Their Stories
Abigail – (MC) (F) (S) (3), born in AT, Al. Con high, Hippo U., Head of public Health Unit, reports to Hippotropolis and also receives some ‘shared project ‘ funds from region. She could have stayed in Hippotropolis but chose to return home to work in her community. She fell in love with Gregory Jr. while he was a volunteer in her youth “safe sex” outreach program. They had known each other in high school but did not socialize.
Her family has owned a small business in the community for many years and places a high value on education. While in High School, Abigail worked part time in the business and was not allowed to date. She spent her time studying. She graduated second in her class in H. S. and completed her Masters degree at Hippo-U.
Gregory Jr. (HL) (M) (S) (3), born AT, AL Con High, grad from Home-Land University, (Economics and MBA). Son of Gregory Sr., he is actually Gregory III, and a direct descendent of Captain Crook.
He returned to Alligatortown after spending time traveling and working abroad. Greg Jr. found out that the family business interests and fortune he was groomed to run and eventually inherit, were essentially ‘only on paper’. The family trusts had been depleted by his family’s grand lifestyle, and misguided ‘self-insurance” plan for their business assets.
He volunteered for the youth outreach, much to his family’s disapproval. Greg’s worldly ways and trends have seen him ‘date’ many women from different parts of the world, but because of family pressure, never married. His father wants him to settle down.
Vanna (HL) (F) (D) (3), AL town High, didn’t go on to college. After her high school sweetheart (and often rogue) Gregory, left for college, she dated and married Chip, sports star and now a foreman in the factory.
Divorced with one child, she is the administrator in the mayor’s office. She is very unhappy with the mayor’s liberal policies that encourage even more outsiders to come to Alligator Town. She sees Abigail socially since she is a source of information and contacts with Hippo.
Tired of being a working poor single parent, she has set her sights on Greg, knowing that his father would approve because she is at least a HomeLander.
Sinbad (OZ) (M) (W) (1) – born in Zoria, the eldest of five children and the only male, came to Alligatortown with his family. His father worked on the railroad tunnel. At 12, too young to break rock, he worked on the labour barge as a ‘hand’, mostly cleaning and fetching for the crew.
Sinbad’s father was killed in a cave-in a year later. Sinbad became head of the family. He was betrothed according to Zorian custom and married at 18. He was expected to carry on the family line and did so, having 5 children of his own, all sons.
As Sinbad grew into adulthood, his life took a change in course when he met the adventurous Greg Sr. who had a plan to start a riverboat service upriver and complete the rail line. Greg Sr. needed someone who could operate the boat.
Sinbad is looked to as a leader of the Zorian community in part because of his father’s status and his relationship with Greg Sr.
Slug – (Z) (M) (S) (3), AL Con high, Hippo-Tech, degree in information systems technology with a minor in math. Youngest son of Sinbad, his mother passed away while he was in High School.
Afraid of the water, he did not work on the boats like his brothers. He got his nickname in high school when he set a record in gym class for the slowest time ever recorded for running the 40 m dash; “moves like a slug” stuck. Did not date in high school, although he had a crush on a cheerleader that Greg asked to the prom.
Went with Abigail to school in Hippotropolis. Slug stayed there and worked for Hippo-Com until the dot-com bubble burst. He came home to live with family and got a temp job in the construction office while the bridge was being rebuilt.
Gregory Sr. (HC) (M) (D) (1), grew up in Alligator Heights and was educated at home by tutors, and in the family tradition went back to the Homeland for his schooling, which was interrupted by the war, although he was too young to serve.
His father, Gregory Esq., had reestablished the family estate on the Heights which overlooked the river valley and spending time in Hippo looking after other ‘business interests’ at the port. Gregory Sr. would sometimes travel by horseback with his father down the rail bed for the ill-fated Hippo-Express train line to Hippotropolis.
B.J. (OP) (F) (D) (2), born upriver near the golden-tree land. She is a direct descendent of a family that was there long before the arrival of Captain Crook. Came to Alligatortown with her family. She immediately caught the eye of Gregory Sr., who had returned to reestablish the family business.
Against her mother’s wishes, she stayed and boarded with a family and was courted by Gregory Sr. They married and she was able to send money to her family when they returned upriver. Her knowledge of the north would become helpful to Gregory Sr. and Sinbad’s business ventures.
Greg Jr. was her only child. She stayed with Greg Sr. until her son went off to school. After leaving, she began openly talking about what many people suspected.
J.T. (NZ) (F) (S) (2). Born and educated in Zoria. Mayor of Alligator Town, J.T. managed to escape with her brother from the refugee camp (detention centre) with nothing on her back but her clothes and a few pieces of jewelry sewn in the hems. She managed to make it across the Northern pass and found passage to Alligatortown aboard Sinbad’s “fishing boat.”
J.T. shocked Sinbad. She was one of his first passengers from Zoria…the forwardness and independent nature of this passenger… he discovered that she was educated not only in the ‘traditions,’ but also in worldly ways as well. Reform in Zoria in the eastern sector had brought about a lot of change since Sinbad had left.
At first an outrage and scandal to the Zorian community, J.T. soon found her popularity growing as the Zorian relocation program began to bring more and more people from her region to work in the factory, gator farm, and as casual labour. Greg Sr. always looking for more control, and not really caring about which Zorian was which, provided the funding to help her get elected as Mayor.
J.T. and B.J. began sharing more time away from Alligatortown. Together they encouraged Abigail to return from Hippotropolis.
What Everybody Knows
Greg and Slug
What Everybody Knows
Gregory has gone to the police and had Slug charged with assault. Slug claims that Gregory started it, has gone to the legal aid clinic, and has filed a defense. The court has a new pre-trial program that has been recommended to, and accepted by both parties.
