Do because you want, not because you want something.
I got my inspiration when I lived in NYC and watched as people raced by this homeless guy who was sitting outside the subway entrance, on a subway grate trying to keep warm from the steam rising. He had a cup of hot something and was wrapped in a blanket trying to stay warm. People were racing by and he tried to stay out of their way, but they seemed determined to get in his way and remind him how unfortunate he was. Someone kicked over his hot drink and didn’t even think that he deserved an apology. I watched this wanting to yell at them, but no one stayed long to hear never-mind care. My attention was drawn away by a street preacher announcing that the second coming of Jesus was upon us! That he was living among us! I stared harder at the homeless man and I got it…He was Jesus and he came back as a homeless man. He is looking for someone to show kindness and prove that there was love left in the loveless city. I got it. I went over to him and we shared a knowing smile as I dropped some loose change I had in my pocket into his opened hat. He smiled back and then looked thought the change I dropped and picked out the pennies and handed them back to me. “I don’t take pennies” he said as I took the pennies back. I was stumped. Jesus was kind of rude to me.
I walked by the street preacher who also announced that GOD showed him the year that the world would end-2000 (this happened back in 1997). I asked how he found out and he informed me that GOD gave him a sign in his cereal. I thought for a moment and asked if he ate Cheerio’s? I mean making 2000 out of Cheerio’s isn’t very imaginative. He brushed me away saying Satan had sent me…Yeah, like he’s the first one to say that to me.
So when I got home I wanted to write about the experience and immortalize my own revelation about the inhumanity that I had experience. I worked with a girl named Tamela and she was a heavy set African American girl who was so sweet but kept going out with losers because that is all who would date her. He was so self conscience about her weight and would never go after attractive men because they would just “sleep with me, get me pregnant and leave me with supporting the boo-boo’s of my booty call!” She was probably right, hell if I had a kid for all my booty calls I would be able to start my own village. There was one moment with Tamela that always stuck out in my memory. We worked in a restaurant together, she was the hostess and I was the bartender. We were hanging at the host station when one of the under-paid, overly sarcastic waitresses came over and told us a customer wanted to know if could get a second serving because she was still hungry. Tamela just shoot back, “where does she think she is at grandma’s house?” I could not stop laughing.
When I started writing the story I knew right away I wanted it to take on the old black and white nickelodeon, “Perils of Pauline style” silent with underscorepiano music and a few written words and at the end a message.
The title “SECOND SERVING”
YOU are now in "the time of the end."
"the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet"
Once upon a time in a city like New York City there was a neighborhood like Harlem and a single mother of two like Tamela. There were many people in this place that was like New York City especially in the neighborhood like Harlem and a single mother of two like Tamela could easily get swallowed up in such a place. A person would have to wake up fighting every day just to survive, Tamela was no exception. She considered it a victory to make it home and placing dinner on the table for her two reasons for living the life. Each day she would plunge into a hole in the ground that was like a subway entrance and escape the hole in the late evening. What went on in-between was a mystery to Tamela as well as to us. Everything evening there was a less fortunate man who looked like a homeless person. He would try to bring a smile to Tamela’s face, but she would have none of it! She had no reason to smile, nor did she think it was the place of a homeless bum to suggest it! “Get a job and leave me alone” is what went through her head. “Would that really make your life easier” he thought back. He would greet her everyday and just smile. She wasn’t enjoying this uncomfortable relationship.
While doing laundry one day her children came upon him and liked the tricks he performed. Tamela was horrified that they were near him and discouraged them from being kind to him. They wanted to give him change, but Tamela did not want them to be nice! She reluctantly gave them change and got them home safely!
