Home Field (pdf format) by Rod Thompson

Two brothers play an innocent game of baseball – unaware that life as they know it is about to end…

The best war films aren’t about war. At least not completely. As with all good drama, such tales are really about people. War may provide the backdrop – but highlighting the human experience is the true content. The good, the bad, the ugly. The heroic.

On the surface, Home Field displays the gritty trappings of war. But the beating, bleeding heart of it is a testament to the indomitable spirit of man. In this case, two brothers. Richie and younger brother Jamie.

When we first meet them, they’re just boys – facing off in a heated game of little league baseball. Jamie knocks Richie’s best pitch deep into the outfield…. Then their friendly rivalry’s interrupted in the worst possible way. A missile streaks overhead like a comet, and explodes nearby.

War has come. Their childhood ended.

Eight years later, the two are veteran soldiers; fighting a bloody ground war on home soil. Richie drags his wounded brother away from battle – ironically across the same baseball field. Jamie’s been wounded critically; he’s unable to even stand. As the two debate their next move, they recall the last time they were on that field. The smell of the grass. The crack of the bat… all memories that they (and upcoming generations) may never experience again. War is hell for a great many reasons; and one of the victims is innocence. Being on the field slams the message painfully home. But there’s no time for weeping. But perhaps there is time for one souvenir.

Bowing to his brother’s wish, Richie retrieves a precious object from the field. Then – as Jamie protests – he jams a syringe into his brother’s leg. Slings him over his shoulder and slogs away.

After all, one can’t live in a memory. And there’s a war to fight.

Pages: 5

Budget: Low – Moderate; depending on how much wartime FX you choose to incorporate. Missiles. Explosions. Shots of planes. Much of which could be implied.

About the writer, Rod Thompson: I have been writing creatively since I learned how to write. There is just something about telling a story that I can never get over. Storytelling in itself is like an old flame that occasionally comes to me and just says, “Use me.” The ability to watch a movie through words, or to craft a world in such a manner is the closest to Godliness that man will ever come. True story. Contact Rod at RodThompson1980 (a) gmail.com

About the reviewer: Scott Merrow co-writes screenplays with his wife Paula. Since 2006, they’ve written over 50 short screenplays, several of which have been produced. They tend toward family-friendly scripts, but they’ve written a little bit of everything: horror, fantasy, sci-fi, comedy… the whole nine yards. Wanna give them a shout out? They’re available at scott-paula (a) comcast.net

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