in the time of jesus??? short script 1

twocancook

INTRODUCTION:
author:
easter .....mmmm well i sometimes wonder
what was it like in the
TIME OF JESUS/???????

that italian film maker...pasolini? i think that's his name...he made a few visually eye- opening movies, set in historical times....his jesus film (st matthew??) was actually filmed in the north aftican dessert, and parts of arid southern italy, with the local, illiterate town's people...toothless, salt of the earth types...as actors....

Narrator:
jesus walks on water. have him walking in shallow lowtide, shoot the angle so you just see the sun reflecting on the water. you can't tell how shallow it is. just beyond him, in deeper water, are his disciples, fishermen, is a low primitive wooden boat...

Author:
i want to write something interesting and provocative for an easter play???
Narrator:
sometimes the truth is best. ..........
get a bible. have jesus dude read from it. wash someone's feet. go barefoot. mary magdalene attemps to seduce him.
maybe magdalene is his closest apostle and the men resent her.???
(ENDINTRODUCTION)
______________________________________________
SCENE 1: A FISHING VILLAGE. MAGDALENA AND JESUS DUDE HANG; SHE IS WASHING HIS FEET. he is holding a gun.

MAGDALENA:hey dude? you getting cold? you've been out on the water all day.

no we won't eat fish tonight.
i'm tired of fish, you're tired of fish. i got some fowl at the market....
i did a little side job today...no it wasn't horrible;but he wasn't my favorite client.
what do you think of my newbusiness card?
body work
massage therapist
esthetician
make up artist
skin care products

do you think that's too much? or should i list all my jobs??
you never know....i'd hate to miss a job....???

jesusdude: magadalena.....how i wish you could understand italian?? i could sing to you, recite poetry, tell youabout my ancestors....remember when you asked me if i was cold...i was out all day on the water....
the boys said i walked on water....apparently i've been doing that a lot lately....but i can't tell you just what i experienced when i was out there...
the words were in italian.....i go into a trance, everything is clear....i want to touch his hand but he won't let me....

i don't tell this to the boys. they only see what i do.
miracles? i'm auditioning for the circus, that's what they think.
but the words, the words tell me something else...but even now i don't know what they mean....only then, i THINK they are in italian.....i understand it all when i'm out there , on the water....but i can't tell you now.
i don't even speak italian

mary: well let's get you warm, eat this fowl....i made a soup...so you can get some rest and be back out there tomorrow....
dude: magdalena, i love that name. do you think the cops will drive us off this surf beach?
mary: i hope not, you boys wouldn't be the same if you couldn't get out there everyday
dude: remember when we were younger and we used to travel. .......
my grandfather was from cuba;.......my father used to go to cuba......and there was that jack
kerouac reference.

NARRATOR:jesus dude eats his supper. magdalena washes his feet with hot towels she has prepared, then rubs them firmly with warm oil.

END SCENE1
___________________________



SCENE 2: TODAY'S SPECIAL: CHILI

Jesus: my grandfather was from cuba. my father spent the 50's...in cuba.
i want to know more about my father. what he did in cuba....sure, he had fun...

Author: i was from an old mill town.
jack kerouac was from my area.
i was at college. my eyes opened wide.
WOW! jack kerouac was from my area!

Jesus: where are you from? i'm from haverhill.
(stranger hits him in chest)
Stranger: ME, TOO!
Jesus: i don't believe him....no, really?
those were my first buddies at this beach. we couldn't believe it: we looked at each other with disbelief: you're from my area??????
Hometown, really???

________________

Narrator:
more notes;
jesus was a waiter.
the rural people, those who killed jesus, were like the characters in "king of the hill."

jesus:"how was the chili, sir?"
american/christian:the chili/ well it wasn't meaty. it wasn't thick. and it had too much beans....the portions were small, but i understand it's bistro style here....what's you name??
j: hay-sus, sir
christian: what?
J: hay sus sir, it';s spelled j-e-s-u-s, like jesus, but it's pronounced HAY-SUS...
christian: don't blashpheme his name, fella...what JEEEE-SUS?? what a name???if you blaspheme his name again, i'll kill you.
i'm dead serious.

