Original subtitles

Last week on St. Elsewhere. Is Reinhard acting as an individual or as a member

of a terrorist group?

I don't know that.

Well, could you give us the name of the victim?

Catherine McAllister. She was in the bank.

I said there was a bombing three days ago that my wife Catherine was hurt.

She's in a coma.

Why'd you do it?

You wouldn't understand.

This week on St. Elsewhere. And clear.

We've got a sinus rhythm.

You almost killed him.

I'm a psychiatrist.

You want to see if I'm crazy?

Are you crazy?

Are you?

As alone.

Touch me again, you little creep. I'll smash your other leg.

Well, we did find some abnormalities.

What's wrong?

It means that your child has Down syndrome.

This is our son.

This is a defective accident.

What do you got today? You got doctors with gym shoes.

Gym shoes, for crying out loud.

She's crazy about me. I keep telling her it's only a sexual relationship and

nothing more. That's good. Women are suckers for integrity.

Here, the liver is quite healthy.

Next.

Now, we see numerous discrete areas of diminished activity in both hepatic

lobes.

Next.

In this biopsy, we see the adlucocinoma is consistent with a metastatic

adlucocinoma of the stomach.

Next.

Here, we have a focus of fat necrosis.

Note that some of the nuclei have disappeared and the cell walls are

blurred.

You took these pictures, James Garner?

May I have the lights, please?

All right.

You.

What do I tell Miss Taylor?

I'm not sure.

That should ease her mind.

Anyone else?

Tell her the truth.

And what exactly is the truth, Dr. Armstrong?

She's dying.

Would you like to be the one to tell her?

She has a right to know. I will if I have to.

Very good.

And are you going to tell her when she's going to die?

What do you mean?

Well, is she going to die tomorrow morning, or is she going to die next

week, next month, next year?

I don't know.

You don't know.

Well, it would seem that Miss Taylor is in the same predicament we all are.

We know that someday we're going to die.

We just don't know when.

What I'm saying, Dr. Armstrong... I know what you're saying, Dr. Armstrong. I'm

questioning how you would say it.

Let's all think about that when we meet with Miss Taylor.

We're lucky to have Ashlander Alonzo discuss this case.

Yeah, it's like Marie Antoinette talking about the inner mechanisms of the killer

team. No, no, Franco's doing fine.

What about Mr. Berman? Did he have a good night? Are you kidding? He's

bouncing off the walls like a ping-pong ball, yelling for Valium. I told him

yesterday it was the Valium that was making him, I presume.

Sometimes we suffer from a kind of schizophrenia around here.

I don't understand.

Well, the doctors, the nurses, the staff, we think of this hospital as a

place to work. And the interns, the residents, they want it to be a place to

learn, of course.

And the community alternates between thinking of it as a Renaissance

cathedral or Frankenstein's castle.

There's talk among the board about closing this facility and moving St.

Allegius to one of the better suburbs like Newton or Wellesley. Judge, I'm

well aware of why you're here today. That kind of talk has been going on for

a long, long time.

You don't agree with the idea?

No, I don't.

St. Allegius is part of this neighborhood. It's like old Mrs. Webber,

the crossing guard at Pagansett School or that rusty fountain in John Adams

Square.

You can't take it away without leaving a hole.

Dr. Osterwald, good morning.

Wouldn't want that guy examining me. Too bad, he's the best cardiologist in New

England.

So what happened? I called sanitation.

Yeah, well, they didn't hear you.

We had another kid in here last night.

Twelve years old.

All right, I'll call him again.

Yeah, make sure you do.

Damn hospital.

Angry young man.

Yes, that's Rooney. He's an orderly.

You let an orderly talk to you like that? He's talking about syringes, you

see. Sanitation can't dispose of them fast enough, and the kids pick them up

and use them again.

You mean the children are junkies?

Afraid so.

Next time, try ringing the doorbell.

You've got that terrorist guy Reinhardt in here, haven't you? Right.

And the woman that was in the bank when the bomb went off?

Catherine McAllister.

How is she?

Alive.

Shall we?

Listen up, Barbara. I'm not going to give you any more Demerol. I'm not going

to give you any more Percodan. If you want drugs, then you just go on out on

the street and buy them like everybody else does.

