This short play is about more than one thing. However, it is certainly about the perfidy(trickiness) of time and how we often fail to focus on that.
Phone Call from a Loved One
December, 1966
Jay Hello.
Mrs Jones Hi dear, sorry to call you at work. I won’t keep you. Is everything okay?
Jay Okay mom, no problems. Just the usual. Every woman wants a size 9 foot to fit into a 7-and-a-half pump.
Mrs Jones How I know! Be patient. They say Jackie Kennedy, bless her, wears a 10! Can you imagine? Her with that elegance and everything.
Jay Is something wrong, mom?
Mrs Jones No dear, nothing wrong. I just wanted to tell you that Walt Disney died today. Did you know?
Jay Oh, that’s too bad, mom. Really too bad.
Mrs Jones It’s sad, even though we knew it was coming. Matter of time, it was.
Jay Right mom.
Mrs Jones He really created a lot of beauty. I want you never to forget.
Jay I won’t mom. How could I? How could anybody?
Mrs Jones The good thing is that he left all that beauty here as his legacy. It’s so wonderful. I want you to think about that word, legacy. One day you will leave yours. It’ll have to do with how good you were or how bad. Do you understand, Jay?
Jay Mom, I understand. Don’t worry. Look, I’ve got customers. Must ring off.
Mrs Jones Bye dear.
Jay Bye mom.
August, 1973
Jay Hello.
Mrs Jones Hello dear, it’s me again, your mom.
Jay Hi mom. What’s cooking?
Mrs Jones That’s a good question for this house! Not much, usually. And how fare my newlyweds?
Jay Just fine so far, mom. Can’t complain.
Mrs Jones So far? It so happens that you two have been married 55 days now and you come and tell me ‘so far’. You’ve had a fight?
Jay No, mom, no fight. We’re really happy. Really, we are.
Mrs Jones So I thought. I also thought I’d call and tell you that John Ford died today. Did you see the news?
Jay No mom, I didn’t.
Mrs Jones Can you believe it?
Jay Ford, the imcomparable John Ford?
Mrs Jones That’s right.
Jay God, what a loss.
Mrs Jones Exactly. It’s almost like losing a George Washington or an Abe Lincoln when you think about it. I’m serious.
Jay Just that neither one of them left behind some of the greatest films this country or any country has ever seen.
Mrs Jones I’ve always loved ‘The Quiet Man’. Wayne was so lucky to get to star in that one.
Jay No less than grand, that flick. I love so many of his- ‘The Informer, Valley, Yellow Ribbon, The Searchers’. Oh, they’re too many to name.
Mrs Jones You’d think the nation’s flags would be at half mast, but no, not with that Quaker in the White House.
Jay But is he a real, honest-to-goodness Quaker?
Mrs Jones Who cares? His house of cards is crumbling, but fast.
Jay How old was he?
Mrs Jones Says he was 78. Born in Maine. As American as either one of us. Isn’t that something?
Jay It is. I’d always thought he was a real Irishman.
Mrs Jones It’s because of ‘Quiet Man’. Anyway, it was his ancestry.
Jay Are you okay, mom?
Mrs Jones I’m okay, dear, really. Got my friends, the marketing to do, the laundry, movies, what else?
Jay Love you.
Mrs Jones Love you too, dear.
Jay Bye now.
Mrs Jones Bye dear.
May, 1977
Mrs Jones Hello?
Jay Hi mom, it’s me, Jay.
Mrs Jones Oh, my dear. How nice of you to call. How are the baby-making plans?
Jay Oh, the plans are fine, mom. There’s just no baby yet.
Mrs Jones That so? Well, don’t get discouraged, you two. It’ll happen at the right moment. Not to worry is the key.
Jay Mom. I’m very, very sad.
Mrs Jones Oh really? Did someone die?
Jay Crawford, mom. The Great Crawford.
Mrs Jones Oh, that’s too bad. Great is certainly the right description. For acting, that is. I can’t say anything about the other. Heart trouble it was she had, I believe.
Jay What’ll we do mom? No more Crawford flicks. It’s a shame.
Mrs Jones The early ones were excellent, but I don’t know about the later ones.
Jay No, mom. Almost all of them were tops. I love ‘Pierce’, ‘Baby Jane’, ‘Sudden Fear’, ‘Strait-Jacket’. No, I can’t name them all. What’ll we do?
