Episode 20

The Mutual Broadcasting System brings you another episode of Life in Hyperion.

Today's episode: "The Streets of This Town", Part 8

Yesterday, Conrad returned to work after suffering from a two-day flu and took back his space on the air. Meanwhile, Thomas, locked up in jail, made friends with Polly the janitor. As we begin, we continue our tour with a look into Phil's home...

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That same afternoon, Phil sits in his home, watching TV, when he hears a knock at the door. He walks to the door and opens it.
"Cy!" says Phil as he sees him standing there.
"Hello, Phil. I decided to stop by today and help you." says Cy as he walks in.
Phil closes the door and says, "Help me with what?"
"With your date on Friday with Officer Grace." says Cy.
"What pointers could you give me?" queries Phil.
"Plenty." says Cy as he passes Phil's picture of a girl.
Cy picks up the picture and looks at it as Phil walks over to him.
"Who's the girl?" asks Cy.
"That's Evangeline." says Phil.
"'Evangeline, Evangeline, curses the soul of the Mississippi queen, that stole her man away.'" says Cy, quoting an old song.
"She was a nice girl." says Phil.
"Was? What happened?" says Cy.
"She died in a car accident senior year with her boyfriend." says Phil.
"This display of her picture would indicate that you had feelings for her." says Cy.
"I did. I admired her from afar and I tried to make her mine but she fell for another and when she died, I attented her funeral." says Phil.
"Well, I'm gonna make sure that Officer Grace isn't another Evangeline." says Cy,
putting the picture down.
"What are gonna do?" asks Phil.
"Well, I'm gonna give you a couple of tips that my mother passed on to me." says Cy.
"Such as?" says Phil.
"How to talk to Officer Grace without swallowing your tungue." says Cy.
"That's my biggest hurdle." says Phil.
"Well, what you should do to overcome that hurdle is to let her have the first word in any conversation. That way, you know where to go with your words." says Cy.
"Does that work?" asks Phil.
"It worked for me and it'll work for you." says Cy.
"How has it worked for you?" queries Phil.
"Don't ask, just learn." says Cy.
"What's your next tip?" asks Phil.
"Always be a gentleman." says Cy.
"I know that." says Phil.
"I see that you have some idea of being a gentleman." says Cy.
"I do, Cy. I mean, I haven't tried to be one but I know how." says Phil.
"Remember Evangeline, Phil." says Cy.
"I do, and I promise to be better." says Phil.
"Make sure of it." says Cy.
"Now, any more tips for me?" asks Phil.
"I better let you figure things out without my help. Besides, I feel that you have to find your own way with this." says Cy.
"Then why did you give me tips?" queries Phil.
"Because I wanted to set a foundation. Romance often fails without a good foundation, just like buildings." says Cy.
"I never knew you were a romantic, Cy." says Phil.
"I try to be a man of the world, the old-fashioned world that we used to live in before society tossed it away." says Cy.
"You better go." says Phil.
"I better. See ya on the flip side." says Cy as he walks to the door.
Cy opens the door, walks outside, and closes in behind.
As the Friday morning sun rises over Hyperion, Cy is biking his way to work, as usual. The morning light shines on the pavement of the streets as Cy arrives at the radio station. He soon chains up the bike and goes inside. He soon makes a bee-line to the green room. When he gets there, he finds Conrad reading a magazine.
"Good morning, Conrad." says Cy as he enters the green room.
"Good morning, Cy." says Conrad, still reading.
"Ready for another Friday show?" asks Cy.
"I feel ready." says Conrad.
"I don't feel ready, as always." says Cy.
"Lay off today. Besides, we have nothing to worry about." says Conrad.
"According to Mr. Gold's latest ratings, our show is close to sinking to the bottom of the ratings chart." says Cy.
"That's not true." says Conrad.
"Mr. Gold runs the ratings service, and we're Barry & Terry's rivals. If we appear to have bad ratings, he'll eventually throw us off the air and Barry and Terry can rule the air uncompeted." says Cy.
"You don't really believe that." says Conrad.
"I do, and it's true." says Cy.
"Just don't mention it to Mr. Gold." says Conrad.
"Maybe I'll listen to you on that." says Cy.
"You better." says Conrad.
"For now, let us do our morning show." says Cy.
"Hear, hear." says Conrad.
"Hello, guys." says Phil as he enters the green room.
"Hello, Phil." says Cy.
"Another Friday has arrived." says Phil.
"And your date with Grace is tonight." says Cy.
"Don't I know it?" says Phil with a small amount of nervousness in his voice.
"Conrad, go get ready for the show." says Cy.
"Okay, Cy." says Conrad, who then makes his leave from the green room.
"Now that Conrad is out of the room, I want to remain you of your date with
Officer Grace, or Grace as I call her." says Cy.
"What is it you wish to discuss with me now?" says Phil.
"Only to remind you of my tips I gave you." says Cy.
"What are they again?" says Phil.
"Always be a gentleman and let the woman have the first word in a conversation. Both tips will lead to a successful relationship." says Cy.
"Then why haven't they worked for you?" queries Phil.
"I just to avoid being tied down, and I'm waiting for the right time." says Cy.
"Well, I could use another tip." says Phil.
"Another tip?" says Cy.
"It's about the age difference." says Phil.
"Between you and Grace?" says Cy.
"She's 32 and I'm 21. I don't see how that big an age difference can make a relationship." says Phil.
"Only you would make 11 years seem a big difference. To some people, that's a drop in the bucket. I say, let the difference shrink to zero and just enjoy each other. She can guide you and you can guide her." says Cy, getting out a cigar.
"I never knew you smoked." says Phil.
"Only at home, but today, I wanna do it in the studio. Barry just hates cigar smoke. He's a cig smoker." says Cy.
"I hope that tip you gave me works." says Phil.
"It worked in the movie White Palace, didn't it?" says Cy.
"You never cease to amaze me." says Phil.
"I hope I never do. The day I become routine is the day I leave my body on this planet and move on." says Cy.
"Go smoke your cigar." says Phil with a smile on his face.

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Next week, the ways of romance are seen, with some bad, some good, a date begins and has a happy ending, and an ex-con gets a home from a very unlikely person.

Join us, won't you?
Yours truly, John Maxwell.

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