There's a call for you on line two. It's your wife.

What does she want? She wants to know if you've got the ticket for the laundry.

What ticket?

She's your wife, pal.

I'll be right back.

Hey, buddy.

Touch me again, you little creep. I'll smash your other leg. Will the owner of

the Blue Ford block the ambulance entrance?

Move it immediately.

Hold it up. The owner of a blue Ford, you're blocking the ambulance entrance.

Move it immediately.

I don't know what you've got, Fiscus, but if you could freeze dry it, you'd be

rich. Well, cover for me tomorrow, and I'll give you the secret. What's

tomorrow? Kathy and I are going to the pistol range.

You're fantastic. You've got a date with Kathy Martin. You're going to the pistol

range. She's a sharpshooter? Yeah, I'll bet she is.

All we ever do is have sex.

It's sex, sex, sex.

My heart bleeds for you. She's crazy about me. I keep telling her it's only a

sexual relationship and nothing more.

That's good. We're suckers for integrity.

I don't want her to get too serious or it'll ruin it. You know what I mean?

I gotta tell you, between my double shifts here and her, I'm drained.

Kind of like a maple tree after sap-sucking season. Yeah, right.

Sure.

So, when you suggested a more mundane activity, she suggested... The pistol

range. Exactly. Sex and violence is the American way.

Cover for me?

You got it. Thanks a lot.

It's my turn!

It's my turn!

It's my turn! Girls, girls, girls, stop that. We're going to leave for school in

five minutes. I want all that food gone now. Eat. But why didn't Mom make

breakfast?

She's sleeping late.

Does she sit?

No. Tomorrow she's still sleeping. She's going to have a baby.

I know that.

A little better, right, Daddy?

Right. Not necessarily. Good morning.

Big strong boy to protect you from all the other big strong boys.

Right?

Hungry?

I've got news for you. Even if this one's a girl, we're stopping. I'm

getting too old for this.

Give me a B.

B!

What if the test says girl?

Give me an O.

O!

Stubborn. Your father is the most stubborn man in Massachusetts.

And give me a Y.

Y! What does it spell?

Somebody just examined me.

I'm a psychiatrist.

I didn't ask to see you.

No, no, you did not.

But I'm afraid you don't have much choice either.

You want to see if I'm crazy?

That's what they pay me for.

Well, how are you going to find out?

Well, I figure the best way is just to come out and ask you.

Are you crazy?

Are you?

As a loon.

Why else would I be a psychiatrist?

Of course, we're a little reluctant to use the word crazy.

It's a little vague, you know.

Says in here that you're a pretty bright fella.

Honor student.

Top of your class till you dropped out.

What is the Douglas Sterner Award?

Science. Science?

Well, then you and me, we got something in common, don't we?

I doubt it.

You know, there's been something annoying at me.

Maybe you can help me out.

For Christmas, I got this sweater.

Had a V-neck, 100% cotton, size large.

And by mistake, my cleaning lady, Irma Castro, she put it into the washing

machine. When I got it out, I couldn't even fit it over my arm.

Now, my question is...

Where did all that cotton go?

You're a real down-home good old boy, aren't you?

Yeah, I guess.

You, uh, you play chess, huh?

Yeah.

You know, I've been playing with a guy named Dr. Craig.

He's a surgeon.

These surgeons only play chess but a few ways.

Once they get something stuck in their head, it's there forever.

You and me will play.

Dr. Pig.

I don't trust you at all.

You know, they say that paranoids make the very best chess players.

Because with every move, they naturally assume that their opponent is out to get

them.

In this lab, we do a lot of experimentation with endocrine therapy,

you know, playing around with hormones, speeding up the rate of growth, that

sort of thing.

It's pretty interesting.

Over here, we study the tissues that we take from the animals.

Hello.

Message from upstairs.

Belznick's starting to snap.

Seems to me this tube system is a little out of date.

Yeah, well, it's the only wing that still has it, Judge. When we get some

more money, we'll... Say no more, say no more.

Thank you.

Hi. Hi. We used to get them from the pound until they took it to court. Now,

of course, we're paying a supply house four times what we were donating to the

SPCA. You kill them?

Some, yes.

I have three pedigree show dogs.

Well, Mrs. Beardsley, this is a hospital.

