Week 4 Story: Odysseys on the Ellen DeGeneres Show

Note: I have added this story to my portfolio. Check it out here: Odysseys on Ellen

The Ellen DeGeneres Show, in California

Audience clapping

Ellen: “For our next guest, I want to introduce an amazing man. He began serving in the Army twelve years ago, beginning at the United States Military Academy, and has been deployed three times, two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He has been awarded many honors while serving in the Armed Forces, and his most recent…the Medal of Honor, awarded by President Trump. Two years ago, he began his most recent tour in Afghanistan. In 2017, he was captured and held as a prisoner of war. It took American forces six months to find him, and in April of 2018, American forces finally got him back…”

Clapping from audience

“…I want to introduce you to…oh goodness, sorry, I need to wipe away my tears. I want to introduce you to Captain Odysseys!”

Captain Odysseys walks out and hugs Ellen while everyone in the room stands up, clapping and yelling joyfully.

Ellen: “Welcome Captain Odysseys!”

Odysseys: “Thank you, Ellen. You can call me ‘Ode’.”

Ellen: “Alright, well Ode. I hope you’re enjoying California.”

Odysseys: “Yes, yes I am. You know, I’ve moved all around the U.S. and been to my fair share of countries, but this is my first time in California. Very beautiful.”

Ellen: “Yes, Cali is beautiful. Speaking of beautiful, your wife, Penelope and your son, Tele- Telemachus, I hope I’m saying that correctly…”

Odysseys nods and laughs: “Yes, Telemachus. We call him Tim.”

Ellen laughs: “Oh good, I see your family is into the nicknames.”

Odysseys: “Oh yes. If you can’t tell, my mother was very into Greek and Roman mythology.”

Audience laughs

Ellen: “This makes sense. Well, anyway, I learned that they are in Colorado right now. How long has it been since you’ve seen them?”

Odysseys: “Well, it’s been over two years—“

Audience gasps

Ellen: “Oh wow. And you haven’t been back home since you returned from Afghanistan?”

Odysseys: “Sadly, no. After I got back to base in April, there are a lot of things I had to go through. I Facetime them almost everyday, though. I returned to the United States last month and had to meet some people and go through—other meetings and stuff. Normally, a soldier would get to see his or her family first, but being a prisoner of war, there are other protocols both my family and myself have to go through. But, right after your show, I’m flying to Colorado to see my wife and my son!”

Audience clapping

Odysseys: “Ah, thank you. Thank you. Yes, my son just turned twenty years old, and my wife looks more beautiful than ever over Facetime, ha.”

Laughter from audience

Ellen: “We all would like to say just how thankful we are for your service and your bravery. And, you might get to see your wife and son a little sooner than you were expecting.”

Ellen looks behind Odysseys as the wall is lifted up, revealing Penelope and Tim, holding flowers and crying.

Audience erupts with clapping and joyful praise.

Odysseys looks confused at first, and follows Ellen’s finger to see his family. He jumps off the couch and puts one hand on the back of his head in disbelief and the other over his face to hide his emotion.

The family embraces each other for a few minutes while the clapping continues from the audience.

Ellen: “Congratulations, Odysseys family! We are so happy for you all!”

Sniffles can be heard from the audience.

Penelope: “Thank you, Ellen. So much! We cannot thank you enough.”

Ellen turns to the camera, “Alright, so we will have more on Captain Odysseys and his family’s journey with exclusive interviews on my website tomorrow, but for now, we are going to let the family have their time together. We will be back in a few minutes.”

Producer counts down to indicate a commercial break

3...2...1…

Marble head of Odysseus, found in Italy. Web source.

(652 words)

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Author’s Note:

After learning about the valiant acts of the American war hero, Odysseus (or Odysseys), Ellen DeGeneres invites him to her show in Burbank, California.

This story is adapted from Homer’s Odyssey, the sequel to Homer’s Iliad.  The Odyssey is an ancient Greek poetic book describing Odysseys’ journey home to his kingdom, Ithaca, after the Trojan War to get back to his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. In the poem, the Trojan War lasts ten years resulting in the fall of Troy and Odysseys’ journey home is another ten years. It takes so long because his enemy is Poseidon, god of the sea. A bunch of stuff goes on during the voyage and the goddess Athena is Odysseys’ protectress… Anyway, some of the changes between my rendition and the actual poem are described next. First, I make Odysseys an American war hero instead of King Odysseys of Ithaca in ancient Greece. I describe the Trojan War as the war in Afghanistan to make it more modern. I gave Odysseys a higher education background at West Point because he is a king and usually people of power are endowed with higher educations at top universities. Odysseys did not see his wife and son for twenty years, but I thought that was too long for my story, so I made it 2 years. 

Bibliography:
Homer's Odyssey translated by Tony Kline. Specific Story: The Spirit of Anticleia