History of the Trap: July Nightmares Part 2

2

The closed circuit TV became an increasing stabilizer in our lives.  Of course, it was a major part of mine, helping with the morning newscasts, and writing the soap opera The Sands of Loren, which ran on the Loren High Variety Hour of Power twice a week, once on Tuesday and once on Friday.  Each segment was only about ten to fifteen minutes long, but that was exhausting enough to keep up with.  They tried to get other people to help me write it, but eventually fell back to me in order to keep the themes and presentation consistent.  Nobody seemed to quite know where I was taking it.  Not surprising, since I didn't really know either.

I didn't do the sets.  That was done by a lot of the shop people and others with that bent.  I would tell them what kind of places I had in mind to do scenes and they would do their best to come up with it.  We only had two working cameras, so we had to keep things pretty basic. 

The Sands of Loren was primarily set at Loren Medical Center, and focused on central character Dr. Brenda Marr, played with great aplomb by Franny Cranfield, the talented girl who lived across the street from me (well, you know, before the Trap).  I had been in plays with her before, and was in awe of her talent.  I was grateful that she was willing to participate in my silly little soap opera.

Franny was about my height, with long black hair and a plain, elongated face.  She didn't look like much.  That is, until she performed.  Then she could light up a room with a million watts.  Her malleable face could be made to conform whatever impression she wanted to give.  I had a crush on her for awhile, about a year or so ago, but it went nowhere as she just thought of me as the little boy next door that was her younger brother's friend (Randy Cranfield, whom I had drifted away from in order to try to change her impression of me - but it was too late).

We had other characters that pulled in other elements of Loren.  There was a police detective investigating a murder at the hospital, played by David Deneau, a handsome senior who was our star center on the football team, but was now focusing on acting and academics.  Intelligent and friendly, he blasted apart the stereotype of what it meant to be a high school jock.  In the soap, he had an unrequited crush on Dr. Brenda Marr.

The chief of surgery, played by Oliver Sanders, was engaged to Dr. Marr, but was cheating on her with Nurse Rackett, played by Phylicia Dombroski, a ditzy blond, a short but fit girl, well endowed, and whose personality was close to her character.  I tried not to give her too many lines so as not to strain her memory, but she was hard to avoid.  She was incredibly popular in the school, so I had to keep her written in.  I was very tempted to make her the next victim of our mysterious killer.

There were many other characters, coming in and out, including Geoffrey Spivey, my 'room'  mate, playing an ambulance chasing lawyer.

Was this great writing?  Classic story telling?  I doubt it.  But it, and the other parts of our variety show, was about all we had.  There were the sports leagues and the games like Final Jeopardy, there were some band concerts, and the theatre group was rehearsing a play (Our Town), but this was the biggie.  The one that every watched together, the great uniting experience that we all shared and could talk about.

Many, but not all, knew that I was the writer of the soap.  That gave me some slack for being the Principal's son, gave them something else to focus on.  But it wasn't always pleasant.  I got lots of suggestions for where I should take the soap, how things should turn out.  Lots of why don't you give Nurse Rackett more scenes?  Who is the killer?  Why doesn't Dr. Brenda Marr dump Chief of Surgery Ronald Scott and take up with Detective Tommy Haskins?  It was obnoxious, but at least it wasn't more inquisitions trying to find out what inside knowledge my father had given me.

I would live to give you a script of the soap, but I'm afraid all of those are lost to time.  This small bit here is the best I can do -

The hospital room of Duncan Rheinz, rich patriarch of Rheinz Plastic, where he lay on his hospital bed, kept alive by a respirator.  Dr Brenda Marr is standing over him, checking is pulse.  Enter Detective Haskins.

Detective Haskins:  Dr. Marr, I hate to interrupt, but I have some important facts to                                                       verify with you.

Dr. Marr looks up at him, slightly irritated.  She still has on her mind catching her boyfriend, Dr. Scott, running his fingers through Nurse Rackett's hair.

Dr. Marr:  If you have to, but make it fast.

Detective Haskins:  You have already told us that you were last one to see Judge.                                                                        McKenzie alive.

Dr. Marr:  Yes, probably.  I was his physician.  What of it?

Detective Haskins:  We just didn't realize you had a personal relationship with him,                                                                       prior to his hospital visit.

Dr.  Marr:  I did?

Detective Haskins:  Yes, he was the Judge that took you away from your parents and                                      placed you in foster care. You don't remember that?

Dr.  Marr:  What?  He was?  (She sat down, startled as the memories came back to                                her).  I had not put that together until you just mentioned.  There's a lot                                from my childhood I had blocked out that I try to forget.

Detective Haskins put his hand on her shoulders.  For a moment, she though she would slump into him, but instead, she leaps up and runs out of the room.  Detective Haskins looks after her and turns to talk as if the comatose Duncan Rheinz could hear him.

Detective Haskins:  My Gosh!  What have I done?  The woman I care most in the                                              world, and she thinks I am trying to place the motive for murder                                             on her!  And I all she can see is that snake Dr. Scott.  Why is she                                              blind to me?  Why does see right through me as if I wasn't even                                              there?

Enter Detective Linny Sharpton, Haskin's partner.

Detective Sharpton:  We got more fish to fry than that, Haskie!  Look at this letter                                         we just dug up from Judge McKenzie's files!  It's a letter from                                                                       Dr. Marr stating she knew who he was and what he had done,                                         and that she would get her revenge!

Detective looked over the letter, and then crumpled it up in anger.

Detective Haskins:  Oh my God, Brenda!  What have you done?

I don't know why I remember this part when almost everything else about it is forgotten.  The mind is an amazing thing.