(END SCENE 2)

________________
SCENE 3: THE GUN GOES OFF

Narrator:
Magdalenacleans houss. she's not a prostitute.
one day, at her best client's house, she discovers a box of cash .
tempted, she takes some money. later she discusses it with jesus dude at home.
____________
Magdalena:
song:
are you poor are you in need? how can you have the blues??
over there sits a little baby crying; she has no food to eat....
______________
Narrator:
one day, cleaning house, magdalena is caught stealing money, by her client's husband....he beats her, calls the cops. they take her, beat and brutalize her."where is that jesus dude??"
does she tell or not? either way, they dump her on the sidewalk, they don't want any record of this....so they don't arrest her.

Jesus:
cops/christian discuss jesus:
how did he get like this?
i don't know, maybe his grandmother was a socialist...something...anarchist....haymarket riots, sacco and venzetti....they infused generations with progressive ideas....and now it comes to this, this jesus dude.
______________
Author:
mmm
jesus may have to have a loaded gun in the first scene.
Magdalena: jesus
"you mean you never even fired your gun?"
Jesus:
he had had a run in with the cops, maybe with that christian guy.
he worked as a waiter, got in an argument with the customer., the cusotmer crticized the chili, which dude had made. they they got in a fight over his name, jesus....dude pulled a gun on the christian. cops were called. dude was hiding out.)

Narrator:
that would violate
chekhov's first dramatic rule: having introduced a loaded gun in act 1, the curtain can not come down until it is fired. he might miss but the gun must be fired.
_______________
Jesus:
jesus the waiter. magdalena beat by cops.
he hates that christian, who says " hay sus" don't blaspheme the name jeee-sus.......
dude goes off on a rant:

NOW HEAR THIS: GOD TALKS TO ME IN ITALIAN! I CAN WALK ON WATER!
MY GRANDFATHER WAS FROM CUBA!!......
BLASPHEMY????BLASPHEMY???

don't blaspheme the name

JEEE-KERS CROWE!

JEEEESE- LOU - EEESE!!!!


POLLY WANNA CRACKER!!


i shoot the gun.....
or the gun is fired
but, by whom???

MAGDALENA!!!!!!!

Narrator:
the christian minister just caught magdalena stealing.
he pulls a gun on her. she screams when he grabs her arm.
Magdalena: aaaaHHHHHHH!!!!
Narrator: he looks down ashamed.
magdalenda: oh, baby
minister: i jizzed
magdalena: i'm smiling.
well, the gun finally did go off.


THE END









(MORE NOTES FOR LATER

OPENING SCENE
jesus iswalking on the water. a young jesus??

______________
conversation among restaurant customers/ christian

real estate....have you seen the latest best sellers on ebays realestate section? i should post some of that dead scrub land out back on my property......what fool would buy a patch of unwatered, unsewered wetland with no road access???look at ebay....there are thousands of lots for sale.....no water, no roads...the next big suburban development in arkansas.....is that christian of me, to want to make money, to take it from non believers, so i can help build up this church??

it sounds like old fashioned commerce to me.....

don't forget, you're not to blame, in real estate it's always" buyer beware"...you know, go out and "kick the tires" before you put you rmoney down....some people, especially these easterners, they just have money to burn.it's kind of sad, and it must be gods way, but these people have so much money but they can't buy a home back east...they have to come out here, invest in some landgrab....

hey, i'm getting hungry...let's all join hands and say a prayer....

christian: hey waiter, what do you recommend?
jesus: the free range beef chili. with chocolate and rosemary. it's thick, with lots of meat, not too many beans, a little spicy
christian: i'll have that......

(a little while later:
jesus/waiter: how was the chili, sir?
christian: (his face red) well....it wasn't thick.....there wasn't a lot of meat.....there were too many beans......and the portions???well they were small, but i know you have that bistro style here...
waiter, what's your name, son?
jesus: HAY-SUS, sir
christ: what's that?
jesus: HAY- SUS....
christ; how do you spell that?
jesus" j-e-s-u-s,
christ:j-e- that's JEEE-SUS,boy!
jesus: yes sir, i'm jeeeee-sus -DUDE!!!!THAT'S WhaT THEY CALL ME!!
christ: why, that's blasphemy!!!
jesus: it's hay-sus....
christ: DON'T BLASPHEME.....HIS NAME IS JEEE-SUS, YOU CAN'T TAKE HIS NAME....
I'LL KILL YOU....YOU'LL BE DEAD MEAT!!!
(he reaches for jesus; they struggle, jesus grabs a gun???? maybe from the ministers holster...he raises it. waves it around:
jesus: NOW HEAR THIS! GOD TALKS TO ME IN ITALIAN.....I WALK ON WATER....MY GRANDFATHER WAS FROM CUBA.....BLASPHEMY? BLASPHEMY? I CAN SAY IT IN FRENCH "JEEEEESE-LOUUU-EEEEESE".....I CAN SAY IT IN PLAIN OLD AMERICAN EEEEN-GLEEESE "JEEEEEE-KERS CROW!!!!!!!"
(some of the other employees hustle him off; other staff have already been restraining the minister, christian)

