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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for March 5, 2010
“Johnny’s Mother Loved Soap Operas”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
(begin background music to fit each scene)
Nobody ever talked to Johnny about the things he saw on television.
His mom watched soap operas, so he did, too.
What an exciting life they led, those soap opera characters. What drama!
Those people became like family to Johnny. He knew all about them and discussed them with his mother. They talked about them like they were real.
But his mother never pointed out the pitfalls, she never discussed the lifestyles of the soap opera characters, or what those lives would look like in real life. She was just getting entertainment, but Johnny was getting an education.
For Christmas one year Johnny’s parents got him his own television, so now he could watch whatever he wanted in the privacy of his own bedroom. Well, not whatever he wanted. His parents did block the worst channels.
He liked sitcoms, where life was a laugh a minute. That’s the life Johnny wanted, just hanging out with friends and having fun. Nobody pointed out to him that it was just a show.
He watched a lot of sports, and that means he watched a lot of beer commercials. Now that’s the life, the life of those people in beer commercials. It’s always fun, a party every night, dancing and music with all the beautiful people. No one told him the dark side – of getting drunk, of car accidents and a thousand other stupid things drunk people do. No one told him the ravages of alcoholism. All he saw was good times.
And he saw a lot of “hooking up” on TV, a lot of “friends with benefits.” He saw them counting up the number of “partners.” Well that sounded good to him. In fact, it was like a goal. Could he live up to, or even surpass, the conquests of the people on TV? No one shed any light on what happens to real people who sleep around, the diseases they give to one another, the emotional fallout, and on and on – all stories Johnny never heard, because no one thought to tell him.
Yes, there were serious shows on TV, and documentaries, and the worst night for Johnny was when the president came on and messed up all the channels.
Johnny loved music videos. He wished he could live in a music video where the party never ends and all the babes are hot.
Finally, it was time for Johnny to get out on his own, and he decided to move to New York City, away from that dead cow town his parents raised him in, where there was never anything to do.
He got a job at a club and poured himself into the party lifestyle. He finally got to do the things he’d been watching on TV all his life. Every night he had great expectations. Tonight would be the night – the perfect party, wild thrills and non-stop laughter.
Sometimes it was thrilling, but the thrill quickly passed, leaving him hungry for the next thrill. The weekends rolled by. Some were fun and some were just boring. In fact, he started to be bored with the whole scene. It wasn’t measuring up to the expectations. There was the idea that it was going to be great. There was the anticipation – always the anticipation – but then it just didn’t pan out.
Eventually Johnny became disillusioned with the whole lifestyle, but not before he had some serious consequences – consequences that his favorite TV characters never seemed to have.
How did it happen? How did he end up here?
He thought long and hard about his life, and he even ended up moving back home to the cow town, to try to sort things out.
It wasn’t very exciting, but it was good to be home.
And his mother was so glad he was back. She fixed his favorite meal, they sat down in the living room, and throughout the afternoon she caught Johnny up on all their favorite soap operas.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you life down and when you get up.”
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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