CLEM SAVED COWBOY
SAM
PROPS: (3) pillow sacks, each labeled “SIN”, filled with miscellaneous material and tied at the opening, sign: “HEAVENLY OASIS,” (fine print underneath: “Whoever drinks of these living waters will never thirst again. But before you can drink, you must be willing to lay down your sin”), small pack of glitter stars (common craft store product)
DESERT OASIS
(Opening Scene: Two cowboys, both shouldering large sacks of SIN, are showing signs of severe desert dehydration and heat exhaustion. Nearby, stands the HEAVENLY OASIS sign.)
CLEM: Sam, I don’t know how much longer I can handle this.
SAM: I hear you, Clem; I feel my life slipping away with every step I take.
CLEM: Yeah. But where did we go wrong? Life used to be so easy. We used to be able to handle our booze, handle our women . . .
SAM: Yeah. It seemed like we could handle anything . . .
CLEM: Right. If we slipped up and got ourselves in some kind of trouble, we could usually smooth-talk our way out of it.
SAM: I know. We were always treading on thin ice, but never falling through the cracks . . . well, hardly ever falling through the cracks, I should say.
CLEM: What do you think is wrong with us these days, Sam?
SAM: I don’t rightly know, Clem; I just don’t know.
CLEM: Well, all I know is . . . I’ve just about had it!
(CLEM falls down and loses his sack of SIN. He rises painfully, but then realizes that he left his sack on the ground.)
SAM: Clem, you dropped something.
CLEM: (very frustrated now, eying the sack on the ground) Oh, man! I gotta pick up my sack!
(CLEM with every ounce of his strength, he finally lifts his sack of SIN up over his shoulder)
SAM: There you go! Don’t you feel better now?
CLEM: (very irritated) No . . . I don’t! Wait a minute . . . looky there, Sam. Water!
SAM: (squinting and straining to see) Yeah, I see it too, Clem. But you know it’s just another mirage . . . just like all those other mirages we’ve seen along the way.
CLEM: I don’t know, Sam. This one seems different – it seems real.
(SAVED COWBOY ENTERS with sack of SIN and pack of glitter stars. Dropping his sack of SIN beside the oasis sign, SAVED COWBOY removes his cowboy hat and pours the glitter stars into it. He then gestures to scoop water from the oasis with the hat. Finally, before replacing the hat on his head, he holds it over his head, allowing the glitter stars to pour all over him.)
SAVED COWBOY: (excited to be refreshed) Whew! Thank you, Jesus! Nothing like those living waters! It is such a relief to finally be able to lay down my sin and be forgiven. Whew!
(SAVED COWBOY EXITS without the sack of SIN.
CLEM: It is real. It is real! Did you see that, Sam? Did you see that? That there cowboy just lay down his burden of SIN and got refreshed. I would give anything to be refreshed like that! There’s even a sign. Looky here . . . the sign says, “Heavenly Oasis.”
SAM: (reading the sign) Yeah, Heavenly Oasis. Whoever drinks of these living waters will never thirst again. But before you can drink, you must be willing to lay down your SIN. Well, that’s a deal-breaker right there.
CLEM: What are you talking about?
SAM: (holding his SIN to his chest) I’m not giving up my sin for nothin’!
(SAM teeters over and falls down)
CLEM: (passionate) See what I’m talking about? Our SIN has gotten us nowhere! Besides being a huge burden, it has only caused us both to stumble and fall. I, for one, am glad to lay down my SIN so I can finally be refreshed! Come on, SAM; can you see that your SIN is killing you!
SAM: (weak now, on his knees) You go for it, Clem. Maybe it’s good for you, but not for me. I love my SIN too much to let go of it.
(SAM drops dead on top of his sack of SIN)
CLEM: (to audience) You choose tonight . . . do you want to hold on to your burden of sin, or come to the living waters of Jesus Christ. Be refreshed tonight.
THE END