUTH: CAMPO DEI FIOR! (ROME). EAIILY WARNING. 1 1 \ 1 11' !U:RUNER REMEMBEREIJ
WEST: ATLANTIS, WHERE WHAT CAME BEFORE AND NOW ARE , am a half dollar ich bin
BUT Tl!FV /JO.
I try to tell them. 1 hear others
}OJNED. , 11 1 Il (ARGEN!1NA) ffAR WITH
try to tell them that it' s a big mistake.
h1avery mixed nostalgia
lt's unspeakable. A flash oflight. Twenty-eight
million, two hundred seventy-eight thousand,
four hundred sixty-six (because it
happened once!) could perish in a flash oflight.
'
They deny that they admit the possibility.
BUT THEY DO.
WHATCOMES NEXT IS WHAT WAS FIRST, ORSO THEY SAY.
AS FAR BACK AS WE CAN GO
(AT LEAST ON THIS SYSTEM)
NOTICE THAT WE SPEAKOF IT W!TH AWE. Cover photogmph /~y Rohl'rt Cavalli
AS IF THERE WERE PERFECTION ONCE. THAT's NICE.
ÀND AS IF THERE 15 RENEWAI.. THAT'S NICE, !DO. Linda 's dress courtesy of'Calili,rnia l nstitutl' of rhc Arts
Designer: Christi Il<' Doid
SCENE ÎWENTY-THREE
WEST (ATLANTIS) Makeup by Wayn<' Massardli
LINDA AND CHORUS Libretto editcd hy Mimi John.,011
Sorne islands Design by Jamcs Vi,torl' l k,i!\11 Worb
GONENOW
Thanks to Paul Shorr for audio t1nd mmil"lll hrlp i11 1/,r r,!l"(y 1/'lll"A' on tl"' opm1.
The first among us
TALKED ABOUT

Sorne islands
GONENOW
Safe place for sailors
TALKED ABOUT

Sorne islands
GONENOW
Lost in an instant
TALKED ABOUT

Sorne islands
GONENOW
Still in the papers
TALKED ABOUT

I END OF THE 0PtRA ~]