Thursday, February 13, 2014

Sisyphus VI: Pax Be With You

Sisyphus VI opens with a friendly sparring session with Orion. Sisyphus is in good form and enjoys the session.

Shortly after, a match is set up with Pax, who has been crushing everyone in her path.

Sisyphus' first strategy was to rope-a-dope Pax. Estimating that Pax was only going to have a 4-8 inch reach, Sisyphus went out at 2:45am to shovel away the first 2 inches (only took about 6 minutes), then went to bed. She thought she had outsmarted Pax, only, upon awaking, to be greeted with a foot of wet, heavy snow. She clearly underestimated her opponent.

Picnic, anyone? (From the set of Sisyphus VI)


Putting on her gear, her husband shouts,"Don't do it! You are NOT shoveling this!" "I'm just going to assess the situation," Sisyphus said. As she shut the kitchen door, she grabbed her shovel. Never tell Sisyphus NOT to do something.

Here, the plot becomes kind of a "Rocky VI meets Pay it Forward." Someone (we don't know who) had shoveled the end of her driveway- the part that would normally be impassable by car without shoveling first. So she, in turn, shovels her and her neighbor's shared walkway, which she had planned to skip this time.

As she shovels the center of the driveway, she realizes she's running out of places to put the snow. The pile in the yard is as tall as she is. If she just dumps it into the street, the plow will pile it at the end of the driveway when it comes through. But there's nowhere else to put it.

The shoveling scene is as long as the one in Maximus- a full hour. And you hear her inner monologue, as she's wondering whether she still had the eye of the tiger. The fun has left the fight. Maybe the season has been too long. Maybe there have been too many fights too close together. Maybe it's time to retire... A moment of contemplation, as she stands there holding the shovel upright, thinking about quitting mid-fight. But then a voice inside says "Never give up. I may rest for a moment, but I will not be defeated! I will not quit!" And although she may not feel like she has the eye of the tiger, she goes the distance. She finishes the fight. And knowing that, she can hold her head high.

The match ends in a tie.

Back in the locker room, Sisyphus hears that Pax wants a rematch. Immediately. As in 12 hours later. Are we really not taking ANY time between sequels now? Geez, talk about milking a franchise.

Sisyphus has new strategies lined up already: You know how they say "When God closes a door, another one opens? Or maybe He closes a door and opens a window? Well, now that my yard is 'closed' for snow dumping, I'll open a manhole cover and dump it down there." Well, that's creative. Wonder if it's legal. And also, next time she plans to wear an ipod, playing- you guessed it- Eye of the Tiger. Already cued up. This might be worth watching. I almost hope Pax shows for the rematch.

What did we learn? I guess you can climb a mountain or fight the fight and succeed, as long as you persist, even if you don't feel like a champion single every moment.

Did any of you see Sisyphus VI, or anything starring Pax?
What did you get out of it?

Carla Ulbrich

The Singing Patient

Humor, song and hope for people who need it most- patients and healthcare workers


www.thesingingpatient.com