Gregory and Slug have known each other for most of their lives, and attended Alligatortown Consolidated High School together. They come from different social backgrounds and have never gotten along.
Gregory lives in Alligator Heights, and his father owns the Alligator River Purse & Belt Company, which is a major employer in Alligatortown.
Slug has been unemployed since the bridge was fixed. Slug does not have a history of violence outside of his own neighbourhood, and does not have a police record.
Notes on Mutual Interest
There is very little possibility that Slug will go to jail. If he has a police record, getting a job would be difficult. There is no doubt that Greg was beaten up, there is some doubt as to whether he was as innocent as he claims... Greg is a major anonymous contributor to the Alligatortown Public Health Clinic. His father wonders where he spends his money. Greg really doesn't want him to know.
Abigail and Vana
What Everybody Knows
Abigail is the public health nurse in Alligatortown and runs the public health clinic. She is from Alligatortown, from a poor family, and went away to school. She is one of the few who have ever returned to work in the community.
Vana is the Senior Administrator in the Mayors office, which provides the funding for the clinic, and is indispensable for putting together the grants for Council’s approval. She is a single parent whose child was the “innocent” bystander hurt in the fracas in the school yard.
For the past few years the funding package for the clinic has proceeded smoothly and was approved pro forma at council. Now there seems to be a number of problems and the deadline for submission has passed, Council wants to know why. Council has forgotten they cut four jobs in the administration office, but J.T. Mayor suspects that may not be the only problem.
Notes on Mutual Interest
If they don’t get past this and harmonize the funding situation, Abigail can quit and move to Hippotropolis. Her profession is in demand, but she would lose the ties to her home town. If Abigail quits, it would be hard for Vana to find a qualified person who wants to live in Alligatortown. Vana must be seen as an effective administrator, who can keep things moving smoothly through all the pressures of downsizing. Vana feels she can replace Abigail if necessary. Historically they have been friends. Abigail runs a good clinic.
The Zorians
What Everybody Knows
The Zorians - Are a Cultural group that has immigrated to Alligatortown. The first immigration followed World War II; the second immigration came after a revolution causing civil war and famine in the mid 80's (forty years apart).
The “old” Zorians have been successful in establishing their community. They have built and run a cultural centre where they provide activities for their community.
The “new” Zorians want changes in the centre to reflect a more modern viewpoint, in order to attract the youth to the centre. Their proposal has been rejected. Since the city gives a grant to the Centre, the New Zorians have gone to the Mayor and indicated that they will take the issue public. The Mayor asked the two groups to each send a representative to meet with a third-party Process Leader to try and work it out.
Notes on Mutual Interest
Because the Centre receives grant funding, it is possible that public awareness of the problem could trigger a reaction to stop the funding, even though both sides have “friends” on the council. The entire Zorian community is concerned about AIDS and the risk to the youth. The growing visibility of Zorian youth on the street, from both old and new Zorian families, is associating them with things (e.g. crime and drugs) that they may or may not be doing.
Sinbad and J.T.
What Everybody Knows
J.T., is the long time Mayor of Alligatortown. She is also a New Zorian.
Sinbad (an Old Zorian)is demanding the firing of Alvin, the Principle of the school, because he refuses to hold a general meeting to determine who is to blame over the incident in the school yard. J.T. has refused to take the matter up with city council.
Alvin, is also a Zorian. There are no Zorians on the school board and only 10% of the teachers are Zorian but over 30% of the students are. Alvin has worked very hard to get his job and feels that he is a credit to his community.
Sinbad started the boat line and still runs it with the help of his sons. Sinbad, who is constantly refuting rumours about the types of cargo his “fishing fleet” carries, is demanding a public meeting to talk about the racism and the fracas that happened at Alligatortown Consolidated High School.
Notes on Mutual Interest:
J.T. is aware of the problems in the school. Cutbacks have forced the school board to eliminate many of the part time positions and the school must rely on parent “volunteers” to supervise non-academic activities. Most of the volunteers are not Zorian. Sinbad is very high profile in the community although there are a number of rumours circulating about him. Sinbad’s real interest is in making sure that the youth are well educated and have the opportunities that he never had.
B.J. and Gregory Sr.
What Everybody Knows
B.J. And Gregory Sr. were married for over 25 years, until Greg Jr. went away to school. B.J. is a descendent from what the “HomeLanders” call the “OoPee’s” or “Original People”.
Gregory Sr. is the great-great ( nobody really keeps track of how many) grandson of Captain Crook, the first HomeLander to set foot in the region.
Their romance and early years are part of the folk lore of the area, and it was not until the marriage ended that B.J. revealed her heritage. In an era before the advent of “Pre-Nuptial” agreements, Gregory Sr. will not give B.J. a divorce, and refuses to support her if she left him.
B.J. produced a document that was signed by the Grandson of Captain Cook on behalf of the “Partners”, that promised that the OoPee’s would forever have the rights to live on their lands if they peacefully allowed “Crook and Company” to cut down the trees in the upper river.
Since no one had ever seen these documents before, Gregory Sr. called them forgeries and threatened to take it to the highest court and leave B.J. homeless and destitute.
The documents seemed to be part of a series of agreements that covered the entire region. His partners in Hippotropolis encouraged him to resolve the problem quietly.
Notes on Mutual Interest
B.J. is just beginning to re discover her heritage and just wants to get away from the life in the “Heights”. She was a major reason for his early success and felt part of his life but as time passed found herself more and more isolated. Gregory Sr. is very pressed by the changing business climate and can not afford to have any “apple carts” upset in his financial affairs.