"A WICKED ADVENTURE IN THE HUB OF THE UNIVERSE" A DEAD POETS SOCIETY PRODUCTION
| STARRING EMILY DICKINSON AS THE TEACHER, MISS. DICKINSON  | WITH JIMMY ASHER AS "LITTLE JIMMY" AND INTRODUCING ABIAH ROOT AS "ABIAH."
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MISS DICKINSON: Good morning, class.
CLASS: Good morning, Miss Dickinson.
MISS DICKINSON: Children, please clear your desks. I’m going to show you a film strip this morning called “A Wicked Adventure in the Hub of the Universe.”
LITTLE JIMMY: That sounds wicked pissah, Mz. D!
MISS DICKINSON: Does anyone know where the Hub of the Universe is?
LITTLE JIMMY: That’s Boston Ms. D! Oliver Wendell Holmes coined that term for Beantown in his 1858 essay series The Autocrat at the Breakfast-Table in The Atlantic.
MISS DICKINSON: That’s right, Little Jimmy. Holmes actually said the Boston State House was “the hub of the solar system," poking fun at local pride, and over time, people expanded "solar system" to "universe" and shortened the city's nickname simply to “the Hub.”
LITTLE JIMMY: You ever been to Boston, Ms. D?
MISS DICKINSON: Why, yes, I have, Little Jimmy. Back in ’46 I visited the city and saw and heard a great many wonderful things. I saw Mount Auburn and Bunker Hill. I attended two concerts and a horticultural exhibition. I even went the top of the State house and almost everywhere that you can imagine.
LITTLE JIMMY: Wicked pissah, Mz. D!
ABIAH: Did you visit the Museum of Bad Art while you were there, Miss Dickinson?
MISS DICKINSON: No, Abiah, I did not. I was told that place was disgraceful. Now children let’s get started.
CLASS: Good morning, Miss Dickinson.
MISS DICKINSON: Children, please clear your desks. I’m going to show you a film strip this morning called “A Wicked Adventure in the Hub of the Universe.”
LITTLE JIMMY: That sounds wicked pissah, Mz. D!
MISS DICKINSON: Does anyone know where the Hub of the Universe is?
LITTLE JIMMY: That’s Boston Ms. D! Oliver Wendell Holmes coined that term for Beantown in his 1858 essay series The Autocrat at the Breakfast-Table in The Atlantic.
MISS DICKINSON: That’s right, Little Jimmy. Holmes actually said the Boston State House was “the hub of the solar system," poking fun at local pride, and over time, people expanded "solar system" to "universe" and shortened the city's nickname simply to “the Hub.”
LITTLE JIMMY: You ever been to Boston, Ms. D?
MISS DICKINSON: Why, yes, I have, Little Jimmy. Back in ’46 I visited the city and saw and heard a great many wonderful things. I saw Mount Auburn and Bunker Hill. I attended two concerts and a horticultural exhibition. I even went the top of the State house and almost everywhere that you can imagine.
LITTLE JIMMY: Wicked pissah, Mz. D!
ABIAH: Did you visit the Museum of Bad Art while you were there, Miss Dickinson?
MISS DICKINSON: No, Abiah, I did not. I was told that place was disgraceful. Now children let’s get started.
 | MISS DICKINSON:: In the first slide, children, you see a very busy depiction of the Freedom Trail, a two-and-a-half mile walking path which connects sixteen nationally significant historic sites.
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| LITTLE JIMMY: I visited Boston, too, Mz. D -- I wrote about it in that essay you assigned on the first day of school, "What I Did on My Summer Vacation." MISS DICKINSON: And what was your favorite site, Little Jimmy? LITTLE JIMMY: Well, the history stuff was cool and all, Miss D., but I gotta say, my favorite place was the Museum of Bad Art. It was wicked pissah. MISS DICKINSON: Little Jimmy! LITTLE JIMMY: Oh, and I got to try some really great margaritas, too -- a mango one, a pineapple-coconut one, and a spicy jalapeno one. MISS DICKINSON: Sounds like you were quite the Debauchee of Dew, Little Jimmy -- reeling – thro’ endless summer days. ABIAH: You ever been a little Tippler, Miss. Dickinson? Leaning against the Sun? MISS DICKINSON: Inebriate of air – am I, Abiah. Oh my -- look at the time. Our time of academic pursuits must come to a close, children. We'll finish up with our look at the Hub tomorrow. For tonight, your homework is to compose a short poem on how the summer lapsed away -- as imperceptibly as grief. LITTLE JIMMY! Wicked pissah! ABIAH: How many lines does it have to be, Miss Dickinson. MISS DICKINSON Let's say at least...six, seven. Yes -- six -- seven. |  |
| As you can see, dear reader, from the script of the one-act audio drama above, my sister, my wife, and I followed Boston's Freedom Trail when we visited earlier this month. I'll put more pictures up on on my travelogue, "Dial 'Em' for Emily," HERE. More posts from my trip are here: 07.30.2026: PAINT BY BLUNDERS, CLICK HERE. 07.29.2026: YABBA DABBA DO BE DO BE DO WOP BOP A LOO BOP A LOP BAM BOOM DEE AY, CLICK HERE. 07.28.2026: NOT YOUR GARDEN VARIETY, CLICK HERE. 07.27.2026: THE TROUBLES WITH EMILY, CLICK HERE. 07.26.2026: THE MAN WHO BLOGGED TOO MUCH, CLICK HERE. 07.25.2026: STRANGE TURNS ON A TRAIN, CLICK HERE. 07.24.2026: HOW SWEETEST IT IS, CLICK HERE. 07.23.2026: A DATE WITH DESTINY, CLICK HERE. 07.22.2026: THIS – IS THE BLOG POST – THE SUNSET WASHES, CLICK HERE. 07.21.2026: DOUBLE ETERNITY, CLICK HERE. 07.20.2026: THE ORACLE WORE A WHITE DRESS -- PART DEUX, CLICK HERE. 07.19.2026: ALL THINGS MATTER, CLICK HERE. 07.18.2026: INTRODUCTORY PLOG POST ABOUT "DIAL 'EM' FOR EMILY," CLICK HERE. |  |
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