People run it.

People are born here.

They come here when they're hurt or sick.

Some die, and some, with a little luck, get better.

What does that have to do with these poor animals?

Do you know anyone with diabetes?

Yes, my sister-in-law, Marion.

Well, it's very likely she wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for the

experiments and insulin therapy conducted in labs like this, using dogs.

Even so, there's got to be a better way.

If you find one, we'll try it.

Bon voyage.

Please sit down.

Before we did the amniocentesis, remember we talked about the kinds

of things we'd be looking for, how the fluid around the fetus would indicate if

there were any metabolic abnormalities?

Well, we did find some abnormalities.

What's wrong?

The 21st chromosome split into three instead of two. You see, they're 23

matching pair.

What does this mean?

It means that your child has Down syndrome.

Are you positive?

Yes.

Doctor, let me ask you something.

In this test, isn't there a lot of margin for error?

Believe me, Mr. Whitehill, I wouldn't have told you unless I was sure.

I'm not sure I... The thing I don't understand is...

How retarded will the baby be?

That's hard to say exactly.

Some Downs children live well into their 20s.

But they are children forever.

The average mental age is about seven years old, though some do considerably

better.

Will the baby be deformed?

There's a high risk of some sort of deformity.

Arched palate, slanted eyes.

God. I know right now it seems like the end of the world, but Dan's children are

very happy, very, very special.

Many parents find immense pleasure in raising... Pleasure?

Dr. Cavanaugh, the thing I don't understand is what caused

this. We have two perfectly healthy children. There's nothing wrong with

either of you. It's not hereditary.

Sometimes it just happens.

Dr.

Cavanaugh, thank you very much. I think...

I'd like to give you the number of a friend of mine who works at a genetic

counseling center at the North End.

What sex is the baby?

It's a boy.

Did you have a nice visit from your sister?

Yeah.

She brought you a new perfume.

Called Naughty Night.

Very pleasant.

Feel how lovely you like that she is.

Does that hurt?

I'm deaf.

I ain't senile either. Gently, gently like this.

That's it. There we are.

Now you.

Breathe in, please.

Breathe out.

There's a vertical span of about 20 centimeters.

I see your ivy's thriving.

Somebody's sneaking in here watering that plant.

Are you young folks going to be doctors?

We are doctors.

Don't look old enough.

No, don't let their freshly scrubbed faces fool you.

How have you been feeling?

Doc, I've been spitting up some green stuff.

We'll give you some medicine to calm your stomach.

Anything else we can get you.

You know, you're one of these young good-looking doctors here.

See you later.

The liver was hard as a rock. What treatment would you suggest?

Radiation therapy.

It may relieve some tension, but it would have to be limited to doses under

2,000 rands.

What about chemotherapy?

It may also be used in appropriate but futile doses.

Any other ideas?

What about a partial resection of the liver?

Some of the best answers, Dr. Morrison, don't come from textbooks.

I think she knows she's going to die.

We can try to make her as comfortable as possible.

What else can we do?

Hi, good looking.

How's my sweetheart?

If that's what you are, you know.

My sweetheart.

It snowed last night in Minneapolis.

It did.

So we're going to get those skis, the Broslums, and we're going to cross

country all the way to Bear Lake.

Only this time we're going to take the brandy.

So, I was the only 12-year-old in the Council Bluffs Iowa Little League that

could bat a thousand and read Hebrew.

Simultaneously? Quarterly. More sponges?

My brother enjoyed living on the dairy farm.

Loved those cows.

Married a woman named Bossy.

From a very orthodox family.

Now owns a bull bank in Cambridge.

Listen.

If either of you'd like a shot at this, it's very simple. It's a little like

slicing cheese.

Don't you find the music distracting?

Only Mac Davis.

Excuse me, doctor, but what's a bull bank?

He sells bull sperm to unsuspecting heifers.

Forceps?

It's a little like a computer dating service.

You want to turn that up in here?

Do you think while we're down here I should give him a vasectomy?

Specimen jar?

Ah,

no problem.

Plenty more where that came from.

My next guest is a double hernia. But first, this word from our sponsor.

Are you serious?

Would you rather he spent the rest of his life in an institution?

We could take care of him here.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, we know a lot about raising a damaged child.

