Retired Professor Emeritus RAMON L. DELGADO \is the author of eight published short plays, notably “Waiting for the Bus” in the Bantam Press collection Ten Great One Act Plays and the full-length play A Little Holy Water. Three of his one-acts are available from Samuel French. He was editor of The Best Short Plays series from 1981-1989 and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Thanks to Ramon L. Delgado for allowing NYCPlaywrights to publish this excerpt from his monologue LAURA'S EARLY RETURNS.
MEGAN
(Ruminating in front of a blank laptop.)
Laura passed away on election night –– with the flickering TV blaring early returns –– early returns, before the tide reversed and left behind a salty scum. Despite her illness, Laura had toiled like a whirling dervish to elect a first woman President –– volunteering to deliver placards, spending hours on the phone encouraging the supporters, responding politely to the cursing fanatics of the deplorable persuasion, massaging her ears after the only response was the angry bang of a receiver.
Though I shared in her presidential choice, I was not the fanatic that Laura had become. We balanced each other that way, my laid back reflections energized by her all consuming commitments.
When we learned a few months ago that there was nothing else the doctors could do, we both pray-- . . . well, I hoped and she prayed that she’d survive long enough to see the good ole U.S. of A. join the other enlightened nations –– nations such as India, Israel, Great Britain, Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan, Germany, and even the old Russia Empire with leaders of our capable gender. For her sake, I’m glad that when she passed on, she believed that our dream had come true.