Post by The Soul Of Philly on Nov 23, 2012 18:54:38 GMT -4
Tuesday, November 20th, 2012. 12:25 PM
We open the scene inside of a what seems to be a classroom of an elementary school as there are friendly bookworms along the walls of the room and other children-friendly decorations. There is a teacher’s desk sitting caddy-cornered off to the left, opposite the door. A bell is heard and only moments later, a small roar of children come from the hallways and soon, the door opens up and in comes a flood of kids of all colors, none of them looking older than 8, followed by a tall woman who almost touches the top of the door way with her head. The woman, the teacher it seems, is of fair skin and light brown hair. She leads to kids to their cubbies off to the right side of the room. All the kids put their belongings back in their bags following recess. The kids, dressed in Native American and Piligrim get ups, created by themselves, take their seats at their desks although the majority are still riding that recess high.
Teacher Ok children, take you’re seats. Since this is the last day before Thanksgiving break, we’re going to say what we’re thankful for in our lives. Now, before we get started, I want to lay down some rules. Do not talk out of turn, you will all get your turn to talk and share what you’re thankful for.
A little girl, fair skin with a blonde pony tail raises her hand.
Teacher Yes Hannah?
Hannah Ms. Hutchinson, may I please go first?
A small group of four boys in the back let out a chuckle, which draws the attention of Mrs. Hutchinson
Ms. Hutchinson Ah, Darren, do you have something to say?
The three boys look at Darren, a dark skin boy, as if he were the leader.
Darren Me and my buddies were just having a laugh at Hannah The Teacher’s Pet.
Hannah You don’t say that!
Ms. Hutchinson Now Darren, what did we talk about? Do we have to call your parents again?
Silence from the group of boys as Darren drops his head.
Ms. Hutchinson Good. Now, to answer your question Hannah, you may go first of the class, but I have a special guest today that wishes to share with us what he is thankful for.
Another hand shoots up, this time, from a fair skin boy, small and round with brown hair.
Ms. Hutchinson Yes Gary do you have a question?
Gary Yes, um…why are they’re cameras here? Is it, ah, someone famous?
Ms. Hutchinson Haha, well, yes it is, quite famous, especially around this city of Philadelphia, in fact, our special guest sat in this very room when he was a child. Do we have any guesses? Gary, we’ll start with you?
Gary Ah,um, is it Will Smith?
Ms. Hutchinson Nope. Anyone else?
Several hands shot up, but Ms. Hutchinson points to a tan skinned girl with dark hair in the middle of the room.
Girl #2 Bradley Cooper? He’s dreamy.
Ms. Hutchinson He is dreamy, but uh-uh. Last one? No Hannah, let someone else chose?
Hannah drops her hand as one last hand shoots up, this one of Darren, the troublemaker.
Darren Mah nigga Meek Millz?
As any bad word being used would, the kids laugh as Ms. Hutchinson shakes her head.
Ms. Hutchinson After school, I am going to call your parents and let them know your behavior hasn’t improved since last we spoke.
Again, the group of boys chuckle at Darren while he tells them to shut up.
Ms. Hutchinson No, our guest is someone not really talented when it comes to singing or acting. He grew up here and takes the lessons he learned at J.Hampton Moore and took them to adulthood and has made something of himself. He is an Action Packed Wrestling Megastar, and my brother, “The Soul of Philly” TJ.
After a few seconds of clapping, TJ comes in, ducking and sideways, into the room with a sheet of paper sticking out of the back pocket of his jeans. He has a black Eagles hoody on as he hugs his sister, earning a “Aww” from the kids. He laughs as the kids quiet down.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ So what am I calling you?
Ms. Hutchinson Ms. Hutchinson.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ No, no way. I’ll call ya sis, so, thanks sis for letting me join you and your lovely class as you guys share what you are thankful for. And thank you lovely class.
Ms. Hutchinson What do we say class?
YOU'RE WELCOME MR….
Hutchinson
TJ
Soul
Of Philly
TJ chuckles at the confusion his name has caused.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ You kids can call me TJ. You are all very polite. My sister must do a good job of teaching you kids how to be polite to people. Trust me, that will take you far in life. Manners are everything.
Ms. Hutchinson See class, I told you. You think TJ made it as far as he did with being rude?
Darren I bet his size didn’t help.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Smart kid.
Ms. Hutchinson With a smart mouth. That’s Darren O’Neal.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Ah you’re the troublemaker my sister has talked about. Causing her a lot of frustration, I hear. High five!