We could learn.

Teach all the babysitters, too?

Other people have done it.

Look, it's just wrong to bring a child into this world with that many

disadvantages. Life is hard enough.

Who says we get to choose for him?

My responsibility is to this family.

It's not fair to Stephanie and Michelle.

The girls will help.

You're kidding.

At best, they're going to be scared of him. At worst, they're going to hate him

for being so slow.

I don't think so.

I want to hear you explain to them why their little brother's a mongoloid.

Please don't use that word.

Well, you better get used to it.

It's so easy for you to just throw it away.

You really think it's easy for me?

But an abortion... It's the only reasonable thing to do.

Constant humiliation.

That's what I live with all day, every day, for 25 years.

He didn't want to take Josie to Atlantic City.

It's not her fault she got carsick. He drives too fast.

You wouldn't ruin the seat covers.

Keep your arms still, please.

I never liked that car anyway.

1958, bad year for Buicks.

Josie, she can't even drink out of the toilet.

Not even one time. Keep your arms still, please.

That dump we live in, it's got rotten plumbing.

Makes noise all night.

I get no rest.

Nope.

But I don't whine about it.

Constant humiliation.

Just keep your arms still, please.

I can't do anything right since then. If you listen to him.

Constant humiliation.

I know he's going to say something about the shampoo.

He hates it. I know it.

No clean towels.

No clean sheets.

Now, you just sit there and be still, you understand me? You sit there and you

shut up.

I don't care if you don't get along with him.

You hear me? I don't care about your problems.

I don't care about your stupid fights. Do you understand what I'm saying to

you?

You're killing yourself over coffee grinds and toothpaste tubes, and then

you come in here looking for help, not just once, but every week. Every time

you have a fight, you try to kill yourself.

Then you come in here and we fix you up. He comes down here, the two of you make

up until the next time you have a fight. Then you try to kill yourself again.

People don't live like that. Look, I don't think... Shut up!

Now, I don't care about your fish tank and I don't care about your clean

towels. Dr. Jack Morgan to NICU. Dr.

Jack Morgan to NICU. You just sit there and shut up.

Uh, Peter, Myra's on the phone.

Tell her you can't find me. Tell her I'm not here.

Pete? Just do me that favor, will you please?

Okay.

I don't want to see you in here again unless you're really dying.

The problem's not your husband, Mrs. Lawson. It's in your head.

You ought to see a shrink or somebody.

Mommy!

Mommy!

Mommy!

Mommy, what is it? What's the matter?

I had a bad dream.

Well, everything's okay now. It's all over.

Come on, take a deep breath.

Want to tell me about it?

You know, sometimes that makes it go away.

I remember all of it.

We were walking down the beach and I stopped to talk to the giraffe.

I love you.

We'd never do anything like that.

Why'd you get such a silly idea?

Oh, you're gonna throw away the new baby.

Oh, no.

I love you.

I love you, too.

Teddy and I love you. We would never do anything to hurt you.

I don't know. I was uncomfortable.

The family sent me a fruit basket.

What's wrong with that? The patient died, Shirley. He died, and they sent me

a fruit basket.

It's a little late in the week for the tuna fish.

Good morning.

Hey,

you.

Where do you think you are? At home?

Said she wanted to verify the date she was admitted and discharged.

And then she said, can you tell me what I was in for? Well, it turned out her

husband had used her Blue Cross Blue Shield number to pay for his

girlfriend's appendectomy.

$1.18. All I had was a peach yogurt and a chocolate bar.

Say medicine's a ripoff.

I've just been so stupid this year. I've used all my sick days for sickness.

He's Andrew Reinhardt, your patient now.

Yeah, how'd you put up with him?

Shamash?

Shamash?

Sounds like a kosher sandwich.

What's it mean?

Well, um... Shamash be the sun god of Assyria?

Yeah,

sun god of Assyria.

23 points.

I had enough.

I hate to tell you this, V.J., but I think you're suffering from an acute

case of lexicography.

Sure, a few of them die.

But look how many drop dead without any help from their doctors.

Though to be totally frank, the young resident today is a complete klutz.

I mean, in my day, we were taught ethics, codes of behavior, respect for

seniority. What do you got today? You got doctors with gym shoes.

Gym shoes, for crying out loud.

