{"id":9156,"date":"2015-04-03T09:00:26","date_gmt":"2015-04-03T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/home\/?p=9156"},"modified":"2015-04-10T10:13:58","modified_gmt":"2015-04-10T14:13:58","slug":"yet-i-climb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/yet-i-climb\/","title":{"rendered":"Yet I Climb"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"yeticlimb\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

Yet I Climb<\/h3>\n

A Play in One Act<\/h3>\n

THE SYNOPSIS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Montel Cunningham is a true Harlem knight raised in the 1970s. He\u2019s aspiring to become a musician but his past is troubled with nothing but violence, hate, pain, fear and low self-esteem. He also has a strong dislike for the man that taught him his talents, his father. His love for his mother is strong but he knows that she is still adjusting from her break down. Just when he feels like nothing else is working, he turns to his grandmother for help and guidance, but he doesn\u2019t listen. He is trying to control his bottled up anger. One day a bad choice puts him in prison with all hope being lost. He was given 25 years in anticipation to change his thinking. Montel sees no hope in ever seeing his grandma, mother, wife and daughter again!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHARACTERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Montel
\nVoice of Wanda
\nVoice of Grandmother
\nVoice of Mother
\nVoice of Father
\nFuzzy
\nPrisoner One
\nPrisoner Two
\nJudge
\nGroup of Prisoners<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE BONE STRUCTURE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Physiology: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Montel Cunningham
\n19 years old, 5\u20199\u201d, 169 lbs.
\nBlack curly hair, light brown eyes, caramel skin
\nWalks very erect \u2013 like a dancer, handsomely clean & neat with a full round face and lean muscled build \u2014 very athletic.
\nHe has a warrior personality like his father, an angry young man<\/p>\n

Sociology:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Upper lower class
\nPart time sales clerk, attends college full time
\nHad a strong Christian up bringing
\nProud African American
\nVoting Democrat
\nGrew up fighting<\/p>\n

Psychology:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wants to help people with their problems by counseling
\nStruggles with a violent home situation (father has assaultive behavior)
\nVery optimistic! Somewhat of a dreamer, will not allow life to cheat him like it did his parents
\nLost his virginity at 13 and found his first love during his last year of high school
\nBorn and raised in Washington Heights (Sugar Hill)
\nAn extrovert
\nVast and extensive imagination, an old school gentleman from the south, very smart but in an eccentric way<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

YET, I CLIMB!<\/strong><\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[December 14. 1984 in the Manhattan Supreme Court House. Montel Cunningham is standing in the courtroom waiting to hear the judge\u2019s decision on his fate. His pregnant girlfriend is there along with his family and friends. Montel is shaking and scared to death because he is only 19 years old and he has heard millions of stories about what happens to people in prison. He thinks to himself, \u201cI may never come home again to eat my grandmother\u2019s cooking again\u2026 Damn! Or see my child grow up.] <\/em><\/p>\n

JUDGE: <\/strong>Mr. Cunningham, you have been convicted of a crime, and I now have the power to sentence you. But I must say this: You are nineteen years old and have completed high school. You also were attending college on a full scholarship. You have wasted people\u2019s money and time on the poor choices you have made. So I hope these next twenty-five years I am about to give you will help make something out of you. Take him away!<\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>What! Damn, that\u2019s my whole damned life! I told you that it wasn\u2019t my fault! Why can\u2019t you give me a break?<\/p>\n

JUDGE: <\/strong>You had your break \u2013 I just gave you twenty-five years and not life. Goodbye, Mr. Cunningham.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[Montel is taken to the holding cell, waiting to be returned to the County Jail. Once there, Montel is very angry and wants to take it out on someone. He\u2019s looking for a reason to attack.] <\/em><\/p>\n

PRISONER ONE<\/strong>: Ay, yo, Montel. What happened in court?<\/p>\n

PRISONER TWO: <\/strong>How much time did they give you? Couldn\u2019t have been much \u2018cause you a smart nigga.<\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>Not now. I need to use the telephone to make a phone call to my peeps. Hook me up.<\/p>\n