(christ calls the police chief, his friend, on the cell phone:)
christ: hi charlie.....youwon't believe what just happened.....his name was hay-sus, hay -sus dude...you know him?? those hippies have been holding onto that waterfront parcel for 30 years...it would be a great idea....yes, i know the church could use that land to expand.....ok i'll be right over)

CHRIST. THE MINISTER:
chief, there has been a special relationship between the church and the city government here for over 30 years, ever since my father first served as both minister and police chief.....
________________________________

the barowner's son/act 2 notes

twocancook

these are notes for act 2. act 1 is below under "the bar owner's
son/young gun".

in act 1, the bouncer, masonic, and the bar patron , ariel, had just left the bar. they are driving in his van.

ariel: to her self: my first impression of him: good looking, but creepy??
masonic to her: don't be afraid.this isn't even a real gun. i was playing with my nephew before work. look, see, it's just a toy (takes it apart)
ariel: well you sure scared that brat, aven-tine-us!! ha ha
i'm hip. i'm always up for a good time.
masonic; i do have to go home though. i really am on probation.
ariel: for what?
m: this and that. one time, i was 19, i was with my buddies and we held up a taxi driver. another time we pulled a gun at a convenience store. for that , i went to jail. now it seems like whenever anything bad happens, if i was any where near the site it's me who gets arrested. so i go between jail and probation.
ariel: that sucks. i know my brother 's been in jail a few times...once they label you "bad', you're bad.
m: exactly!.................baby, you really are fabulous!!!
oh, it's almost 10pm, we better hurry...

they arrive at his apt, in bushwick.

masonic; i 'd better call my officer.......(on phone)
hey be careful of my dog, he can be vicious...
ariel: what's his name?
m:clay. cassius clay.
a: hi clay (playing with him, cuddles up tohim)
m: be careful...(on phone)wow i've never seen him so friendly before.
a; oh i really like animals....

meanwhile back at the bar:with shannon and feder.
shannon: well, is your dad coming by??
feder; i hope not. he'll be pissed about how slow it is around here. i can't believe that bouncer. what a prick?!!
shannon; you were the prick. no wonder he quit.
feder; yeah but he pulled a gun
shannon: did you get close look at it?
f: no, why?
s: maybe it was fake.....it's not like he shot it or anything
feder; all of these bouncers are all the same. ex con backgrounds.
s: who else would work for what you pay them ??
feder; i don't pay them. my father does.
s; oh, so now you're NOT the boss???
f; (steel, sharp glance at her. menacing yet pleading)
anyways should i worry at all about that girl?
s: we don't even know her name???
f: what's on tv tonight?
shannon; (looks at cable guide) oh, my god, i forgot, it's ncaa final four weekend...let's get this place in order,,,we'll be packed tonight
feder; my money's on (fill in team)
.........................

in brooklyn.

ariel: i like hanging out with you, masonic.i don't live too far from here. i never kiss on the first date
masonic; i wish you would stay. but i can't leave now to drive you home, you know,it's past my curfew
ariel; that's ok.....i can get car service to my house
masonic; holds her, they kiss..she turns, walks out the door


____________________
note: lovemaking scene:
first impressions: he' still a little creepy but he's good looking.
masonic: she's got some "tig ol bitties">>>>

masonic: to ariel; what's your name???
under the covers, look remember when they were joking at the bar about young guns....well here's another line, but for ladies: you've got "tig ol bitties

the barowner's son/ young gun

twocancook

characters:
federline aventinus: bar owner's son
shannon: female bartender
ariel: female patron
masonic: bouncer

opening: the bar owner's son speaks to the audience.