As if we were running a track meet instead of a hospital.

Am I right, Hugh?

Oh, you know how I hate to disagree with you, Martin.

Brian's older brother, David, is dead, and his other brother, well, he'll never

get married.

He's always wanted a son to carry on the family name.

Do you have any children, Dr. Cavanero?

No, I'm not married.

Any brothers and sisters?

Yes. One brother, four sisters.

I was an only child.

When I was growing up, I always wanted lots of brothers and sisters.

I swore that when I got married, I'd have five of each.

What would you do if you were in my place?

That's really not the question here.

I know you're not supposed to say... I know what you mean.

What I'm trying to say is that in this situation, advice is easy when you're

not directly involved.

It's very complicated, isn't it?

What about your mother?

What do you mean?

What would she have done?

My mother would have had the baby, but then again, she's a very traditional

woman.

And so am I.

Well, eventually I want to be a scrub nurse.

I know. I think it's funny a punk like me wants to do more than clean up after

birth. No.

It's just that I've been thinking of quitting.

And going to another hospital?

Getting out of nursing altogether.

Why's that?

Too many forms to fill out. Too many hostile patients.

Too many hostile doctors.

Oh, come on. It ain't that bad.

Most doctors are rich white men who don't give a damn about my feelings or

opinions.

Besides, there are lots of other things a woman can do these days.

Things that pay better.

St. Allegius Emergency.

Oh, hello, Myra.

How long have you had these pains?

Oh, plenty of time. All right, take a deep breath.

Your belly's pretty tender. Have you been throwing up?

Yeah. Take a deep breath.

All right, have you had diarrhea?

Over and over.

Your wife's on the phone again.

Okay, take a deep breath. Tell her I'll be there in a minute.

Look, I'm not your personal secretary.

All right, give me a hand here. Take a deep breath. Hands are soaking wet.

She's dehydrated.

Starting on ringers, 175 cc now.

Anything else?

Yeah, drop in 30 of potassium.

Couldn't deny it any longer. There it was right in the x-ray.

$12.35, all in change.

Yeah, hello.

Yeah, what's up?

Snow White.

No, tell your mother to take the tea.

Myra, I can't.

If you had any idea at all what I'm involved in down here, you wouldn't even

ask me.

I'm in the middle of treating a patient right now. Dr. White, you better come

quick. All right, Myra, we've got to talk later. I've got to go.

No, we'll talk later.

What the hell happened?

What kind of rhythm have we got? Course V fib.

Okay, charging machine.

Two, three, four, five, one.

What's the pressure?

Fifty over Doppler.

Okay, give him an amp of bicarb and an amp of epi.

Hand me those paddles.

Clear. Nothing.

Come on, you old goat.

Okay, reset.

And clear.

We've got a sinus rhythm.

Okay, take over.

Give him oxygen by mask. Put a Foley in. Check to see if there's a bed in CCU.

Hang another IV, too, this time without the potassium.

Come here a second.

Were you working with that guy?

I admitted him, yes.

Well, did you check his history for renal disease before you added the

potassium?

What do you mean?

What do I mean?

You almost killed him.

Daddy's home.

I'm in here.

Hi.

Hi.

How'd everything go today?

Garbage disposal, stop disposing.

Where are the girls?

They're at the playground.

Linda said she'd bring them home.

Did you talk to Dr.

Cavanero?

Yep.

Oh, good.

Everything's taken care of then.

No.

I want this baby.

Denise, last night you said that... I'm not having an abortion.

Look, will you stop this and call her right now?

Call her yourself.

You

know

what really galls me, Brian?

No, what really galls you, Denise?

You didn't stop to think, not even for a minute.

It's my body that has to go through this.

What's that supposed to mean?

This is our life.

Doesn't that count for anything?

Don't be stupid. Of course it does.

Well, then imagine this.

Every day, every damn day, forever, it's going to be, Johnny, don't put your hand

on the stove, you'll burn yourself. Don't put your finger in the light

socket. Don't pee-pee in your pants. Don't... I don't care.

Oh, that's what you say now.

I know the way I feel now. It's...

It's the same as when I was carrying Stephanie and Michelle.

We didn't know how they'd turn out or will turn out.

What if Stephanie becomes an axe murderer?

