Meatballs Discuss the World Cup
..and other updates
An Update
As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently had surgery for the first time. It’s one of those situations you don’t expect, but after a diagnosis, I was suddenly presented with choices about the best way to go about saving my life. You could go this route, but since you’re so young… or, you could have the surgery. So, surgery was what I did and it thoroughly sucked (as expected). I’ve finally had the follow-up tests and, well, it worked. The phrase “you’re cured” has always seemed reserved for television, soap operas, or even a novel, but I did actually hear those two words spoken by a medical professional (not RFK Jr.). Of course I’m thrilled about it but, I assume like many surgeries, there’s still some ground to travel until my body is my body again, if that’s even possible. I go to the YMCA at least 5 days a week and am getting stronger, and in many ways feel a lot like my “old self.”
As you might imagine, this experience comes with a lot of reflection, and I can’t even begin to detail all of that here. But if there is anything that became immediately clear to me, it was that there is no greater kindness, no greater mercy, that people can offer each other than helping someone else when they are ill. Yes, this kindness and mercy can manifest on the level of the personal (thank you to those who were there for me), but it can (and should) also be social and built into the structures of our society. What I was dealing with is not unique to me, but I also happen to have a job that offers healthcare at an amazingly affordable rate. If I were someone else, with no healthcare or lesser healthcare, my reality would be significantly different. This all feels like Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” and it’s hard to morally come to terms with the fact that, at America’s legislative level, we propose/pass more laws to remove or decrease healthcare than to expand it. It’s monstrous. It’s the opposite of kindness and mercy, and I believe most people recognize this; it’s just another glaring example of the chasm between our actual population and elected officials. My health condition made me very unlucky; the benefits package with my current employment positioned me as lucky. (I saw the itemized bills for everything. I mean…wow.) If I were someone else, I’m in incredible debt and/or gone.
Anyway, for me, the news has finally turned good on this one.
Writing Out in the World
I’ve been fortunate to have a few recent publications, and one of them is completely new territory for me. My play, Drag Me Away, not only placed 3rd in the William Faulkner Literary Competition, a version of it was also graciously published by For Page & Screen. The version at the link is definitely a bit different from what will eventually be produced, but you’ll get the basic idea. Speaking of For Page & Screen, they are really cool folks there, and they included me in their author interview series, which was a lot of fun. If you watch the video version, something about the light on my screen makes my hair look blonde (or white), of which it is neither, so I like this sudden change in style! If you are interested, you can check out that interview here:
As for Reading…
I’ve been reading a lot of plays lately, which is new for me. I’ve read some Caryl Churchill, another play called Wet Brain, the Pulitzer winning The Flick by Annie Baker, and a few other things here and there. I’ve been struggling more often than not, maybe because I’m not used to reading plays and imagining the staging proves harder than I expected.
That is, until I read Primary Trust by Eboni Booth, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2024. Now this is a play. It’s hard to describe the plot, but know that there’s an imaginary friend, a focus on the difficulty of changing jobs, and a head-on look for what I think we’ve all known is a deeply serious problem: loneliness. Not only are there no guns in this play (it’s Gun-Free Entertainment!), but there are no smart phones (or any phones), no beeps or pings or notifications, and it was all written and imagined…get ready for this…by a human being! Incredible! You can easily read this in one sitting, and if you have one or two willing friends, you can do a table reading of this no problem. Make food, pour some beverages, and read aloud. You won’t regret it.
Meatballs Talk About the World Cup
Finally, as promised… every four years brings about one of my favorite traditions in our great American discourse: “Why can’t the U.S. be good at soccer!” (Never mind that the women are amazing.) It’s deeply hilarious and repetitive and what’s so satisfying about it all is that the talking meatballs who cover sports are suddenly tricked into criticizing capitalism but are too dumb to realize it. It’s absolutely the freaking best!
It all goes something like this: “The reason we suck is because we don’t do development like they do in Europe.” Giveaway #1: it is suddenly good to emulate Europe. Cut to: “Over here, we have a pay-to-play system, where only people with wealth can participate and it’s all designed for these organizations to make money!” Giveaway #2: Say what? Profit as the priority is presented as… a problem! Next shot: “In Europe, they do it right! They subsidize their academies so everyone can participate! They invest in identifying talent, regardless of social class, and the financial rewards come somewhere further down the line.” Giveaway #3: Gee, what is that called? Subsidizing and investing in social initiatives? It’s on the tip of my economic tongue. I know we have a bad word for that, but it escapes me right now. And scene: “What we do here in America really only serves the people who make a good deal of money, plus, the people who run it all make a significant profit!” Let me pause…
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
So sorry! I will compose myself! These people cannot hear themselves at all. This is literally a capitalism Madlib. Let’s play!
The reason we suck at soccer in the United States is because we prioritize profit over people!
The reason we suck at healthcare in the United States is because we prioritize profit over people!
The reason we suck at education in the United States is because we prioritize profit over people!
Now you try!
The reason we suck at _________ in the United States is because we prioritize profit over people!
The reason we suck at _________ in the United States is because we prioritize profit over people!
The reason we suck at _________ in the United States is because we prioritize profit over people!
If you took any time to read this, I truly appreciate it. Thanks for listening and I hope you are doing well out there.
So glad you’re doing well, Chuck—and thoroughly enjoyed this missive!
P.S. Healing is hard! Wishing you all peace and patience as your body continues to come back to being your body!