Mrs Jones Now Jay, you know that ‘Strait-Jacket’ was Horrible.
Jay William Castle. You never cared for him, mom, but I did. Very much.
Mrs Jones Well, if that’s your cup of tea...
Jay Gotta go, mom. Got work to do.
Mrs Jones That’s life, dear. Very happy days but also very sad days. You were a dear to call. Bye now.
Jay Bye mom.
December, 1983
Mrs Jones Hello?
Jay Hi mom, how’s it going?
Mrs Jones Well hello, dear. I’m glad you called. What’s new?
Jay Not a lot. We’ve got a cold spell here. I’m working away full-speed. The usual. By the way, did you see that Robert Aldrich died today?
Mrs Jones Yes, on TV. A pity, though I didn’t care for many of his movies, you know.
Jay I did, mom. I love ‘Baby Jane’, ‘The Dirty Dozen’, ‘Charlotte’. You name ‘em. All that atmosphere.
Mrs Jones Much too macabre for my taste! Speaking of atmosphere-try ‘Footsteps In the Fog’. Oh well, done any Christmas shopping?
Jay Mom, it’s too early.
Mrs Jones Maybe so. They all say that, but you know how tricky time gets. Don’t wait too long or you’ll be sorry.
Jay Okay, mom. I won’t. Bye now.
Mrs Jones Bye dear.
August, 1984
Mrs Jones Hello.
Jay Hi mom, it’s me.
Mrs Jones Oh Jay, how nice of you to call. How’s my invisible granddaughter and how’s my dear daughter-in-law?
Jay Fine mom, all fine here. We’re busy getting Kate ready for first grade. School starts in a few short weeks.
Mrs Jones I can’t believe it, first grade already! That girl is really growing.
Jay Like kudzu, mom. Kudzu with a good appetite.
Mrs Jones Like her dad.
Jay And granddad. Guess who died today.
Mrs Jones Burton, I know. I was watching the news.
Jay A pity, isn’t it? I’ll never forget ‘Where Eagles Dare’ or ‘Virginia Woolf’.
Mrs Jones I liked the latter. And the Shakespeare thing...
Jay ‘Shrew, Taming of the Shrew’.
Mrs Jones That’s it. Now that man--He was good-looking when young--made good films and bad films. I suspect there were more lousy ones than good ones.
Jay Poor Taylor.
Mrs Jones Yes, I guess so. Who really knows, though? It was so on-again, off-again for those two, if you know what I mean. And their rather extensive menagerie.
Jay I remember that a bit, but not too much.
Mrs Jones So time flies, dear. Don’t ever forget that.
Jay Oh, mom.
Mrs Jones I’m serious love. I know it’s trite but it’s true . One day I may not answer this phone. That’ll be it.
Jay Oh mom. Don’t talk about it just now. I love you.
Mrs Jones Love you too, son.
October, 1989
Jay Hello.
Mrs Jones Hello dear, your mom here.
Jay Oh, hi mom. How you feeling?
Mrs Jones I’m fine. A little sad. Bad news.
Jay I know. I’ve seen it.
Mrs Jones Oh, she was a queen. I don’t know how she was in person, but on that celluloid...
Jay Never, there’ll never be another like that one.
Mrs Jones Remember ‘The Letter’, ‘Jezebel’, ‘Dark Victory’?
Jay Remember? Who can forget? I own two of those myself. Can’t wait to get a few more. I’ll probably watch one tonight.
Mrs Jones Be sure to get ‘Eve’ and ‘Whales’. Both are so different, but so good.
Jay I will, just wait. Of course, she’s not gone really. We’ll always have her on film. Black and white or color. Who cares?
Mrs Jones True. If you’re good, you’re good, dammit!
Jay Mom, you never say that word! What gives?
Mrs Jones Oh, forgive me. I guess it’s age. Sometimes it just gets to you. Guess I’ll ring off.
Jay You sure you’re okay?
Mrs Jones I’m sure dear. Don’t be silly. Bye now.
Jay Bye mom. And thanks.
November, 1990
Jay Hello?
Mrs Jones Hi dear, it’s your mom.
Jay Hi mom. Whoa now, you’re calling me? What’s happened?
Mrs Jones Everything is fine, dear. Don’t worry. Did you see the news?
