Beyond Control

Beyond Control

Larry was standing in front of the entire crowd. He was never a person who found anything appealing about having massive eyes staring at your fragile figure. He was a science teacher, and not a well-paid one at that. The water that was filled by the frenetic secretary, Carol Walburg, continued to remain untouched. The last thing Larry even needed to think about right now was using the men’s restroom. Teaching middle school students about the vast wonders of the solar system was his comfort zone, his modus operandi, and his local domain. He still asked himself the very same question:

How can I be a leader of climate change when I have an aberrant fear of public speaking?

He didn't even love doing those trivial school plays when he was in King High School in Halibut, Montana. There was nothing he loved more than sticking to what he knew. That's why Larry wasn't like all of the other antsy teenagers who were dying to leave Halibut to move out of state for college. He wasn't a fool though. Larry knew on a logical scale that saving money by staying in-state was better than spending money on wasteful gas trips, hotels, and anywhere else where he probably wouldn't have afford out of state intuition anyway. Putting aside those useless thoughts, he took a glance at his speech. As he heavily sighed, he saw the words that triggered the psyche of every environmental lover: climate change, melting icebergs, The Paris Treaty…

And on and on the story went.

Being part of politics, or anything related to public speaking, was never part of Larry’s Lavish Life Plan. He wasn’t the one who even came up with that title. His sister, Maureen and his boss, Greg Chaplin, who had to embrace the agony of Charlie Chaplin jokes, thought of it all on their own. While the title sounded as if it was an infomercial from the 1970s, he had to admit that the title was very catchy.

Randy, the security guard, knocked on the door in a brusque manner. He didn’t wait for Larry to reply.

“Hey we got to get out on the front lawn now.”

Larry arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean? Wasn’t the original plan to go to the…”

“White House? Yeah, that’s not happening anymore. With the impending trial happening, the media is having a field day. Your sister told me that you always had a field of crowds.”

“She was right. She can speak for herself too, thank you very much.”

Standing near the left side of his peripheral vision was the dynamic Maureen. Her manicure was beyond immaculate, her edges were smooth to a Roman God’s touch, and yet, the allure of her feminine beauty was utterly defined by her natural hair passed down from her various Nigerian ancestors. While every other woman out there was getting weaves, perms, and sewed in wigs, Maureen had made a solemn vow to herself to always leave her hair unburdened by various touchups.

“Uh, Maureen, I didn’t think that you would be here.”

“Spare me your excuses, Randy. Why are you trying to bully my baby brother over here? I’m sure my retired quarterback husband would love to fly back from Miami to speak with you about what happens when you harass the ones we love.” She stared down at him as if he was a zebra about to become bait for the ravenous lions in their dens.

Randy was already feeling hot under the collar about this pressure to give the speech. The last thing he wanted to feel was intimidated by a woman. It made him feel emasculated.

“No, ma’am. That won’t be necessary.” He was grinding his jaw, teeth threatening to break at any moment.

“Then loosen that jaw and get with the program.” This time, that line wasn’t even said by Maureen but Larry himself. “You immediately rushed into this without even asking if I was ready to get the speech. In fact, I don’t need to rehearse it. I can just speak from the heart. Public speaking may not be my cup of tea, but I sure as hell can make a fine recipe for success in the political field. Thank you, Maureen. Now, if you would excuse me, I need to make a speech.”

Maureen was filled with unbridled pride; Randy was still looking for an exit, or at least, a vortex to take him to another intergalactic dimension. Regardless of their opinions, Larry Gregory was going to fly off the seat of the pant with this speech. Plus, he had lied about not needing to rehearse it. He had rehearsed it 749 times last night when he was stuck at the Marion Hotel in Washington, D.C. If he could handle teaching disinterested students who didn’t care about the concept of gravity discovered by Issac Newton, he would deliver this speech that would make the greatest orators fall on their knees.

By then, Larry had already been walking briskly past the stuffed hallway of 1780 historical memorabilia, from the Declaration of Independence being written in 1776 to the vast photos of Black people making successful strides in having equal rights. Although he wasn’t much of a historical nut, Larry was now feeling his soul become emblazoned with the impassioned zeal that Black Americans and other black people across the world have always wanted: to be heard and to shine under the sun. Feeling relaxed, he was already feeling the gentle breeze of a warm spring day.

Suddenly, everyone started to applaud. He wasn’t expecting such a grand welcome of people who would hear this speech. After the crowd had settled, Larry cleared his through and began speaking from the podium.

“There is no doubt that being free doesn’t come with its own burdens of responsibility. Whether you’re a teenager about to start college, or a man about to embark in the tempestuous dangers of shady business work, you know that taking the first step in becoming an activist for climate change is very crucial to Mother Earth. For so long, those who came before us were able to seek what needed to be healed.

Even something as simple as recycling and throwing things into trash cans is a burdensome task for a loathsome individual. The reason that individual is loathsome is because Earth is already filled with endless trash bags and restless men not caring about building another architectural building in a place that had potential to be a national park.

The next sentence wasn’t even on the speech, but from Larry himself.

“Everyone!” The voice reverberated from the chambers of the front lawn of Valleyville Town Hall. Different politicians, celebrities, and women right’s activists were entranced by the debonair of this young, astounding Black man in front of them. “How many of you have ever felt unwanted or disregarded by something or someone in your life?”

A few people in the left side of the front row raised their hands, the rest of the crowd being a splatter of hands lowered while some were raised hesitantly.

“I see. We always carry the wounds that were inflicted at the time of our births. That is what we have done to this country. I’ll continue reading this speech.”

With various ways we can help our country, whether it’s through taking the first steps of recycling by cleaning up our parks and schools, or even wanting to volunteer to clean the various beaches across America, you should know that history shouldn’t repeat itself. We will stand together as one unit for many generations to come.

It was over. Larry received a standing ovation, bowing at the multiple lights flashing around him, with a warmth of gratitude filling his heart up to various sizes of peace, love, and prosperity.