PRISONER ONE: <\/strong>That may take a while. That nigga Jude has all the phones on lockdown.<\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>What! That\u2019s it. I\u2019m goin to smash him out! You brothers make sure y\u2019all get all my flicks and take everything else for yourselves. Ay yo, Jude! Lemme holla at you my nigga.<\/p>\n

JUDE: <\/strong>What nigga? …. Oh shit\u2026. Yo, hold up. Hey, I got you son. Please stop!<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[You hear tussling, chairs being thrown and tables being turned over. Montel beats Jude so badly that he is admitted in the local hospital. They place Montel into a twenty-four hour lockdown unit. The next day, Montel is transferred to The New York State Department of Corrections.]<\/em><\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>Damn! Fuck! This cell is smaller than a broom closet. How did I get here? Where did all of this start for me? Why didn\u2019t I listen? Shit man!<\/p>\n

The Voice of Grandma: <\/strong>Boy, what have you done? Didn\u2019t I tell you to stay focused in school? You were supposed to be the first one to graduate college, and you was becoming a great musician. How many black boys make it from the ghetto into a full-paid scholarship? I hope I live long enough to see you come home. You know I ain\u2019t getting no younger boy.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[Montel\u2019s emotions well up. Tears began to roll down his face, and he\u2019s shaking as he lets out a soul wrenching cry.]<\/em><\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>I know grandma, I\u2019m so so sorry\u2026. please don\u2019t leave me\u2026. I need you\u2026.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[A dark eerie silence comes upon his cell and out of nowhere Montel hears\u2026]<\/em><\/p>\n

THE VOICE OF HIS WIFE: <\/strong>How are we going to do this time? 25 years is a long time, and I am only eighteen. I just gave birth to our child. Now I love you till death, if I didn\u2019t I wouldn\u2019t have married you. Just tell me what to do. Oh yeah, thanks for the money and the car. They will not last twenty-five years and me and your daughter cries everyday just thinking about your safety. I miss you so much baby please come back home.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[Montel yells out and punches the wall.] <\/em><\/p>\n

THE FATHER\u2019S VOICE: <\/strong>Boy, I set you up real nice and you go on and destroy that. What the fuck is wrong with you? What was you thinking? Why did you have to kill that man? You threw your life away, and it\u2019s over for you. I gave you everything I got, and this is how you show your honor for me, you selfish bastard!<\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>Shut up, you selfish motherfucker! You ain\u2019t do shit for me! All you ever showed was you could beat the shit out of my mother and us. You never cared for nobody but yourself. You\u2019re the selfish bastard. Your own mother was ashamed of you cause she raised you better than that. Do you remember beating my mother so bad that she had a nervous breakdown, causing her to be put in a mental hospital for some three years? This caused our family to be broken up. You\u2019re dead to me. Stay the fuck away from me! By the way, you will never see my daughter. She will only know that you are a monster.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[Tears are flowing like Niagara Falls while he\u2019s punching the walls causing his hands to look like bloody chopped meat\u2026. It\u2019s August 27th<\/sup> 1986. Montel is adjusting well to his prison life, until that fatal day in August when Montel is in a machine accident, causing his hand to be completely severed by another prisoner while he is cleaning a wood cutting machine.] <\/em><\/p>\n

FUZZY: <\/strong>Ay yo Montel, I\u2019m going to get a smoke bro, you cool?<\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>Ok my brother.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[Fuzzy returns and doesn\u2019t check to see if Montel is still cleaning the wood cutting machine. So he turns it on while Montel\u2019s hand is still in the machine. Montel yells, \u201cJesus\u201d! He pulls his hand out of the machine and runs a quarter of a mile through the prison to the medical unit. After two weeks in an outside hospital, Montel is returned back to the prison. His left arm is wrapped up but his left hand is missing. Montel is still feeling drugged up.] <\/em><\/p>\n