Jay Not yet. Who died?
Mrs Jones Eve Arden. Isn’t it a shame?
Jay Don’t tell me. What a loss!
Mrs Jones Oh, she was super-one we both liked. ‘Mildred Pierce’, ‘Our Miss Brooks’, ‘Mothers-In-Law’. I especially liked her as Miss Brooks.
Jay Yeah. I remember, though vaguely. She’s in ‘Grease’. I’ve got that one, luckily.
Mrs Jones Right. Who’ll replace her? These giggly, young blonde things with over-sized boobs? I truly have my doubts.
Jay Oh, you know how it is, mom. We think that at first, but later, someone always comes along. Someone nearly as charming.
Mrs Jones Suppose you’re right. But still. I must run, love. Market day. Bye now.
Jay Bye mom, and thanks for the call.
December, 1992
Mrs Jones Hello?
Jay Hi mom, it’s Jay here.
Mrs Jones I know dear. It’s your voice. How are you?
Jay We’re fine, mom. Working and studying, you know.
Mrs Jones Of course I know. If it isn’t one thing...
Jay Guess who died today?
Mrs Jones Let me see. Who could it be?
Jay Dana Andrews.
Mrs Jones Oh, how sad. He was a good one. A leader. How old was he, dear?
Jay Oh, 79 or 80 I believe.
Mrs Jones My! At least he got that far. Who’d complain?
Jay I’m really sad about it. Think I’ll have a beer. God, I love ‘Crowded Sky’ and ‘Best Years’.
Mrs Jones I agree completely. Two greats. Do they make them that good anymore? Sometimes I wonder.
Jay Sometimes, mom. You know how flicks are. One’s great, and the next one-even though it’s got the same actor-is rotten. Could be the script, the director, a ton of factors.
Mrs Jones He was certainly good-looking. I’ll never forget that.
Jay Yeah. I’m really sad about this. Guess I’ll ring off. Talk later.
Mrs Jones Bye dear.
Jay Bye mom.
Postscript: The author, in real life, last talked to his mom in October, 2000. It was the end of a 30-year rela- tionship via “wire” between the two. In that chat, both professed their love, but there was no talk of films, stars, family members, etc. A vicious brain tumor had seen to that. Nevertheless, while it lasted, it was so richly satisfying.
This is quite good. The entire thing felt like real conversations-what people really talk about. These days my mom will call me and tell me about somebody in the news, and that is what we chat about. Excellent play.
I am at a loss of words to use to express my feelings after reading your "phone call from a loved one"- it is so poignant. Tears started rolling down my face. Reminded me of phone calls made back and forth from my mom to me when she had her dementia and altzheimers. Our talks were always about things we had done in the past, places we had gone together,particularly the live stage shows. She so loved Liza, Mitzi
Gaynor, Steve and Edye Gorme, Liberace, and others, and I always made
sure I got tickets for us to go see them in person..these are the things that kept her going..her memories..she loved hollywood gossip,
and when we gossiped it was like we knew the people personally..now that she is gone, a piece of me is also..In the last year, some elderly woman has been calling me at 8am each Saturday, from Vermont,
she thinks I am her neice, I cannot make her understand she has the
wrong number--she told me she was so lonely, is in a very nice nursing
home but doesn't get many visitors as her relatives are so busy working and live all over the US..She asked me my name after about the
4th Saturday she called me..I told her--Her name is Margaret..I am now
on her speed dial, and every Saturday morning her call wakes me up and starts my day..We talk about everything under the sun. I bet her
phone bill is expensive, but she says she has plenty of money and nothing to enjoy it on, so this is her enjoyment. She said she even
told her son about me and that she thinks we are related in some way.
She said he just smiled when she told him that..So I guess Margaret
and I will be talking every Saturday from now on..She even asked for
my address so she could send me a little something but I declined, saying I just preferred talking to her, not exchanging addresses or
writing..it is funny how things work sometimes...I was missing my mom so bad, she passed away before my book was completed, and I used to go to the cemetary and sit in my folded chair and read pages to her and my Dad..I think she heard me. Now, I have Margaret who needs me to talk to her..and I will, as long as I am needed...so, maybe now you
can understand how and why your story affected me so..I made a copy of it, so I can re-read it whenever I want...Thank you for sharing that
story..
