Week 1, Theme 5

Prompt: Return either to the scene in assignment 1 or to the scene in assignment 3 and use it as the setting for an incident. How is the scene affected by what happens? How does the scene affect what happens?

Note: This piece connects to that from Week 1, Theme 3.

Thirteen periods of the tightly clad men alternating holding a stick and striking a ball with the tight men of the other color occurred until one could detect a recognizable break. A tribal chant about “rooting” and “home teams” was projected in an announcement, and the worshipers rose from their seats. Most of the deacons-in-training lifted their arms above their head or rubbed their large middle regions in apparent satisfaction. A different group of similarly clad men sitting on the edge of the enclosure remained still. Their dispositions conveyed a certain sense of mourning. One of the men wore, along with a headdress that had two red foot pieces depicted on it, a cloth on his mid-section that read “Ford Motor Company Metalworkers Legion #13.” Another of the men wore a headdress with similar language and styling. Many rows of benches down, directly below where the Metal Men sat, was located a Special Room containing worshipers clad in blue neck-fabric. The men held up transparent, hollow cylinders with a dark liquid in it and then quaffed the material in unison. The ritual conveyed the high spirits of the men. On a surface behind the men sat stacks of thin grayish material with words. Many of the words were related to the Company of the Metal Men. One sentence with large letters read “Ford cuts 10,000 jobs; Returns to profitability.” Rows above, as the Post-Thirteenth Sticking Period Activity Break concluded, the ashen faces of the Metal Men turned again towards the ritual as it resumed. I felt their alienation, and wanted them to forget.