Ms. Hutchinson TJ!
TJ’s sister hits him in the arm, but not before TJ can complete the air five with Darren.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Alright. Look, Darren what do you want to be in life?
Darren A rapper.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ A rapper? Well, the music industry is very hard to get into, even if you’re good. Some of the best rappers, you’ve never heard of. You’re going to need something to make you stand out, and being rude and mean to other people isn’t the way to go. I hope you realize that one day and you do make it, this way, when I’m retired from wrestling, you can throw a little money my way for helping you make it.
Darren keeps quiet, seemingly taking the words to heart.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Now, I asked my sister if it was alright if I could share with you what I’m thankful for. I use to do this as a kid and was one of my favorite things to do in school. So, ah, can I start sis?
Ms. Hutchinson Go ahead, now give TJ his time to speak, you each will get a turn we have until the end of the day.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Well, I promise not to take up all day. Firstly I am thankful for my friends and family. The saying goes, “You don’t know what you got until it’s gone.” But I say you don’t know what you got until you really need it. You know, me and my sister here, we lost our brother. I don’t know about her but there’s a lot of times that I would need my brother to talk me up. Needed him after I lost at One Night In Heeeeeck. Phew, that almost got by the filter. I needed him to be there and tell me I did a good job, that it gave it my all that it just wasn’t my night. But I think he did do that through my friends and family. How many of you have lost a friend or relative that you could talk to about anything and could make you feel better?
Almost every hand goes up.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Wow. That’s a lot. Now you all miss them and you should but you should be thankful to have had them in your lives in the first place, those kind of people do not come around often and if you still have people like that, this Thanksgiving, thank them for being there for you, you never know when you’re going to need them around. Now, the second thing I want to give my thanks for is my health, now, as you kids can see, I’m a bit banged up so it may not look like I’m healthy in the physical sense, but mentally, I am, and I’m grateful to be. The life of a pro wrestler is a mentally tough one. One minute you can be on top of a ladder about to get a World Title shot and the next, lying flat out on the mat after falling off that ladder. It’s painful but I signed up for it and I’m prepared for it and that’s what I got last week. I came oh so close to challenging Miss Sally Talfourd on PPV two days before Christmas, but, the match went south real quick, I took a bat to the face from Mr. Michael Callahan. It, ah, stinks what happened, but where one door closes, another opens and this door may lead to gold just as the last one did.
A hand shoots up, this time from the rotund boy named Gary.
Gary Ah, TJ, I have a question.
Ms. Hutchinson Gary, what did we-
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Sis, relax. What is question?
Gary Well, you’re a pro wrestler right?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Yup.
Gary Well, can you show me how to fight so I can fight the bullies who pick on me?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Ah…um…
TJ looks at his sister who looks at him waiting for the right answer.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Well, ah, what’s your name?
Gary Gary.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Well Gary, you see, that’s not how to handle bullies. You don’t fight fire with fire because no matter what, someone is going to end up getting burned. What you do is put the fire out. Take my opponent this week on Asylum, which you can see on the Food Network, Yarmouth, you see, we’ve faced each other before and he thought he could out do me in a battle of two giants, he fought fire with fire and he ended up getting burned and it took a bit off him. This time around I expect him to come at me differently and I welcome it. You see, Yarmouth is a great man, big strong guy, not too bright, but it’s alright, neither am I, we both know what to do in that ring. He likes to hurt people and that’s his M.O. but my M.O. is winning, which is the difference between us. Yarmouth is a simple man who just like to inflict pain on his opponents where I like to win and that’s what I intend to do.
Gary Oh, so you can’t help me?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Hmm, here’s what I can do for you, I know a great gym that teaches many forms of self-defense, mine. Ask your parents if they could bring you over to the gym and sign you up. But remember, its self-defense not offence.
Gary’s smiles a smile bigger than his face.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ The last thing I am thankful for is my fans, which, hopefully, some of you guys are in here as you kids are from Philly, the city I love and carry around with me everywhere. I do have some of the best fans because I know down or up, you guys got my back. This week against Yarmouth you guys are going to get loud and support me, you guys are going to help me along this journey to Christmas Chaos where I’ll be in the Tap Out Gauntlet for one last chance at the Tap Out Championship. I know you guys will be there cheering for greatness in its truest form. I know you guys will be rooting for Yarmouth’s nightmares in their physical form. And I know too well that you guys will be fully behind “THE SOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OF PHILLY” come Sunday, whether you in the arena or at home. So that’s what I’m thankful for. Thank you class.
