Description
Drama/Dialogue: What a waste!
(A piece for two voices.)
What a waste - spending all that money on taking children to the seaside. You may call them deprived, but if their parents – presuming that they have any – got out and did some paid work, then they wouldn’t have to rely on charity.
What a joy – to see the excitement, the amazement, the happiness, the shining faces of children who have never been outside the city before and never dreamed that they would ever see the sea.
What a waste – going to all that expense with flowers and shrubs and trees and a lake and ornamental statues. What good will it do? Who needs parks and gardens? Surely the money could have been put to better use than that.
Continues...
What a joy – to find such an oasis of green and be able to exercise, or stroll, in the fresh air and take in the scent of the flowers. So many people have no space for a garden of their own. This area is a wonderful place for all to enjoy.
What a waste – to spend all that money on an elaborate Christmas party for those old people. Hiring a hall, putting on a full-scale meal, buying crackers, party hats, balloons, decorations and even bringing in a Father Christmas to give out presents – all far too much. Surely the money could have been better spent on delivering Meals on Wheels on a regular basis – letting people stay in their own homes instead of having to make the effort to go out?
What a joy – to see so many lonely people coming together to have a party. Some of them have no means of getting out of the house on their own and can go for days without seeing another person. Many of them get very few Christmas cards and no presents, because they have outlived their friends and have no close family. It is a delight to see them enjoying themselves for a change.
“What a waste” – said Judas, as Mary poured perfume over the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair. “How useful that money could have been if we had used it to feed the poor.”
“What a joy” – said Jesus, “that someone cared enough for me to want to give me such an extravagant gift. The love shown by this gesture will help to carry me through the dark days ahead. Such generosity will never be forgotten.”
And in all acts of selfless generosity and compassionate love,
the perfume of that moment lingers on.
©Marjorie Dobson