Veteran's Day

By Robert P. Wells

Veteran's Day is a dark comedy in one act, set in Southern California just after the fall of Saigon. Three ex-Marines, now butchers working in the Meat Dept. of an Alpha Beta Supermarket, are on strike, manning the graveyard shift picket line. As they talk while playing poker, comic confessions and darker secrets emerge. And these aren’t the only surprises that happen in the dead of night. Based on a true story. (PG-rated: Adult Situations; Language.)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert P. Wells
• Release date: Oct 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370449095

Robert P. Wells

Dr. Robert Preston Wells, Ph.D. was born in Los Angeles in the middle of the 20th Century and graduated from UCLA (B.A., summa cum laude), the University of Chicago (M.A.) and the University of Edinburgh (Ph.D.), where he also won a postgraduate scholarship, Writer's Bursary from the Scottish Arts Council, and membership in the Scottish Arts Society. He has taught undergraduate courses at UCLA, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Melbourne, and Millikin University in Illinois. He spent almost 30 years as a senior executive in IT publishing (Australian Macworld, Mobile Business, Upside Magazine, Linux Magazine,Technology & Investing, Asia) before semi-retiring to write fiction, and become an indentured servant to dogs and cats. His books include "White Bear," "The Virgin's Bastard," "Overlord / Underhand," "Judith in Hell," "Three True Tales" (short stories), "Veteran's Day" (one-act comedy), and "Journeyman: Selected Poems."Contact the author online:Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/auldmakarTwitter: http://twitter.com/auldmakar

Book preview

VETERAN’S DAY

________________

Dark Comedy in One Act

by

Robert P. Wells

Auld Makar Publications

First American edition

Copyright © 2016 by Robert Preston Wells

All rights reserved under the 1976 United States Copyright Act as amended, International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions, and all other global agencies protecting intellectual property. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form, digital or analogue, or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, recording or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the publisher, excepting use of quotes in reviews.

The one act play Veteran’s Day is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

eBook License Agreement: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. And thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

Published in the United States by Auld Makar Publications

Decatur, Illinois

ISBN: 9781370449095

Also by Robert P. Wells

Journeyman: Selected Poems

Overlord / Underhand

(Novel of WWII espionage)

Judith in Hell – WRNS Officer Judith Burroughs, P.O.W.

(Overlord/Underhand’s prequel, a novel of WWII)

Three True Tales

(Short stories)

Veteran’s Day

CAST OF CHARACTERS

JACK PIZZA MAN TAGLIAFERO

Late 20s, head butcher, Alpha Beta Supermarket Meat Dept., Vietnam veteran and former U.S. Marine Sergeant, northern Italian descent [black hair, blue eyes, medium height], built like a middle-weight prizefighter, wearing black boots, jeans, blue-and-black plaid long-sleeved flannel shirt. Leader of striking picketers manning the graveyard shift.

FERNANDO CAL RODRIGUEZ

Also late 20s, butcher, Alpha Beta Supermarket Meat Dept., Vietnam vet and former U.S. Marine Corporal, Hispanic heritage [black hair a bit long, dark eyes, a hint of Native American features], short, wiry, chews a toothpick to curb cravings to smoke, wearing tall-heeled biker boots [for extra height], jeans with a big turquoise belt buckle, long-sleeved deep purple shirt with black leather sleeveless vest. A bit of a cynic, close colleague and best friend of JACK.

KENNY POLACK JOHANSSEN

Mid-20s, journeyman butcher, Alpha Beta Supermarket Meat Dept., Vietnam vet and former U.S. Marine Corporal, Nordic heritage [tall, well-built, short blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing high-top tennis shoes, jeans, a sleeveless down hunting vest in camouflage colors over a red-and-black plaid long-sleeve flannel shirt. He’s a film buff. Earnest, not thick-witted so much as naïve, craves peer approval, is treated like a younger brother by CAL and JACK.

GIL CRAZY LEGS BENNETT

Also in his late-20s, California Highway Patrol Officer, Vietnam vet and former U.S. 101st Air Cavalry Lieutenant, WASP descent, short military-style haircut, well-tanned from working outdoors each day, wearing a short-sleeved CHP summer uniform with gold nametag above right breast pocket, once a star athlete [a fullback] beginning to lose his youthful shape.

SCENE

Supermarket parking lot of the Alpha Beta Supermarket in Calabasas, California. The store itself is off stage [stage left].

TIME

Night, wee hours; May 8, 1975.

[As stage lights FADE UP we hear the sound of crickets chirping, rapid chirps to indicate a warm night, and the zip of playing cards being shuffled. We see three men seated, playing cards around a folding table. JACK is in the center facing the audience, his friends either side of him, CAL on his right and KENNY on his left. Each man has a tall-necked bottle of beer beside his drinking hand, and a pile of red-headed matchsticks in front of him, which they use for poker chips.]

[Side-on behind them sits a 25-foot silver Airstream trailer, its lights on and its door open. Its porch light has been angled out to illuminate the card table; and for more light they’ve placed a bright lantern behind them on a tall, leather-topped bar stool. Signs nailed to tall flat sticks are propped against the side of the Airstream. They read LOCAL #770 ON STRIKE, "ALPHA BETA