Post by Breezy on Mar 15, 2020 21:55:38 GMT -5
The scene opens up in a poorly decorated hotel conference room. The usually empty room is now filled with rows of folding chairs. About half of the chairs are filled with people from all different walks of life. People in suits are next to people in pajamas. The cameras remain on the crowd for a few seconds before panning to the front of the room where a small stage and a podium are set up. At the podium is a middled aged man with a round belly and glasses. He is wearing a dark-colored polo tucked into a pair of khaki pants.
Man: “Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Ken Davey and I am a board member for H.E.P.A.T.I.T.I.S . Or the Hoboken Enlightenment Project Aware Terrestrials Investigating Towards Internal Satisfaction. I want to thank each and every one of you for attending today’s session. This is the 7th of 17 sessions mean to lead you to a better life through the art of self appreciation and decision making. We are thrilled to have a highly sought after speaker with us here today. He has published several blog posts on self-improvement and has half a thousand subscribers on his various social media platforms. You may have seen him on Wake Up Manitoba or Good Evening South Detroit. He is Duke Darryl.”
“YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!” A loud yell erupts from the crowd and the cameras flash to the front of the crowd. We recognize the source of the yell as APW’s favorite Jr. Heavyweight Champion… Eli Beazley. Eli is standing up and cheering. He looks around and realizes that he is the only person to offer any sort of reaction to the introduction of the guest. He sheepishly sits down. “I am sorry. I just love Duke.”
A door opens at the side of the room and the camera pans over. We see a man walk in. He is wearing a very cheap suit and even cheaper sunglasses. He makes his way to the podium and when he does the camera zooms in and we get our first look at what is REALLY going on here. Duke Darryl is Eli Beazley. We are seeing some tricky camera work and editing. They are one in the same. Eli = Duke. Duke shakes Ken’s hand and then stops at the podium. He stands for several seconds without saying anything. Finally, he leans into the mic.
Duke Darryl: “Ladies and Gentlemen… today I am going to SHOW you how to life your best life. I am going to show you how to be a better lover. Today I am going to show you how to get that raise you’ve been waiting for. Today I am going to show you how to make a crap-ton of THIS!”
Duke slams his hands into his pockets and when he pulls them out they are full of cash. Mostly ones, but cash none the lesson.
Duke Darryl: “Who’s with me?!?!?!”
Camera cuts to a shot of an ecstatic looking Eli Beazley.
Eli: “I AM! I AM!!! ME!! ME!!!!”
Back to a shot of Duke who is now pointing to the spot int he crowd where Eli is ‘sitting’.
Duke Darryl: “Young man, I appreciate your enthusiasm! Now folks, what I am going to share with you is something I have been working on for years. For years I have been studying Asian monks, Alaskan monks, and African monkeys. The big three of any scientific study. I spent time in the streets, in the sheets and even in sleet. I even spent a small portion of time dangling upside down like a bat. That wasn’t for the study. I didn’t fully understand how to use a piece of exercise equipment at the gym and got stuck, but it helped lead me to this moment right here.”
“You see, as I was dangling upside down contemplating my certain death a thought came to me. A thought so profound that it shook me to my core. A thought that formed the genesis of this entire lecture. One word. Three letters…. YES!”
Cut to Eli
Eli: “PREACH BROTHER, PREACH!!!”
Back to Duke.
Duke Darryl: When I was in my own personal version of the Upside Down I couldn’t help but bargain with God to spare my life. I pictured a meeting with God where he was decided whether or not to get me down from this workout equipment related death trap. “Duke, will you be a better man?’ he would ask. ‘YES!’ I would reply vigorously. God would continue ‘Duke, do you promise to help your fellow man?’ and I would reply with ‘YES, God!”
Duke takes the mic off of the podium and moves to the front of the stage.
Duke: “The entire ordeal only lasted for 20 seconds or so but in that short time I realized that no matter the question that God asked I would have said yes as long as it meant getting down from that godforsaken treadmill! So then I thought, what if I answered every question with yes?”
