Decades ago I wrote and staged an original play at the Church in Ocean Park. “It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's … Irving,” took place in Miami Beach at a welfare assisted living facility where feisty WWII Polish immigrant, Irving Zupermann, resided.
Often gruff with snappy one-liners, Irv was was misdiagnosed with Alzheimer's primarily because … he insisted he was a “superhero.” You see, in 1937 teenage Irv was a legendary strongman in the Warsaw Circus and was interviewed by an American writer. In 1938 Superman comic books made a fortune, however, as Irv laments, “I got bupkes.” (Yiddish for “nothing.”)
The Church was the only venue interested, plus they allowed my beautiful Miami Beach set to stay up for the entire 6-week run. Actually, Minister James Conn enjoyed temporarily giving his Sunday sermons with a Miami backdrop.
Since then, I've followed dozens of important social justice causes the interfaith congregation Church has promoted. Now they've recently delivered a good deed to my friend, Darya Jones, who, due to Covid-19, found herself homeless.
Though she was an ideal tenant where she rented a room in a house, the elderly owner was so anxious about the virus she reluctantly asked Darya to move. Empathetic, Darya didn't put up a fuss but couldn't find another place that quickly.
Having volunteered at the Church for nine years, she reached out to Minister Janet McKeithen. Due to the virus, Sunday services are on the Internet so the Church building is vacant. Minister McKeithen gladly offered Darya an office as a makeshift bedroom. If this sounds daunting, Darya has faced infinitely worse.
Darya was born in Moscow in 1990, 3 months premature and yet miraculously survived pneumonia 6 times, in an orphanage without hot water or antibiotics! Thankfully she was adopted by Santa Monica humanitarian, Lee Jones, who brought her
home. Doctors soon discovered Darya needed glasses and hearing aids.
Darya began school but being Russian with glasses and hearing aids, sadly, she was a frequent target for bullying. Smart as a whip and grateful for her new life, young Darya tried to ignore it.
Fortunately, she attended Santa Monica's Edison Language Academy and became proficient in Spanish and developed interest in other cultures. Also fortunate, she began a close friendship with a brave classmate, Coleman, who fiercely protected her. (And was befriended by Coleman's mother, Cynthia who ultimately introduced me to Darya.)
Darya went to New Roads School, graduating in 2009 and then Loyola Marymount where she got B.A. in Theology and Peace Studies. In 2011 she began attending and volunteering at the Church in Ocean Park.
Despite all her hardships Darya's remarkably serene, thoroughly authentic and without an ounce of guile. She's also a hard worker and managed to keep her job at a take out Starbucks despise layoffs. And she's also saved money and is seeking a modestly priced room to rent in a nice house or guest house, hopefully close to her work at Stewart and Pico.
Childhood hardships can make a person stronger or they can be haunted by them. For most people there's probably a mix, hopefully with the good outweighing the negative. For Darya surviving her life's many burdens, instead of making her bitter have made her better.
For example, in today's highly polarized environment, if someone disagrees with her on something she holds dear, she's genuinely interested in why they think that way rather than judging them. (I, on the other hand, when I hear “inject disinfectants” go full bore John McEnroe's, “You can't be serious!”)
Darya has many passions including music, movies, being a part-time dog walker, reading and writing. In fact, she's so witty I've warned her that if her line is funnier than mine, it's fair game.
Speaking of “fair,” Darya is a remarkably fair person. In the meantime, in 2021 there is a distinct possibility she could be accepted to Harvard's School of Divinity, or as she describes it, “A dream come true.”
On the subject of dreams, after my play at the Church, I was contacted by a theater director from New York. I instantly had visions of Broadway but it turned out he was only born in New York and his theater was in a Northridge mini mall between a Carpeteria and a Winchell's Donuts.
So it wasn't Broadway or off Broadway. (Actually it was more “off” Northridge.) The man who won the part of Irv was the President of Cal State Northridge who wanted to be an actor so badly he resigned to play Zupperman. He was okay but I subtly encouraged him to “keep your day job.”
Years later I rewrote the play into a screenplay that was ultimately optioned by award-winning actor Ed Asner, which was a happy ending. I hope for an even better one for Darya.
The Church in Ocean Park is at: ciop4justice.org, Darya is at: darya.jones.22@gmail.com, and Jack is at: jackdailypress@aol.com.
