We came. We saw. Then everybody went home.
The 11th Annual Sometime-After-Groundhog-Day Sojourners Talent Show was performed this past spring in our neighborhood center building, which made for a cozy and crowded setting reminiscent of a dinner theater; except there were no tables, or food, or actors, or a play. Come to think of it, it really wasn't much like a dinner theater at all. It had never been like a dinner theater before, so why should it be now?
Some people questioned whether we should even mention this year's show in "H'rumphs," but it's my decision since Joyce Hollyday left me in charge while she was away. No one really knows what to expect from our talent shows, but we certainly weren't disappointed this year. Here are some highlights of this year's event:
- Sojourners peace ministry staffperson Polly Duncan Collum and Ruth "Not-Her-Real-Arms" Cotton, peace ministry intern, performed "Getting Ready for a Big Date." You know the one; it's the skit where a person hides behind another person and puts makeup on. You see, the one behind puts her hands through the other person's arms and puts make-up on her face; but it's not really her face. It's the other person's face, the one without the arms (well, she has arms, you just can't see them). And, like, it gets all over her ...
- Judy Diers and Dan Worthen, both Sojourners interns, and Michael Verchot, peace ministry staff person, played private detectives Shirley, Goodness, and Murphy, who would doggedly follow you all the days of your life.
- In a "commercial" break, interns Mary Beth Haas and LeAnne Moss proved that M&Ms really do melt in your mouth as Mary Beth let chocolate syrup drip out of her mouth onto the floor. A lot of syrup. (Not pictured).
- The eight interns did a skit together in which they made fun of applying to be with Sojourners, made fun of their Sojourners orientation class, made fun of their work assignments at Sojourners, and made fun of a lot of people ... good, honest people. People who have worked and sacrificed here for years without thought for themselves. People who have set aside their own dreams and plans so that they could join with a community of people to serve others only to be MADE FUN OF AT THE TALENT SHOW BY THE INTERNS!
Applications for new interns are now being accepted (just kidding).
It gets easier after the first couple of times.
One resourceful staffer recently discovered that not only does the cover of the March 1988 Sojourners display an attractive and unique caricature of each presidential candidate, it also provides a helpful reference guide to the electoral process. Over the past few months, as the hopefuls have, one by one, dropped from the race, our creative associate has (and you can do this at home) simply placed an X over their faces. Our bulletin board has become an important learning tool as, week after week, a different candidate was blotted from view, a silent testimony to the rigors of the campaign trail.
It occurs to us that, unlike the fleeting sense of involvement Americans get when casting their vote for president, the act of crossing out the faces of would-be leaders provides a more satisfying sense of power and accomplishment.
Power to the pencil.
Ed Spivey Jr. is art director of Sojourners.
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