Cut to Eli.
Eli Beazley: “YES!!!
Back to Darryl
Duke Darryl: “Folks, Now I am not here to tell you that this is a good idea. Some of you may see the flaw in this logic right away. Sure it was fun to answer yes to questions like ‘Do you want to go to Disneyland?’ or ‘Should we get sour cream and quac on our nachos?’ But answering yes can also get you in trouble. ‘Do you want some of the meth?’ and ‘Should we burn down the Motel 6?’ And unfortunately that last one is how I ended up spending a couple of years in the clink.”
Cut to Eli
Eli Beazley: “The justice system is broken!!!”
Back to Duke.
Duke Darryl: “Prison wasn’t all that bad. Once you get past the bad food, the crappy bed and being someone’s bitch it really isn’t that bad. Plus it gave me a lot of time to reflect. And that led me to the revelation that I will share with you today… Here it is. Only say yes… to your dreams.”
Cut to Eli:
Eli Beasley: “YES! YES! Ye…. Errr.. YEPPERS!!! YEPPERS!!!!”
The scene fades to black as Eli is trying to get the rest of the crowd to join him in a yeppers chant. When the screen comes back to life we see Eli sitting on the hood of his car outside the hotel.
“Let’s be honest, I should have known that I wouldn’t get anything of real value at a hotel on the outskirts of Hoboken. Now don’t get me wrong. I love Hoboken. But this place does not represent the city well. This place is called the Radison de Swiss. What does that even mean? But it wasn’t a complete waste of time. I finally met Duke Darryl who sure does look a lot like me. Doppelganger much?”
Eli winks at the camera.
“But you know, he wasn’t completely wrong. It is important to say yes to your dreams. It’s important to believe in yourself when no one else does. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t do that. I have been overlooked at every turn on this long and windy road that I call my career. I have been counted out. But I kept going. People told me I would never be able to make a living as a professional wrestler. Did that. People said I would never make it to a place like APW done. And people said I would never win a belt. Done. Now, I stood before you last week and talked about how I am no longer the underdog and all of that. And I got more than my fair share of feedback.”
“I heard everything from how ‘big headed’ I have become to how I am ‘JUST’ the Jr. Heavyweight Champion. And folks, I want to assure you that I am not getting too big for these britches. I know my place. You see I wasn’t saying that I am at the top of APW. I wasn’t claiming to be the best. I was simply saying that the narrative around Breezy Eli Beazley has changed. I’ve proven I can win. I’ve proven that I can compete. This belt might not be the World Championship but it’s gold none the less and with the talent in APW winning any gold is impressive.”
Eli laughs to himself.
“And this is where that Duke Darryl guy does help. I have set my sights on the top of the APW mountain. I have been talking about Smith Jones and the World Championship for weeks and weeks. In my mind, I have created a checklist of guys I have to beat until I get to stand in the ring from Smith Jones and take the belt from him. I have already decided that it is going to happen. I have told myself yes. I have allowed myself to believe that it is going to happen.”
“What Duke didn’t mention is that it doesn’t just happen by itself. You can’t just ‘believe’ yourself into being the best. It takes hard work. It takes perseverance. It takes blood and guts. But when I give myself permission to believe in something I don’t stop there. I put in the work. I locked my sights on the prize and I don’t let up until I win the prize.”
“I know that a big part of my journey to the top is this Tag Tournament. I said that I wanted to face the best of the best. Well, this week they are here. The Architects are the best of the best. World Champ, number one contender, and the North American champ make up a pretty impressive group. They’ve got the accolades and the reputations. They are the ones that people talk about. Just today I saw a post on Twitter about how lucky APW is to have the Architects. Well as we are going to show tomorrow night, we’re pretty damn lucky to have Pomp and Circumstance too!”
“APW I have done a lot of talking. I have been calling for this moment. And the Gods have smiled down and granted my wish. So now it’s time to put up or shut up. And APW if you know anything about me you know that I never shut up!”
We get a smile and a laugh Eli.
“Breezy out.”
