Fifteen Hundred Miles In Another Man's Shoes - Act One Scene One

A Native American grandfather explores the adventure of taking his first grandson off the reservation, set in the mid 20th Century. Originally written as a one act play, currently expanding.

FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES IN ANOTHER MAN’S SHOES

A

One Act Dramatic Script

For

Film Medium

 

Cast of Characters

(In Order of Appearance)

BENJAMIN................................................................................ A Middle-Aged American Indian

NAYATI.................................................................................................. BENJAMIN’S Grandson

ATTENDANT................................................................................ A Miserable, Sarcastic Old Man

BELLHOP......................................................................................... An Optimistic Young Worker

 

Time Period / Setting

The winter of 1963 begins to fall on the Brule Reservation in North Dakota. The action of this play happens in and around the main character’s 1950’s model Oldsmobile. The powder blue shell clashes with the worn black seat covers inside the car and mechanic problems cause the car to constantly creak and rattle. In the beginning of the play, the characters drive through the sparsely populated plains. Toward the end of the play, the background becomes more urban building up to their arrival in Baltimore. The characters’ language is anachronistic at times to appeal to a modern audience.

 

 

ACT ONE�"SCENE ONE

An older Indian named BENJAMIN wakes up in the black of the night to the buzzing sound of his alarm clock. He has agreed to drive his grandson, NAYATI, to Baltimore, where he acquired a job with a newspaper. Their family cannot afford much; however,  BENJAMIN has offered to drive his grandson so that he has a chance to say goodbye. BENJAMIN gets dressed, makes his way to his car, and begins driving to pick up NAYATI.  Only the sound of the engine breaks the silence in the car. Eventually the rumbling of the car stops, a door opens and closes, and the sound of the antiquated locking system rings. BENJAMIN emerges from the car, dressed head to toe in denim, and approaches a dilapidated mobile home.

BENJAMIN: Nayati . . . Nayati it’s near sun-up. You must come. We have a long journey ahead of us. Pause. Nayati . . . Nayati�" A young man, around twenty years old, appears through the broken screen door.

NAYATI: Give me time to bring out my things tinkolsih. The Lakota word for grandfather trails off as he disappears back into the house.

BENJAMIN: (slowly) TOON-KAH-SEE-LAH.

NAYATI: Okay. If that’s how you all say it, got it.

BENJAMIN: Your mother, is she in there?

NAYATI: She’s still in bed. Nayati struggles to the car dragging along an over-packed suitcase.

BENJAMIN: Are you not going to say goodbye?

NAYATI: Irritated, She expects that I leave without waking her. Are you coming?

BENJAMIN: Of course, son. Of course.

Nayati drags his suitcase across the dead grass to the passenger side of the car and pulls at the handle. Benjamin calmly gets into his side and reaches across to unlock the door for his impatient grandson. Benjamin starts the car and begins driving in silence.

NAYATI: How long do we have to go?

BENJAMIN: I am not sure, it’s half the country away. I expect we could get there in a day or two, but we can stop once or twice to spend the night in a city. We could spend some time in Chicago�"

NAYATI: I’ll drive the night shifts, I want to get to Baltimore sooner than later.

BENJAMIN: Reluctantly, Okay.

Nayati clicks on the radio, more to avoid interacting then for his listening pleasure. After a few minutes, Benjamin turns the radio off.

BENJAMIN: Your mother tells me that you had been looking for a job for a while. So Baltimore it is? I had been in Baltimore once, but that was a long time ago. . . It is so far away Nayati, and for a job with a newspaper? I should think that you could have just as well started up your own paper in Brule. Imagine that! You would be the editor, writer, and the owner! I’d say that sounds like a good enough job for a fine young man like yourself.

NAYATI: The Res is too quiet, there’s no news in those old Indians. Mockingly, Old man James broke his hip yesterday and the weather is cooling off. He laughs but finds that his grandfather does not share in his humor. More seriously, It is time for me to leave, tunkashila.

BENJAMIN: A little taken back by Nayati’s mockery but still chillingly calm, I just figured that you could have stayed closer to home that is all. You might not see any of us for a while after today.

