The Aggravation of Elmer

In a bustling White Plains street, a sudden traffic jam forces Bill Rawlins, a down‑to‑earth electronics shop owner, to pause his routine. He welcomes Marge, a harried neighbor, and her spirited eight‑year‑old niece Doreen, who clutches a mysterious hatbox containing an “unhappy genii” named Elmer. The quirky trio slips into Bill’s cool reception room just as the city prepares to witness the world’s first baseball game ever broadcast in color.

Inside, the conversation drifts from broken buses to Elmer’s dire forecasts about a warming planet and rising seas. Doreen, convinced of Elmer’s prophetic powers, insists the genii can project a vivid, larger‑than‑life picture onto a tiny black‑and‑white set. As the colors of the game flicker on the screen, the characters grapple with the absurdity of technology, childhood imagination, and the looming “silly‑zation” of modern life.