Odysseus on Ellen

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Banner Image: Logo for The Ellen DeGeneres Show based off of The Ellen Website. Web Source

The Ellen DeGeneres Show, in California

The audience claps.

Ellen: For our next guest, I want to introduce an amazing man. He began serving in the Army twelve years ago, beginning at the United States Military Academy, and has been deployed three times, two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He has been awarded many honors while serving in the Armed Forces, and his most recent…the Medal of Honor, awarded by President Trump. Two years ago, he began his most recent tour in Afghanistan. In 2017, he was captured and held as a prisoner of war. It took American forces six months to find him, and in April of 2018, American forces finally got him back…

The audience claps.

Ellen: …I want to introduce you to…oh goodness, sorry, I need to wipe away my tears. I want to introduce you to Captain Odysseus!”

Captain Odysseus walks out and hugs Ellen while everyone in the room stands up, clapping and yelling joyfully.

Ellen: Welcome Captain Odysseus!

Odysseus: Thank you, Ellen. You can call me ‘Ode’.

Ellen: Alright, well, Ode. I hope you’re enjoying California.

Odysseus: Yes, yes, I am. You know, I’ve moved all around the U.S. and been to my fair share of countries, but this is my first time in California. Very beautiful.

Ellen: Yes, Cali is beautiful. Speaking of beautiful, your wife, Penelope and your son, Tele- Telemachus, I hope I’m saying that correctly…

Odysseus nods and laughs: Yes, Telemachus. We call him Tim.

Ellen laughs: Oh good, I see your family is into the nicknames.

Odysseus: Oh yes. If you can’t tell, my mother was very into Greek and Roman mythology.

The audience laughs.

Ellen: This makes sense. Well, anyway, I learned that they are in Colorado right now. How long has it been since you’ve seen them?

Odysseus: Well, I actually got to see them when I came home and they are backstage right now. My son just turned twenty years old, and my wife looks more beautiful than ever. I haven't seen my mom, Anticleia, since before I left though.

The audience gasps.

Ellen: Oh wow. Why not?

Odysseus: She got very ill after I left, and when I finally got back to the States, she had to go into immediate surgery. She's been in isolation so that her immune system can heal. We talk on the phone everyday though!

Ellen: Well, I'm sorry to hear about your mom. We are all definitely praying for her recovery and I know she's excited to see her son.

Odysseus: Ah, well thank you! I am super excited to see her.

Ellen: Tell us a little more about your conversations with your mom. What do you all talk about?

Odysseus: Hah, well let me start off by saying that she's my biggest fan.

The audience smiles.

Odysseus: She asks me about my deployment a lot and how the journey is going. I can't tell people a lot about what happened, but when she opened up my first Facetime call, we both definitely started crying. And then she goes on to tell me that I should've been in the Navy since I love sailing so much.

The audience laughs.

Odysseus: My wife, Penelope, and my son, Tim, visited her a lot while I was gone. My mom tells me how helpful they've been with supporting her while she's in and out of the hospital. My mom also jokes about how Penelope has yet to find another man to take my place - no worries, it's an inside joke.

Ellen: Hey, if you say so!

Odysseus laughs.

Odysseus: Yes, well, when you're in this difficult and dangerous job, you have to joke around a little to lighten the mood.

Ellen: Of course!

Odysseus: My mom also likes to joke about how she's sick from a broken heart because I've been gone so long.

Odysseus looks into the camera.

Odysseus: No worries, Mom. I'm back!

Ellen and the audience laughs.

Ellen: We all would like to say just how thankful we are for your service and your bravery. I called your mom a few weeks ago and asked her to record a message for you to listen to today.

Odysseus: Oh, great!

The recording begins playing.

Anticleia: Hi, son! I've missed you so much!

Odysseus smiles.

Anticleia: You make me so proud and I love you so much. I can't say anymore over this recording, so I decided to tell you in person-

The wall behind Odysseus opens up to reveal Penelope and Tim pushing Anticleia in a wheelchair.

The audience erupts with clapping and joyful praise.

Odysseus looks confused at first, and follows Ellen’s finger to see his family. He jumps off the couch and puts one hand on the back of his head in disbelief and the other over his face to hide his emotion.

The family embraces each other for a few minutes while the clapping continues from the audience.

Ellen: Congratulations, Odysseus family! We are so happy for you all!

Sniffles can be heard from the audience.

Penelope: Thank you, Ellen. So much! We cannot thank you enough.

Ellen turns to the camera: Alright, so we will have more on Captain Odysseus and his family’s journey with exclusive interviews on my website tomorrow, but for now, we are going to let the family have their time together. We will be back in a few minutes.

Producer counts down to indicate a commercial break

3...2...1…

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Author’s Note:

After learning about the valiant acts of the American war hero, Odysseus, Ellen DeGeneres invites him to her show in Burbank, California.

This story is adapted from Homer’s Odyssey, the sequel to Homer’s Iliad. The Odyssey is an ancient Greek poetic book describing Odysseus’ journey home to his kingdom, Ithaca, after the Trojan War to get back to his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. In the poem, the Trojan War lasts ten years resulting in the fall of Troy and Odysseus’ journey home is another ten years. It takes so long because his enemy is Poseidon, god of the sea. A bunch of stuff goes on during the voyage and the goddess Athena is Odysseus’ protectress… Anyway, some of the changes between my rendition and the actual poem are described next. First, I make Odysseus an American war hero instead of King Odysseus of Ithaca in ancient Greece. I describe the Trojan War as the war in Afghanistan to make it more modern. Odysseus' mother, Anticleia, believes that her son has died on his voyage, and she becomes so depressed and ill that she eventually dies. In the story, The Spirit of Anticleia, Odysseus sees his mother's spirit from the underworld. After drinking the sacrificial blood, Anticleia sees her son and tells him what he has missed while he's been gone. Penelope has not taken another lover and no one has taken his throne yet. That is why I added in that part about the inside joke. I hope you enjoyed this story! Thanks for reading!

Bibliography:

Homer's Odyssey translated by Tony Kline. Specific Story: The Spirit of Anticleia