GROUP OF PRISONERS: <\/strong>Hey, there is Montel. Montel, wassup homie? How you feeling? If you need anything, just let us know bro. Stay strong lil homie, stay strong.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[While in his cell, Montel lies back on his bunk and thinks to himself.]<\/em><\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>What am I going to do? I\u2019ve got twenty-five years, and I\u2019m the only one in prison with one hand. How will I explain this to my Grandma or my wife? What about my mom who is in the hospital? I\u2019ve got to learn how to defend myself. Damn! I could kill this dude for making me lose my hand. That\u2019s alright, somebody\u2019s gona pay for this. That\u2019s alright, I\u2019ma get rich.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[June 1991. The front page of the New York Post reads, \u201cConvicted Murderer Wins Lottery Millions.\u201d It\u2019s October 7th, <\/sup>1986 and Montel\u2019s mother has finally lost her battle with cancer. The prison officials know of this information but have not told Montel. They figure that it will be too much for him because he just recently lost his hand approximately 45 days ago. Montel finds out via a phone call he makes to a family member about his mother\u2019s death. After receiving the news, Montel is numb and angry; he wants to cause pain to anybody.] <\/em><\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>Excuse me, Sargent Smith, may I speak with you a moment?<\/p>\n

SARGENT SMITH: <\/strong>Sure, what\u2019s on your mind Cunningham?<\/p>\n

Montel: <\/strong>So, you know who I am?<\/p>\n

SARGENT SMITH: <\/strong>Sure, who doesn\u2019t? What\u2019s on your mind?<\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>Last night while talking on the phone, I found out that my mother passed away, and what\u2019s got me pissed the fuck off is that nobody in this facility said shit to me! My family has been calling up here for the last two days \u2013 now wait a minute I\u2019m not done! I want to go down to my mother\u2019s funeral, which is tomorrow.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[Montel is crying and yelling and goes on to make knee-jerk responses and threats to Sargent Smith.] <\/em><\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>I just lost my fuckin hand, and now my mother, and the prison is going to deny me the right to see my mother, like hell! I\u2019ma make somebody die if I don\u2019t go cause you have taken everything from me, and I don\u2019t give a fuck, I\u2019m ready! This is my fuckin mother!<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[Still crying, Montel aggressively approaches Sargent Smith.]<\/em><\/p>\n

SARGENT SMITH: <\/strong>Now wait a minute Cunningham. You know me, and I don\u2019t bullshit people especially with stuff like this. So if you would go back to your cell, I will see what I can find out. Just calm down and go back\u2026 You got my word. I will come back with an answer.<\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>Ok Sargent Smith. But if you don\u2019t come back, I will do what got me here, you got my word.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[The two men stare at each other for what seems like a lifetime. Montel didn\u2019t want to hurt anyone, he just wants to go see his mom, so Montel breaks his stare and goes back to his cell with no problems. Some three and a half hours later, Sargent Smith returns to Montel\u2019s cell with two other guards.]<\/em><\/p>\n

SARGENT SMITH: <\/em><\/strong>EXPECT YOU TO KEEP YOUR WORD! CUNNINGHAM! CUNNINGHAM! GET UP, LETS GO. YOU HAVE A LONG TRIP AHEAD OF YOU. THESE TWO OFFICERS WILL TAKE YOU UP TO GET A SUIT, AND THEN THEY WILL TAKE YOU TO THE FUNERAL \u2026 OH, AND CUNNINGHAM, DON\u2019T MAKE ME REGRET THIS, I \u2014<\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>You got that Sargent. Thanks so very much, thank you.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[Montel and the two officers go off to the funeral. As Montel matures, he is developing into a model prisoner, until 1996 when this time it\u2019s his grandmother\u2019s funeral he will be attending. He takes her death extremely hard, because this is the woman that raised him up until the age of seven. He doesn\u2019t cry when the news comes; he was once again numb.]<\/em><\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/em><\/strong>Damn! Everybody that was important to me is dying, and I am still in this fucking prison!The parole board has denied me four times already. They act like they want me to die in here, but it will not happen. <\/em>I will not let them break me! (Pause) I have my daughter to live for and the promises I made to my mother and grandmother. I will show everybody who thinks I am going to fail. I will show them, I am going to make it\u2026 (Pause)<\/p>\n