federline: hi, i'm federline aventinus. yes, it's pronounced "AH-VEN-TINE-US". my father owns this bar. i grew up in th ebar buisness.
shannon: yes, you did....and how was rehab this time around, feder???
feder: as usual, it was cleansing.... and re affirming.... of my work here (being thoughtful)
(to shannon) allow me to conitinue.with a little name dropping.
(to audience) my cousin is kevin federline. he's married to britney spears......my father, augustus aventinus....our family owned breweries in germany.
that's a little back ground info
_______________________
scene 1: at the bar (shannon, alone)
shannon: ah, it's just another night at the bar.
(federline surprises her with a slap on the bottom)
feder: HEY!!!
shannon: eeeeeeeechh!! she screams
feder: well, you know shannon, young guns are full of fun!!!
shannon: are you making fun of me?
feder: what do you mean?
shannon: well you know i was flirting with the new bouncer, and i said "young dumb and full of cum!!!" EVERYBODY 's been teasing me about it all weekend...
feder: i guess i heard that.....but i swear i just made this up.....YOUNG GUNS ARE FULL OF FUN!!!! that's ME!!!

shannon: keep talking, KIDDO!! oh here comes the real gun now...hey bouncer, what's your name???

masonic: masonic.
feder: masonic. i need you to do something. come here...the bartender likes you...
(to audience) he's sooo dumb. if he'll do whatever SHE tells him, he'll definitley do what i tell him!!!
(to bouncer) masonic...take her hand, hold it nice and sweet. WHATEVER HAPPENS , DON'T LET GO!! ok??
shannon: well that's kind of sweet. i guess rehab did help you this time, hey, federline?
feder: yes it did. ok, masonic, what did i say?
masonic: whatever happens don't let go, right??
feder: right. now hold her tighter. (feder lights a candle)( puts it under her hand)
feder: hold her masonic.
shannon: aaarrgghhhhhh she screams....no feder, no feder....
feder: see what i have to do to get business in here??
shannon: stop it feder stop it
feder: only if you never ever call kiddo again..as far as you're concerned, when i'm here, I AM THE BOSS!!!
shannon: yes, boss...ok \boss is it over now???
feder: ok, boss????? .....MASONIC, that's enough..

end scene 1:
______________________________

scene 2: shannon at bar
(girl walks into bar, sits at bar, talks to bartender)
ariel: i'm sorry but i.....
shannon: no sweat....have drink....yeah, bar owners can be the biggest scumbags. then, there the SONS of bar owners.....good for nothings, they always resort to dealing drugs by age 20....yeah, my boss's son, he is the worst.
ariel: YUCK! that's tooo bad.
shannon: so what are you doing....here...tonight??
ariel; oh imet the bouncer, masonic,...... last week....you know what they say, YOUNG DUMB AND FULL OF C___
(federline comes over)
feder: i think that's my cue!!! ues, it's me, the youn gun.....i am full of fun....
ariel: ha! ha! you're having a fine moment. it's still not st patrick's day is it??
shannon: you're from boston, huh??
ariel" how could you tell? from my accent???
shannon: yup. it's wicked bad. i'm from rhode island. too bad about johnny damon.
arie: yes but it looks like he might be out for a while...he has a hurt shoulder. that red sox gm, theo epstein, he looks smarter and smarter every year....
shannon: i know,.....he's cute, too. and how dumb could the yankees be, again, signing another injured, overpriced player!!!
(both girls: laugh ha hahha ha)
feder: ENOUGH OF THIS TALK! you can't criticize the yankees, not in my bar...
ariel: are you the owner?
shannon: no, he's not.....he's the owner's son.
feder: but right now, i am the boss>my name is federline ah-ven-tine-us.
here's a poem: foreplay.
baseball.
we cried in htat japanese basement.
work was finished. we no home
no home to go to.

i dreamed of baseball.
hold up that mighty bat. boys dream of this moment.

i swing, i miss....swing, miss.....sing, miss.

ariel: for some reason, this game makes boys into healthy men.
feder: it's true, the great game of baseball - is also great foreplay!