A round of applause from the class as TJ takes a bow.
Ms. Hutchinson Thank you TJ for sharing, are you going to be sticking around?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Sure.
Ms. Hutchinson Cool so Hannah, it’s your turn.
Hannah grabs her paper and sprints to the front of the class as the scene fades to black
Teacher Ok children, take you’re seats. Since this is the last day before Thanksgiving break, we’re going to say what we’re thankful for in our lives. Now, before we get started, I want to lay down some rules. Do not talk out of turn, you will all get your turn to talk and share what you’re thankful for.
A little girl, fair skin with a blonde pony tail raises her hand.
Teacher Yes Hannah?
Hannah Ms. Hutchinson, may I please go first?
A small group of four boys in the back let out a chuckle, which draws the attention of Mrs. Hutchinson
Ms. Hutchinson Ah, Darren, do you have something to say?
The three boys look at Darren, a dark skin boy, as if he were the leader.
Darren Me and my buddies were just having a laugh at Hannah The Teacher’s Pet.
Hannah You don’t say that!
Ms. Hutchinson Now Darren, what did we talk about? Do we have to call your parents again?
Silence from the group of boys as Darren drops his head.
Ms. Hutchinson Good. Now, to answer your question Hannah, you may go first of the class, but I have a special guest today that wishes to share with us what he is thankful for.
Another hand shoots up, this time, from a fair skin boy, small and round with brown hair.
Ms. Hutchinson Yes Gary do you have a question?
Gary Yes, um…why are they’re cameras here? Is it, ah, someone famous?
Ms. Hutchinson Haha, well, yes it is, quite famous, especially around this city of Philadelphia, in fact, our special guest sat in this very room when he was a child. Do we have any guesses? Gary, we’ll start with you?
Gary Ah,um, is it Will Smith?
Ms. Hutchinson Nope. Anyone else?
Several hands shot up, but Ms. Hutchinson points to a tan skinned girl with dark hair in the middle of the room.
Girl #2 Bradley Cooper? He’s dreamy.
Ms. Hutchinson He is dreamy, but uh-uh. Last one? No Hannah, let someone else chose?
Hannah drops her hand as one last hand shoots up, this one of Darren, the troublemaker.
Darren Mah nigga Meek Millz?
As any bad word being used would, the kids laugh as Ms. Hutchinson shakes her head.
Ms. Hutchinson After school, I am going to call your parents and let them know your behavior hasn’t improved since last we spoke.
Again, the group of boys chuckle at Darren while he tells them to shut up.
Ms. Hutchinson No, our guest is someone not really talented when it comes to singing or acting. He grew up here and takes the lessons he learned at J.Hampton Moore and took them to adulthood and has made something of himself. He is an Action Packed Wrestling Megastar, and my brother, “The Soul of Philly” TJ.
After a few seconds of clapping, TJ comes in, ducking and sideways, into the room with a sheet of paper sticking out of the back pocket of his jeans. He has a black Eagles hoody on as he hugs his sister, earning a “Aww” from the kids. He laughs as the kids quiet down.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ So what am I calling you?
Ms. Hutchinson Ms. Hutchinson.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ No, no way. I’ll call ya sis, so, thanks sis for letting me join you and your lovely class as you guys share what you are thankful for. And thank you lovely class.
Ms. Hutchinson What do we say class?
YOU'RE WELCOME MR….
Hutchinson
TJ
Soul
Of Philly
TJ chuckles at the confusion his name has caused.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ You kids can call me TJ. You are all very polite. My sister must do a good job of teaching you kids how to be polite to people. Trust me, that will take you far in life. Manners are everything.
Ms. Hutchinson See class, I told you. You think TJ made it as far as he did with being rude?
Darren I bet his size didn’t help.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Smart kid.
Ms. Hutchinson With a smart mouth. That’s Darren O’Neal.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Ah you’re the troublemaker my sister has talked about. Causing her a lot of frustration, I hear. High five!
Ms. Hutchinson TJ!
TJ’s sister hits him in the arm, but not before TJ can complete the air five with Darren.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Alright. Look, Darren what do you want to be in life?
Darren A rapper.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ A rapper? Well, the music industry is very hard to get into, even if you’re good. Some of the best rappers, you’ve never heard of. You’re going to need something to make you stand out, and being rude and mean to other people isn’t the way to go. I hope you realize that one day and you do make it, this way, when I’m retired from wrestling, you can throw a little money my way for helping you make it.
