CAROUSEL WIND
Act 2 Scene 3
[Joy is at the Arcade by her summerhouse down the shore. She is with her brother Todd who has set up a booth by the carousel under the banner 'Intergalactic Pinwheel Company.' Her brother is very slow but doesn't look it. He suffered brain damage from a severe head injury when his peddle car went over a steep precipice.]
Joy:
Alright now Todd, remember what I told you. If you do well selling pinwheels we can set you up with a booth by the carousel at the Garden State Plaza. Then you won't have to stay around hear in the shadows because mom and dad are afraid to let the world know their child is special. I'll be sitting over there by the carousel working on my stories. So if you need anything just shout.
Todd:
You're a great sister Joy. When we get home maybe we can build a spaceship.
Joy:
If we can find some cardboard. Just focus on selling pinwheels for now. Just call out to the people who pass "Pinwheels..."
Todd:
OK.. Pinwheels
Joy: [walks a few feet away and sits
on a bench, reading her story out loud. Every so often she looks towards her
brother and smiles.]
I feel like a worm
In a candy apple
Looking at the world
Through a rosy glass
Selling Pinwheels
By a carousel
Is like the star at
The end of a telescope
The wind from the carousel
Makes the pinwheels spin
No — more like the end
Of a worm seen
Outside the rosy window
Of a candy apple
(Sings)
Sometimes I feel like a worm inside
A candy apple at a county fair
With one bite gone and tossed aside
In a world that's goin' nowhere
I'm quite a voracious guy
Deep in the candy apple of my eye
A rosy window lets in the dawn
Like a finger moving down the sky
Lonely now the fair is gone
Is that a worm out there I spy
O to curl up and die
Deep in the candy apple
Of my eye
My little world is safe inside
It won't get bruised to the core
Should I leave this ivory tunnel
Or stay inside and be a bore
Worm out there sort of hanging out
Is love gonna be just the end of me
In a world consumed with doubt
I'm not half the worm I used to be
The world out there is worth a try
So I leave the candy apple
Of my eye
[speaking]
One day Wilbur the worm
Crawled up an apple tree
And curled up inside a blossom
In time the blossom
Became an apple and ripened.
A farmer picked it and sent it off to market.
The Candy Apple Man
Bought a barrel of apples;
Took them to the fair
And made bunch
Of bright red candy apples.
He overlooked the one with Wilbur in it.
A little boy went to the fair
With his mother,
Who bought him a candy apple.
As they walked down the midway
He bit into the hard red candy coating.
It was too sweet.
He was lucky he didn't bite
The side with the worm.
The boy held onto the apple
For a while,
Then tossed it behind a tree
When no one was looking.
A few days passed
And the fair left town.
Wilbur feasted on the delicious apple...
And munched out a big space
Up to the red candy coating
Which became a big picture window
It was a very rosy window
Little Wilbur would just laze around
And look at everything
Lazing and looking
And licking his lips—
That's all he did
One day the back half of Wilbur
Wriggled its way out of the hole
In the candy coating
And swung around in front
Of the rosy window
Seeing his own tail
In front of the rosy window
Without realizing it was himself
Wilbur thought, "This must be
The most beautiful worm in the world"
Excited, Wilbur started to wriggle.
This made it seem that the 'worm'
Outside was doing a little love dance
Wilbur fell madly in love...
But felt 'she' was just
Too beautiful for him
And never sang any of the songs
He had written for her
He kept his love a secret
Wilbur was so infatuated
He stopped eating
He continued to admire
The rosy worm outside
Without venturing
Beyond his cozy domain
Soon Wilbur became weak and tired
The worm outside
Became weak and tired too
And stopped wriggling
Eventually
Wilbur lost interest in 'her'
And started munching again
Soon all that remained
Was the red candy shell
It was then that Wilbur realized
He had made a silly mistake
He crawled out
Into the real world
Embarrassed and bright red
Wilbur concluded
That he had been too young
For love, and decided to wait
Till he was ready
And then when the right girl worm
Happened by he wasn't
Going to just sit around
Writing poetry
[Joy sits thinking and
watching her brother. Meanwhile there is a split screen off to the side where
Mr. Poet is on a pay phone nearby calling Enigma.]
Mr. Poet:
Hello Enigma... I've been trying to reach you for a couple days. Remember Joy? She really loves you. The reason she didn't meet you was because her Grandfather died, and she had to go to the funeral. What? You're coming to America to find her. That's great. When are you coming? OK I'll see you then...
Joy: [to herself]
I intended that story to be an allegory for a poet on the verge of subjecting the world to his art, but it is what it is. A love story. I think I'll fly to Italy and find Enigma...
[When Mr. Poet gets off the phone he stands with his back to the ocean singing. There are painted cutouts of two very enormous people pretending to be whales singing along with him. Above him two planes fly towards each other symbolizing Joy and Enigma crossing paths over the Atlantic]
Mr. Poet: [sings]
In the Atlantic Ocean
There's a whale with the blues
He may have a great big heart
But there's no one to give his love to
Searching through the ocean
Round and round and round
There just aren't so many
Blue whales to be found
When a blue whale has the blues
He'll be wailing all day long
Miles and miles through the waves
You can hear the sad sad song
In the Pacific Ocean
There's a whale also blue
She may have a great big heart
But there's no one to give her love to
Searching through the ocean
Round and round and round
There just aren't so many
Blue whales to be found
When a blue whale has the blues
He'll be wailing all day long
Miles and miles through the waves
You can hear the sad sad song
You may feel just like that whale
Seeking love in the wrong ocean
Just keep the faith and you'll prevail
With the object of your devotion
Two whales almost met one time
A little south of Cape Horn
But an iceberg came between
And left them quite forlorn
Till they met in Monterey Bay
And agreed to seal their fate
They both took the plunge
Below the Golden Gate