NAYATI: I’ll phone back, you’ll still be able to hear my voice.

BENJAMIN: Your mother will want more than a phone call Nayati, what is it that you want to do in Baltimore?

NAYATI: I want to learn to write journals, I want to see the world; I want to experience life away from the safe little reservation. No one at home understands me, everyone is caught up with their own lives, no one wants to let me see what is really out there.

These words catch Benjamin’s attention and he sees a glimpse of his young self in Nayati. He can empathize with wanting to see the world and get away from the fetters of an over-protective family, but he wishes that that ambition did not lead Nayati away from his home. He attempts to express it�"

BENJAMIN: I know how you feel Nayati, I was once a young man who wanted to see the world. But the world is full of people who aren’t like us, and those type of people can make for bad company.

NAYATI: Angered, I am almost twenty years old and you want to tell me who I can associate with and where I can go?

BENJAMIN: Somehow maintaining a cool tone to his voice, No, what I mean to tell you is that the world is full of Brule’s and St. Paul’s. Everything anyone would ever need is no more than one hundred miles from where we live. Whatever you want to do in a big city like Baltimore can be done in a big city like St. Paul�"

NAYATI: St. Paul isn’t far enough. . .

BENJAMIN: With hesitation So you just want to leave us, is that it?

NAYATI: If that’s how you want to put it then yes, I need to get away from all the dreary Indians.

BENJAMIN: Taken back, Those “dreary Indians” are your family and you will not talk about them like that. Upon thinking about the words he wanted to say, Benjamin exaggerates with a newfound annoyance, Not in my car.

The two do not speak for a brief moment. Nayati, upset by his grandfather’s hostility wants to find the right words to justify his leaving home. At the same time Benjamin is so upset that he is at the brink of falling apart. Years of dealing with distant children giving birth to unappreciative grandchildren has been pent up in the old Indian’s head. As Benjamin speeds past an 18-wheeler on a near deserted highway Nayati chooses to break the silence.

NAYATI: All any of you want to do is keep me at arm’s length and tell me what to do and where to go. You tell me when to work, how to spend my free time. . . Everyone in this family tosses the end of my leash around at their own convenience. None of this is fair to me and what I�"

BENJAMIN: Stop. . . with a quiet anger What’s fair to you? You are still a teenager and you expect us to let you go and leave home at whatever moment you want to get up and go? Knock that off now.

NAYATI: Knock it off?!  Nayati’s anger amplifies with every word, Everyone talks down to me like they know what’s best for me, sometimes they don’t, sometimes I’m the only one who knows what I really want, sometimes they should listen to me, sometimes�"

BENJAMIN: Scolding, Sometimes you should think about others before you speak. You spent the last three months sitting at home sulking about how lonely it is in Brule, bothering your mother with your childishness when she can barely pay to keep what little she has. And not one bit of it is for her! She does all of that for you and for your siblings. Only a year ago you could not have been happier with your life at home. You had a girlfriend, friends that came over and wrecked your mother’s house whenever they wanted, and  not a care in the world. Suddenly, something is expected of you and your first instinct is to run away. All your mother wanted was for you to find a respectable career, but you chose to spite her and leave for some distant city. Baltimore? The first city you could think of, it could have been New York, Los Angeles, Orlando. You don’t want to be a writer . . . you want to be selfish.

The radio still buzzes and, out of anger, Benjamin turns up the bluesy station to drone out any response his ungrateful grandson might think up. Nayati, now slumped in his seat does not say a word. He looks down at the bag on his lap. The luggage rattles on the backseat as the car hits the occasional pothole. Benjamin looks straight ahead at the road, but his mind is far away. He can tell that his words were harsh, but he decides not to apologize. As he thinks to himself, his anger can be seen on every wrinkle in his face. The air is crisp and whips through the open windows. The gas bell dings and Benjamin finds the excuse to clear his mind. He spots a gas station, pulls in, grabs his cash from the dashboard, and slams the door behind him as he goes to find an attendant and a cigarette. 

Author's Note

I apologize for any stereotypical language, diction is meant to fit the time period. Please comment on my use of stage directions: do the directions not leave enough for an actor's interpretation?