3-12-19

A
Things are bad

B
Things are very bad

A
Things are tough and we are tired 

B
But there are the children 

A
The bad things, they’re complicated

B
Very

A
Not everyone agrees that they are bad. Or complicated.

B
But the children 

C
(entering)
Sorry I’m late.

B
It’s OK

C
And I’m sweaty! Sorry.

A
It’s OK.

C
I came from that class and it ran over.

B
What class?

A
Oh how was it?

C
It’s a class where I learn how to be alone.
Alone in a way that makes me stick to the practical: I split the wood, gather the kindling, light the fire, strip the skin back from the meat and pluck out all the bones.

B
Oh.

C
Peel the fruit, throw out the peels, eat the fruit, reconsider, eat the peels also.
Stop investing in coastal properties and move to a place with high altitude and build up stone walls for when the water comes.

B
Oooh.

C
Learn about water purification systems and hydroponic growth.
Find some sort of spiritual purpose; begin to live off of the grid. Definitely leave behind phone and laptop, eschew wearable tech. Stockpile arms, maybe. Learn how to use them.           
So that’s why I’m sweaty.
And covered in dirt.
And this—
Nevermind. Hi!

A
We were just lamenting.
But now that you’re here, we can go over the reading.

C
Are we doing a Lerman?

B
We are doing a modified Lerman

C
We’re doing a Lerman?

B
Modified. 

C
What?

A
A modified Lerman

C
Modified how?

B
We’re not doing the last part.

C
OK.

A
Just in the interest of—
It’s a first draft so we want to allow room to explore.

C
The last part is the only part where you can be mean.

A
You should never be mean in a Lerman.

B
You can be mean in any part if you’re really creative.

C
That’s true.

A
Is that blood underneath your fingernails?

C
Yes, sorry.
(To B)
Can you pass me a cupcake?
I don’t want to get them—
Because of the blood.

B
Yes.

A
What kind of blood is it?

C
I can’t say.

A
Because it’s not allowed?

C
Because I don’t know.

B
Should we start the Lerman?

A
Yes, sorry!
OK, beginning the Liz Lerman process with B’s draft.
Statements of meaning?

C
The character with the hat was very prominent.

B
Hm.

C
Her hat seemed extremely large. I’ve never heard of a hat so large, and so that stuck out to me.

A
I agree with that statement.
I agree, and I would add that it’s probably the only piece I’ve ever read with a hat-driven plot.

B
(writing this down)
And you found that….?

A
I found that it stood out to me.

B
In a good way?

A
In a value-neutral way.

B
Right, Lerman, sorry.

C
I was struck by how much I want to know about the hat. I’ve never been so intrigued by—dare I say attracted to—a hat before. But this hat…there’s something about this hat.
I’d give it all up for this hat. I’d leave my family for this hat.

A
You don’t have a family.

C
I suppose I don’t.
I’ll have my place in the hills. My bunker.

A
Every generation thinks it will be the bunker generation.

C
Well at some point, one of them will be right.

B
And things are bad

A
Things are very bad.

B
What if I added another hat?

C
Oh, that’s a thought.

B
A good thought?

C
Yes, a good thought.

A
Two hats, huh?

B
One on top of the other.

C
It’s terrifying. I love it.