Tansy's Trek

...Or How I Found Myself...

My name is Tansy Mae Winters.  I am 15 years old and I live in the swampy backwoods of the Louisiana Bayou with the shadowy figure of Jacques Devereaux.  He has some secret past that he is hiding from, I pay no mind to this, after all don't we all have something to hide? He gives me place to live while I help run errands for him.

One day while exploring and playing in the Bayou with my bird, Marigold, I come across some outsiders.  At first, I am instantly fearful of being discovered, made fun of, or worse, rescued and put into a foster home.   I like my life the way it is because it is my choice to live this way, and with my past history of abuse, I'd rather make my own way.  (Ultimately, I'm afraid of change and being hurt, but aren't we all?)

But then I see Jason and have a Miranda experience, a la The Tempest, "O Brave New World that have such creatures in it'---

In fact, in a very real way, I am a mixture of Miranda and Caliban.  In a sense, most of the other characters see me as the latter but to Jason I am Miranda and that is all that matters.  To be fully seen as beautiful and special is what changes me and helps me to accept the person I am inside and meant to become.  Even, in a sense, my relationship with Jacques, albeit abusive at times, is a lot like that of Prospero and Miranda.

The other people that come into the Bayou for the trek and that I meet later on are Beau Douville, Karen Moore, Tina McCourt, and Bobby Robiere.  At first, I am scared of each of them, especially Tina because I am sure she will make fun of me.  Beau and Karen may decide they have this "pressing need" to rescue me, so that makes me weary.  Of all of them, Bobby seems the most benign and thus the most trustworthy.

Through the meeting of each of these people, I discover my equality with others and even though I appear different I can still be one of them, am like them, and can help them 'save the day'.  In the end, I find my own personal power and pursue my destiny.

After the trek comes to a close, not only do I stay together with Jason but Tina and I become friends and she helps me to fit better with society and I help her become more comfortable with her true self, not worried about the opinions or judgments of others.  For example, she helps me learn about hair-care and other beautifying tips and I open her eyes to a world outside herself, a world more focused on the spiritual not the temporal.

Even though Jason and I stay in the Bayou, like he says, we still spend a lot of time in the town.  We both enroll in the local high school and get part time jobs.  He starts working at a garage where he learns about the trade of being a mechanic.  I get a job at a drugstore and soda pop shop.  In addition, I get a tutor to help bring myself up to grade level.

We stay in touch with Bobby, who with Beau's help, finally gets to be on the football and track team.  Tina becomes my pen-pal and after graduation when I receive a full scholarship to NYU, the two of us become room-mates.

At NYU, I study literature and English and hope to become a writer.  My first novel is about my experiences living in the Bayou, with an absent mother, and life with the infamous Jacques Devereau. Later on, I attend graduate school and receive my Ph'D in English literature.

Jason and I initially break up when I leave for college but years later while in my first year as a professor, we reunite, fall back in love, and marry.  We now have one son and another on the way.

Trek of the Catahoola Kids is a radio play written and produced by Ruth Wire.  It is currently in production but will aired later this year on a local Jackson County radio station.  It is co-directed by Jonathan Pratt and Michael Meyer, with Joshua Hendrickson as assistant director.  The play also stars Michael Meyer as Jacques Devereau, Christopher Horton as Beau Douville, Ceara Hays as Karen Moore, Tim Kee as Jason Meredith, Krystal Brewer as Tina McCourt, Jesse Lawson as Bobby Robiere, Catherine Hansen as both Mrs. Meredith and Mrs. McCourt, and Joshua Hendrickson as Mr. Robiere and my bird, Marigold.