“TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS”
by OPOVV, ©2016
(Oct. 14, 2016) — ACT I
As the curtain rises we hear “Waltz #2 by Dmitri Shostakovich.” The stage is set at the end of a small wooden dock somewhere in Southeast Asia. It’s bright sunlight. There are ten Navy men and a few Marines just sitting around waiting.
“So we hump all day and what? Sit around and wait? What are we waiting for, anyway? You know what?”
“No, I don’t know what, but I’ve got a feeling you’re going to tell us.”
“Lighten up. We’re all on edge so let’s try and give each other some slack.”
“And who made you choir boy?”
“Knock it off. Look, if you’re going to say it, just say it and get it over with.”
“All right, I will. First I want to say, I don’t care how long it takes me, but when I get out and back into ‘The World,’ I’m going to have people wait on me for a change, okay?”
“What you going to be, Williams, a waiter?”
“Funny. And the second thing: we hightailed it over here and for what?”
“’Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die.’”
“You’re right, of course: there’s no rhyme or reason to any of this insanity.”
“Listen up, men. We just got word that pick-up has been moved to same place, same time, but it’s for tomorrow night, not tonight.”
“And look, it’s almost dark. Why, the closer you get to the equator the faster the sun sets, or seems to; am I right, Lieutenant?”
“You’re right. What do you say we set up some kind of perimeter and I’ll take the first watch with Miller. The smoking lamp is out until dawn.”
The noise of the insects increases as the curtain is lowered.
End of ACT I
ACT II
The curtain rises on the same scene, except it’s dark, to the music of Grieg’s “Piano Concerto II.” There’s a small group of men at the end of the dock jawing.
“So we’re just going to sit here? All night? And then what?”
“Look, we’ve been with the Lieutenant since we were, well, a bunch of know-nothings, see? And we trust him, so just relax and enjoy what life you may have left.”
“Listen to him.”
“So we just sit around and wait?”
“No, we act normal, which for you and everyone else is to go to sleep. Jones and Yours Truly will stand the next watch.”
“Why don’t you guys call it ‘Guard Duty?’ You always call sentry duty a ‘Watch.’ What gives?”
“Because that’s all you can do at sea: watch. Watch water; watch clouds and stars; watch the flying fish and the dolphins. Always watching so when we’re on shore nothing’s really changed. I mean, we still watch, get it?”
“I guess.”
“Hey, here’s the Lieutenant. What gives, Sir?”
“Wake everyone and saddle up: we’re going Indian hunting.”
“What the heck does that mean?”
“Knife work. Just remember what you learned in Boot Camp and it’ll be a piece of cake.”
Stage lights slowly increase. The actors that were feigning sleep gather at the end of the dock with the others as the Lieutenant walks to stage front, center, and addresses the audience.
“Just any day in the life of a squad, anywhere, US military. The name of the game is to go with the flow as you keep your eye on the ball; keeping the objective crystal clear and not to let anything get in the way of success is the key. You see that movie where these guys come across the goat-herder and they let him go?
“Let me tell you something: In real life, in Vietnam, you just get used to the fact that a 12-year-old can kill you just as surely as a 30-year-old, and thems is the facts, whether you like them or not. You either smite the enemy or the enemy will surely smite you.
“The ‘Philosophy of the Win’ is to think that you’re in a building and in the building across the street is someone who wants to kill you, and maybe there’s civilians in that building, who knows? Heck, who cares? You can take pot shots at each other all day long, or do you call in a 500-lb. bunker buster and take care of business right then and there? Maybe you wish to use a nuclear device: whatever floats your boat is the philosophy of the WIN. In other words, just do it and get it over with with as little expenditure on your part to achieve the objective. Wanton, indiscriminate waste of ordinance is time-consuming and non-productive: use whatever it takes to get the job done without going ‘native’ about it. I mean, don’t end up the way the main character, Kurtz, did in Joseph Conrad’s book, ‘Heart of Darkness.’ But remember this: it’s way better to go over than to come up short.”
“Now some of you may want to use kid gloves when it comes to the followers of Islam, but us guys who’ve ‘been there, done that’ just don’t want to hear whines about ‘religion’ and ‘rights.’ Now if I’ve upset anyone, just think of it as ‘Better to be upset then dead’ and we’ll all get along okay.
“And now we’ll listen to ‘Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite #1, Op. 46 – 1, Morning Mood” and reflect on the fact that when you wake up tomorrow morning it’ll be thanks to people like me. But it’ll have all gone for naught if we all don’t vote for Trump come November 8th. Goodnight.”
Curtain lowers at the end of the music.
FINI
[NOTE: The absolutely beautiful music was brought to you by the men and women who have opposed the spread of Islam for the past 1,400 years. Make no mistake about it: it didn’t happen by happenstance. It took perseverance and dedication, and, above all, love for humanity.]