Montel lies back on his bunk and begins to think about what his mother used to say.<\/em><\/p>\n

VOICE OF MOTHER: <\/strong>Montel, baby, you know that I love you, and I\u2019ve done the best I can to try to raise you. I am just so sorry that I wasn\u2019t there when you needed me the most, and I want you to always remember that no matter what people say about you, you will always be better than what they think. But you must also live better than they think. And always remember, never, never, ever do to women what your father did to me. You have a daughter. I never raised you to be that way and neither did your grandmother. Always strive to be a better man to them than he was to me.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[Montel rolls over on his side, crying profusely. Hearing the voice of his mother, he regrets not taking heed to her wise words of wisdom. He is feeling guilty now for letting his mother and grandmother down by not completing college.] <\/em><\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>I am sorry, Mom and Grandma. I promise you as long as I got breath, I will live to make you proud of me. Once I get out of this mess, I promise I will raise my daughter. I will love and cherish my wife, and become a strong role model, and give back to the community like I said I would when I was younger. I will continue to pursue my career as a musician. You know I love to beat those drums. I can remember, Ma and Grandma, looking at your faces, how happy you two were watching and hearing me play the drums. Those are some of the fondest memories of my life, and I will always cherish them. Thank you very much. I will miss you dearly.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[Montel gets up from his bed, goes down on his knees and begins praying to God.]<\/em><\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>Father, God,I was raised knowing you but I was a hardheaded kid. Why did you have to take two of the most important people in my life away from me? They didn\u2019t deserve to go. How am I going to make it through these next six years of prison without them? What kind of father am I going to be for my daughter? I never thought I would need your help, but today I am in dire need of your help. If you are who they say you are, I need your help. I am ready to change my life. So, from this day on, I will promise to do the best I can to honor and serve you like my grandmother taught me. So, Lord, it\u2019s all about you and me, amen. But, yet I climb! <\/strong><\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION<\/em><\/strong>: <\/strong>[Montel goes another ten years before his final release from prison. Sitting in his cell, the now mature Montel writes in his journal, a journal he has been with the last ten years. He writes, talking out loud to himself.]<\/em><\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>24\/6 is how long it took me to enjoy and appreciate the small beautiful things in life<\/p>\n

24\/6 is how long it took for me to grow into the man you see before you<\/p>\n

24\/6 is how long it took for me to enjoy holidays like Thanks giving, Christmas and New years<\/p>\n

24\/6 is how long it took me to fully understand the importance of obtaining an education<\/p>\n

24\/6 is how long God has been has been protecting and guarding me along this journey<\/p>\n

24\/6 is how long it\u2019s taken me to begin to live my life<\/p>\n

24\/6 has cost me a wife and my child<\/p>\n

24\/6 has been joy, pain, fear, worry and manhood<\/p>\n

Though 24\/6 is still a bit of a mystery to you! But it\u2019s an ever present reality to me!<\/p>\n

24\/6 could very well be a part of what many of you could be living today, what is your 24\/6? That has hindered you from maximizing your fullest potential. When you find it out what will you do about it? Will you stand up to it as the boy David did and overcame the giant? Or will you allow the 24\/6 to consume you thus destroying your very existence. I don\u2019t know about you, but as for my 24\/6 I\u2019m happy to confess that its\u2019 all a part of my past long behind me and to quench you quizzical curiosity as to what is my 24\/6 fret no more my for, my 24\/6 was the time I\u2019ve spent in prison!<\/p>\n