Darren keeps quiet, seemingly taking the words to heart.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Now, I asked my sister if it was alright if I could share with you what I’m thankful for. I use to do this as a kid and was one of my favorite things to do in school. So, ah, can I start sis?
Ms. Hutchinson Go ahead, now give TJ his time to speak, you each will get a turn we have until the end of the day.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Well, I promise not to take up all day. Firstly I am thankful for my friends and family. The saying goes, “You don’t know what you got until it’s gone.” But I say you don’t know what you got until you really need it. You know, me and my sister here, we lost our brother. I don’t know about her but there’s a lot of times that I would need my brother to talk me up. Needed him after I lost at One Night In Heeeeeck. Phew, that almost got by the filter. I needed him to be there and tell me I did a good job, that it gave it my all that it just wasn’t my night. But I think he did do that through my friends and family. How many of you have lost a friend or relative that you could talk to about anything and could make you feel better?
Almost every hand goes up.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Wow. That’s a lot. Now you all miss them and you should but you should be thankful to have had them in your lives in the first place, those kind of people do not come around often and if you still have people like that, this Thanksgiving, thank them for being there for you, you never know when you’re going to need them around. Now, the second thing I want to give my thanks for is my health, now, as you kids can see, I’m a bit banged up so it may not look like I’m healthy in the physical sense, but mentally, I am, and I’m grateful to be. The life of a pro wrestler is a mentally tough one. One minute you can be on top of a ladder about to get a World Title shot and the next, lying flat out on the mat after falling off that ladder. It’s painful but I signed up for it and I’m prepared for it and that’s what I got last week. I came oh so close to challenging Miss Sally Talfourd on PPV two days before Christmas, but, the match went south real quick, I took a bat to the face from Mr. Michael Callahan. It, ah, stinks what happened, but where one door closes, another opens and this door may lead to gold just as the last one did.
A hand shoots up, this time from the rotund boy named Gary.
Gary Ah, TJ, I have a question.
Ms. Hutchinson Gary, what did we-
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Sis, relax. What is question?
Gary Well, you’re a pro wrestler right?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Yup.
Gary Well, can you show me how to fight so I can fight the bullies who pick on me?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Ah…um…
TJ looks at his sister who looks at him waiting for the right answer.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Well, ah, what’s your name?
Gary Gary.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Well Gary, you see, that’s not how to handle bullies. You don’t fight fire with fire because no matter what, someone is going to end up getting burned. What you do is put the fire out. Take my opponent this week on Asylum, which you can see on the Food Network, Yarmouth, you see, we’ve faced each other before and he thought he could out do me in a battle of two giants, he fought fire with fire and he ended up getting burned and it took a bit off him. This time around I expect him to come at me differently and I welcome it. You see, Yarmouth is a great man, big strong guy, not too bright, but it’s alright, neither am I, we both know what to do in that ring. He likes to hurt people and that’s his M.O. but my M.O. is winning, which is the difference between us. Yarmouth is a simple man who just like to inflict pain on his opponents where I like to win and that’s what I intend to do.
Gary Oh, so you can’t help me?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Hmm, here’s what I can do for you, I know a great gym that teaches many forms of self-defense, mine. Ask your parents if they could bring you over to the gym and sign you up. But remember, its self-defense not offence.
Gary’s smiles a smile bigger than his face.
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ The last thing I am thankful for is my fans, which, hopefully, some of you guys are in here as you kids are from Philly, the city I love and carry around with me everywhere. I do have some of the best fans because I know down or up, you guys got my back. This week against Yarmouth you guys are going to get loud and support me, you guys are going to help me along this journey to Christmas Chaos where I’ll be in the Tap Out Gauntlet for one last chance at the Tap Out Championship. I know you guys will be there cheering for greatness in its truest form. I know you guys will be rooting for Yarmouth’s nightmares in their physical form. And I know too well that you guys will be fully behind “THE SOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OF PHILLY” come Sunday, whether you in the arena or at home. So that’s what I’m thankful for. Thank you class.
A round of applause from the class as TJ takes a bow.
Ms. Hutchinson Thank you TJ for sharing, are you going to be sticking around?
The.Soul.Of.Philly TJ Sure.
Ms. Hutchinson Cool so Hannah, it’s your turn.
Hannah grabs her paper and sprints to the front of the class as the scene fades to black