shannon: forget about federline, tell me what you kow about the bouncer??
ariel: ok, masonic? he's an actor. he's gonna be famous one day. he's been scouted by an agent.
shannon: like a baseball player?
ariel: yes, like a baseball player......he says if he stays focused and devoted to his craft, then one day he will be a famous actor....... unless he dies first.
federline: well i guess i'll have to promote, so we don't lose him. you know, "promote from within"........if he's that talented.......what should i have him do around here???
shannon: he's very good at following orders...and he's not afraid of fire....make him a chef???
ariel: but he'll need healthcare, overtime, always a comfortable seat, and access to a toilet, proper breaks for meals...
feder: well, i'll also make sure he doesn't DIE on us...
(DEAD SILENCE)

feder: well....then we'd never get anywhere with him..
(bouncer walks in)
feder: well hey, it's my lucky night
masonis: hi boss. i gotta go., it's past my curfew
(looks at ariel) if you want to stay and party, why don't you come with me....
ariel: why do you have to go?
masonic; i lied to you, i'm not an actor, i'm on porbation.
ariel: baby, it's ok....i'm irish!!!i'm up for a party!!!!
shannon: watch it, hun......hey BOSS....let's do some blow
feder: yeah let's have some fun.....
___________________
(to audience)
shannon: i'm in a tough position. i work for a sadistic jerk.
i want to quit, but i just keep taking it....and this new bouncer, this "young dumb" guy, he's really the young gun but he keeps taking it...oh yeah...he's afraid of doing something wrong, of going back to jail.
but this is just a regular new york bar. what did we do wrong??
________________
(back to scene)
federline: yeah, let's have some fun, i'm a young gun!!!! MASONIC!!!! get over here, you sick fuck, let's have some fun with theese girls..
(masonic pulls out a gun)
feder: jeeeekers crow!!!!
masonic: be careful, or you'll end up in east new york..
shannon: no one goes to east new york, except to dump a body
ariel: it's ok.....i'll go with you, masonic.....
_____________

(later)
(shannon and federline talk it over)
shannon: federline, it's pretty simple. it's about manners. if that poor girl had to leave, it was up to you, the owner's son to get her a cab ride.
you could've just hailed a cab, and sent her safely off by herself.
feder: yeah except for masonic's gun. she must have come here to meet masonic.
it's true i knew he was an excon...but he always did what i told him to
shannon: it's all too creepy.

BAD THINGS ALWAYS HAPPEN HERE, SO NOBODY REALLY CARES.
f
federline: humming "young guns are full of fun....."
(phone rings.....)
shannon: federline, it's your dad.
feder: what dad???no, dad, it's not what you think......NO i don't need to go back to rehab...



THE END

the coverup

twocancook
last week i had read about the writer martin mcdononough....he won an oscar for best short film the other day....

his story was about the pied piper.

the pied piper was a mean, dirty man. in today's
world he would work as a handyman, moonlight as an animal wrangler.
odd jobs, might live in his basement shop. defintley smokes alot of pot.

my wife called to tell me that the old cat, otis, had a bleeding paw. so i called up "handy man, odd jobs, animal wrangler" phil.
yes , phil. no last name.
do you remember that 90's film with nick nolte. he was an l.a. handyman who helped tune up lonely wives.
phil was kind of that guy. one time i introduced him to a 40 something maiden. nancy.
she had a leaky shower. even though she'd lived for 20 plu syears in a rent controlled $400/month apartmenet, the landlord wouyldn't fix the leak. was that bein gcheap, or just doing business??

after a few days on the job, phil said he had convinced nancy to purchase and install a brand new shower, bathroom, and kitchen. he started referring to her as "the widow nancy."
"i'm off to see the widow nancy."

2 days later, he was living on her couch. the hardships of basement life perhaps too great for him.
he was also in his 40 somethings.

not being too swift myself, i caught on to his habits: smoking pot. having strange playmates over to smoke pot. smoking pot with the "widow nancy."
he saved a litter of mutts from the nearby construction site. he kept one, a beautiful dark mutt-doberman mix, he namd him elvis.
he also adopted a little kitten.
phil knew a lot about animals.
animal wisdom: at meal time, have your dog wait away from the table. let him see that you are eating, tha th emust wait for you. only when you are completely finished eating your meal , then you may place your plate with scraps on the floor for the dog.]
his father used to raise dogs. a dog's greatest honor comes from cleaning up the scraps of his master's plate.....