SARGENT SMITH: <\/strong>Hey Cunningham, come on! It\u2019s time to go! I\u2019ve been waiting for this day to come for a long time and had some concerns at first, but it turns out that you made it. Now get the hell out and become that husband and father you always spoke about, and fulfill all those promises.<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION<\/em><\/strong>: <\/strong>[Sargent Smith reaches his hand out and gives a stem manly handshake. Sargent Smith pats Cunningham on the back and ushers him out through the front prison door.]<\/em><\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>Wow! Wow! Looks like I made it, Grandma. I finally made it. Sorry you\u2019re not here to see me. I promise I won\u2019t let you and Mommy down this time!<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[A tear is running down Montel\u2019s face. After a moment of silence, Montel looks up and sees his wife get out of a limo and start walking towards him. Montel begins running towards her. The two embrace for what seem like an eternity. Montel breaks the silence first.]<\/em><\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>Hey, sweetheart, I am so glad to see you. I thank God you finally made it. Now before you say anything, let me just say that I am not mad anymore that you have moved on with your life. I didn\u2019t expect you to wait all those years. I am really proud of you. Why couldn\u2019t my daughter come?<\/p>\n

WANDA: <\/strong>She in school taking her state and city wide exams. You know she is about to graduate high school<\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>High school! Already? She was just in sixth grade not long ago, damn! I have missed her whole life\u2026 wow!<\/p>\n

WANDA: <\/strong>Yes, high school Montel. Now come and get in the car so I can take you home.<\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>Yeah, let\u2019s get the hell out of here and never return again! They thought they had me when they first put me here, but yet I climb!<\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[The date is May 23, 2013. Montel hears his name being called to receive his first ever college degree. He rises and begins walking slowly across the stage, then more gingerly. Once the degree is in his hand, he pauses a moment looks up into the sky and says\u2026]<\/em>
\nMONTEL: <\/strong>Grandma I have done just what you said. I would wish you could be here. Mommy, thanks for giving me life and even though I have done it Yet I Climb! Yet I Climb! Yet I Climb!<\/strong><\/p>\n

STAGE DIRECTION: <\/em><\/strong>[Tears roll down his face as he looks out into the audience and sees his daughter smiling proudly. He whispers to himself\u2026]<\/em><\/p>\n

MONTEL: <\/strong>I will teach you how to climb too, princess!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTHE END\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Alfred Brown Jr., born in the Washington Heights\u2019 section of Harlem, New York on February 25, 1964 to Alfred and Elizabeth Brown. He\u2019s the second oldest of five siblings. He attended P.S. 28, I.S 195 and Julia Richmond High School where he graduated in 1982. He went on to win a four year music scholarship from Long Island University in the same year of graduation. A year later (1983), unfortunately, he found himself on the wrong side of the law and was sent off to prison. Having completed his full prison term, he enrolled in Westchester Community College in September of 2012, where he is presently and in his last semester. His\u00a0degree of study is in Social Sciences and Chemical Dependency.\u00a0 When he finishes his course of study and obtains his\u00a0degree, he hopes to one day be presented with the opportunity to make a difference by being a drug counselor. He also hopes to one day pursue a career in writing.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Montel Cunningham is a true Harlem knight raised in the 1970s. He\u2019s aspiring to become a musician but his past is troubled with nothing but violence, hate, pain, fear and low self-esteem. He also has a strong dislike for the man that taught him his talents, his father. His love for his mother is strong but he knows that she is still adjusting from her break down. Just when he feels like nothing else is working, he turns to his grandmother for help and guidance, but he doesn\u2019t listen. He is trying to control his bottled up anger. One day a bad choice puts him in prison with all hope being lost. He was given 25 years in anticipation to change his thinking. Montel sees no hope in ever seeing his grandma, mother, wife and daughter again!<\/p>\n

READ MORE.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":9207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,219,217],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9156"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9156"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9243,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9156\/revisions\/9243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}