The
television
program
was suddenly
interrupted for
a news bulletin. It
wasn’t clear at first as
to what the bulletin was
about, since the announcer,
like all announcers, had a
serious speech impediment. For
about half a minute, and in a state
of high excitement, the announcer tried
to say, “Ladies and Gentlemen.”
He finally gave up, handed the bulletin to a
ballerina to read.
“That’s all right-” Hazel said of the announcer, “he
tried. That’s the big thing. He tried to do the best he
could with what God gave him. He should get a nice raise for
trying so hard.”
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” said the ballerina, reading the bulletin.
She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore
was hideous. And it was easy to see that she was the strongest and most
graceful of all the dancers, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn
by two-hundred pound men.
And she had to apologize at once for her voice, which was a very unfair voice for a
woman to use. Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody. “Excuse me-” she said,
and she began again, making her voice absolutely uncompetitive.