one night my wife called me. the old male cat. otis, had blood on his paw. "call phil' i said. now, i never expected any nick nolte treatment on this job. and my wife wouldn't have allowed it, as she was wise to this pied piper handyman. naturally, he saw the bloody paw and said, without hesitation: take it to the vet. his nail is growing in, and it might get infected."

not long after this, phil moved out of the widow's apartment.
we weren't sure how she felt about it. one night over drinks. she broke down and cried.
"i do love him. i don't know why he can't stay with me?" nobody else knew why, either.
he also left the dog and cat with her.....

he had over the years done some jobs for me. knowing the tale of the pied piper, i always paid him. i paid him, so he wouldn't lead my children and beloved pets away. i have to try to remember, if he ever cut off any of my toes and took them with him???

martin mcdonough's pied piper did that as a thank you.
one night a boy was eating his supper. remember, this was in the time of the plague. natural human conventions were suspended.
many towns were overrun with rats and pests.
the world was full of death and dying. susan sontag can only imagine. she wrote a well written book called "illness as metaphor"(title?).
comparisons of the plague to aids in our time.

yes, the boy was eating his supper. on a bridge. it was nearing nightfall. it was almost dark.
a dirty, mean old man came over the bridge, driving a cart that reeked of filthy animals, probably rats. we now know that this man was the pied piper, so , yes his cart had probably borne rats and other diseased animals.
why did he never get the plague?
the boy offered to share his meal. was he not frightened of this strange man?
in this dark time of death and disease, there was still some decency.
compassion stirred within the old man.
"here is one good, kind person in this miserable town. the elders begged me for help,
to rid them of this plague.
i led away the rats and pests.
now their hamlet can prosper. and they refused to pay me.
tonight i will return and lead away their children.
this boy i will save.
what can i do to warn him? it is hopeless,as he will follow my flute with th eother children....??"
the piper said to the boy, "can i repay you for this kindness?"
the boy nodded, yes.
piper reached into his knapsack, pulled out a large meat cleaver, and chopped off the toes of the boy's right foot.

what did the boy think of this?

later that night, the piper played his flute. all of the children of the hamlet were never seen again.
only this poor, now crippled boy was spared. he could not keep up with the other children, slowed by his missing toes.

an irish blessing????

an irish peom

an irish poem

today i read an article in the new yorker about irish playwright martin mcdonagh.
"when he was sixteen, he told (his brother) john a story based on an old folktale:
a lonely little boy is on a bridge at dusk when a sinister man approaches. the man is driving a cart on the back of which are foul-smelling animal cages.
the boy conquers his fear, offers the man some of his supper, and the two sit and talk. before the man leaves, he says that he wants to give the boy something whose value he may not understand but will soon come to appreciate.
the boy accepts.
the man takes a meat cleaver from his pocket and chops off the toes of the boy's right foot. as the man drives away, he tosses the boy's toes to the rats that have suddenly begun to gather in the gutters of the town, whose name, we now learn, is Hamelin.
the man is the Pied Piper, who saves Hamelin from the plague but kidnaps the local children when the town elders refuse to compensate him for his efforts. the boy is the only one of Hamelin's children to survive, because he cannot keep up with the other kids, who follow the Piper out of town."

________________________

the irish
must all gifts come with pain??
either the boy was a fool,
or just plain lucky.

"jeekers crow!!!" he must have said.
did he meekly accept his reward, like a good irish boy?
a little pain will only make you better.
train til you drop. honor thy father. take this beating like a man. how many times can i hit you before you scream??
some wierd hazing ritual: hold your hand over the flame,son. god is on your side, son. don't be afraid, boy,it will only make you stronger.
do you dream of being on the cross, next to jesus? i'm with you sir...i can hang up here as long as you. why, no it doesn't hurt...well, it odes hurt a little but i can take the pain. just breathe into it.

my brother played football. of course,i did too. there was pride in taking a good hit, almost as much as when you hit some one hard, off the line,knocked him over with an unexpected force.
one day, for punishment....or was it sport? the coach called him over:
today you're up against popadopalos....yes, popadopalus. you can take him - only the biggest, strongest lineman on the team.
LINE UP AGAISNT HIM.
the first time, he knocked my brother over.
DO IT AGAIN.
the second time, he knocked him over.
doyou want this to continue? well it did, 10 times...
his head ringing, my brother left the field.
he had gaiend ne wfound respect form his coach and teammates.
he went on to be class president, twice.