The next day was no different as she exited the hell hole she saw her secret stalker waiting to make her smile. She avoided eye contact and ran into the super market to get dinner for her kids. When she exited the store she saw her secret stalker and she banged into a happy couple who thought she was drunk and left her on the sidewalk with all her groceries scattered around. It was Tamela’s secret stalker who came to her rescue. She, still avoiding his eyes, grabbed things from him and noticed her roasted chicken was out of its case. She couldn’t serve it to her children and was going to throw it out- instead she gave it to her homeless hero. He was so happy and grateful; Tamela was just disgusted and wanted to get away.
When Tamela gets into the safety of her “self made” prison she saw the hungry faces of her two reasons for living this life. It dawned on her that she had given their dinner away and she had no money! She saw the pancake mix on the kitchen table and improvised a breakfast dinner. Exhausted she saw the happy faces of the two reasons for her living this life and started to clean up. It was then that the male reason for her living this life that tugged on her shirt, holding his empty dinner plate. He wanted a second serving. Tamela scraped what was left in the bowl and managed to make a pancake. As the pancake was being created a slow discovery of shock appears on Tamela’s face. The pancake shines in GOLD and the face of Jesus Christ appears on the pancake! Standing there shocked Tamela cries out! She runs out into the apartment hallway with the frying pan banging on the neighbor’s doors. Everyone runs out into the hall and some start praying. Tamela’s best friend ushers her back into her apartment.
We see people lined up to pray at the pancake, which is now in a glass covered cake plate. The two reasons for Tamela living this life had their own pancake mix stand selling batter for five dollars a bag.
Tamela secretly had travel brochures and wish list of what to do with the money they were making. It was then that the phone rang. Tamela answers her cell to find Father O’Hara, the local priest, calling out of the blue. Seems Father O’Hara wants a cut of the profit…I mean wants to legitimize the miracle of the pancake. He makes Tamela an offer she cannot refuse.
Father O’Hara places the pancake on the altar and gets a call that Tamela is on her way for her check. He leaves the pancake uncovered. The smell lures the hungry homeless hero into the church, passes all the silent sinners praying for redemption. The hungry homeless hero takes the miracle pancake and sits on the altar to enjoy his food from GOD. The sinners see the bum eating Jesus and attack him! They are throwing him and grabbing the miracle. Father O’Hara and Tamela, holding the check, run in and try to break it up. Tamela notices the miracle pancake missing. After Father O’Hara breaks up the fight and sees the pancake scattered all over the altar floor he takes the check out of Tamela’s hand and leave. Everyone leaves and Tamela is all alone with the man that took her life away from her.
The hungry homeless hero reaches up to Tamela to help him; a feeling of emptiness freezes her from movement. The vacations, the easy life, the dreams are all gone. Her two reasons for living the life will never get out of the hell home she has made for them- this BUM took that from them. He damned them to hell and now it is her duty to return the favor. Tamela goes to offer her hand to the hungry homeless hero when it grabs on to a solid gold cross and Tamela cannot stop herself from hitting the homeless hero and hitting and hitting and he lays there in blood and pancake pieces.
Tamela steps back and disassociates herself from her hands stretching them out as though they do not belong to her body. Behind her we see a stained glass of Mary, the mother of GOD, with her arms stretched out. We see the homeless man with his fingers making a peace sign.
We see Tamela, hand-cuffed, going into a police car and the stain glass of Jesus making a peace sign lights up.
CUT TO STATION INTERRUPTION AND THE BEEPING SOUND....

Did she kill the second coming?
Acts 2:19-21 (NIV) "I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
The end
The piece was done as a one-act play where Tamela is on stage with a light above her as if she is being questioned in a police station…She tells the story sitting at a table. Wonderful piece! It was also published as a short story.
Original Tamela brings the pancake to the church, but it’s locked> Tamela goes to the side door toget in leaving the pancake. The homeless hero walking by sees the pancake and eats it . Tamela comes back and starts hitting him …passer-bys think the bum is attacking Tamela and attack him. He falls to the fence and his sleeves get stuck. The sun shadows the church cross on him and we see that he is stretched out to look like Christ on the cross.