Will we love her any less? No, because she's ours.

Well, so is he.

It's not the same thing. Stop fooling yourself. What if something happened to

me? If I was hit by a car and brain damaged for life? Or Stephanie or

Michelle, what would you do?

Pack us off to an institution or shoot us in the backyard?

I know you.

I love you.

Why can't you love this child?

If I wanted a pet.

This is our son.

This is our mistake.

This is a defective accident.

Murder.

That's what it is, you know.

Murder.

You can call it whatever you want.

But I can't handle this.

Can you understand that, Denise?

I can't deal with having this child.

I don't have the strength.

Hi. Hi, Wayne. Where are you going?

Down to pathology.

The elevator's going up, Kathy.

Oh, I do that all the time.

Oh, you come here often.

I enjoyed the pistol range.

Did you really?

Sure, if I'm ever attacked by a paper target, I'll be ready.

So, uh, you're on call tonight?

Yeah. Head-on collision. It's got me swamped.

Well, I can come down a little later and give you a hand.

Thanks, Wayne.

But no.

What happened?

Well, it appears that we're stuck.

This happens on an average of about twice a week.

No.

You don't understand.

Elevators make me nervous enough when they're moving. I feel so strange in

elevators.

I never know where to look.

I know my elevator etiquette isn't too good either.

I always think everyone's looking at me.

Staring at me.

Undressing me with their eyes.

I don't think everybody does that.

Now we're trapped.

It may take them hours to discover us, like the blackout in Manhattan.

1979.

I was stuck in an elevator at the Biltmore with an Arab prince and four

lavatories.

Easy. Hold me, Ray. Please hold me.

Okay, I've got you. Just relax, Kathy.

Okay, is that okay?

Tighter. Wait, hold me tight.

How's that?

Now kiss me.

What the hell's the matter with this elevator?

Uh-uh. Must be jammed between floors again.

I've been waiting five minutes.

I've had a long day in surgery. I'd like to go home.

I have the key.

This usually works.

This usually works.

What a rat hole this is.

Get someone in here to fix that thing.

Yes, Dr.

Craig.

Oh, no. Oh, no. Please stop.

Please stop.

No, don't stop.

Dr. Fiskes?

Going down?

Hey.

Hey, what are you doing here?

It's 8 o'clock. You said 8 o'clock. All right.

Oh, listen, I told Chandler I'd cover for him. His wife said... Oh, Jack, we

finally both get the same night off, and you... It's a joke. I'm only kidding.

Good.

Going to Durgan Park for lobster.

Okay.

Okay.

I say Durgan Park and all you say is okay?

Well, I was kind of hoping that maybe we could go home.

Home? I thought you wanted to go someplace special.

Jack, you and I home alone together is special. It practically never happens.

Um, I distinctly remember one humid night last August.

July.

I remember you spent August in the emergency room.

That's right.

It was air conditioned.

Let's stop off and get some champagne.

I'm way ahead of you.

I'll stop.

Biscuit, 1128.

Dr. Chip, 1128.

Your brother called and said he's going to be in town this weekend and wanted to

know if he could stay with us. And I said, sure, why not?

Sure, that's fine.

Oh, Peter and Mara White want us to come for dinner next week.

Sounds like fun.

Come on, they're nice people.

Yeah, I know, I know. They're just going through a rough patch.

Jack Morrison, defender of the underdog.

Well, he's under a lot of pressure.

So are you.

And he's struggling to make ends meet. So are you. He has a baby.

So do you.

You're kidding.

Man.

Why do you think I bought the champagne?

Oh, Amy, you're pregnant. You can't drink.

Just one.

Oh.

Yes!

Hi.

Kid said you were up here in bed.

A little late for a nap and early for bed, isn't it?

You letting him watch TV?

For a little while.

Well,

very good one's thinking of leaving the firm.

Some headhunter's afternoon.

The garbage disposal is still broken.

I thought it was supposed to be fixed by noon.

They didn't fix it.

Well, let's junk the thing.

I was talking to one of the secretaries at the office today, and she

knows a couple that have a Down's child.

I did it.

I had the abortion.

He said, tell the girls to turn off the TV.

Listen.

Forever now, my dream of love has ended.

When the day breaks, I die in desperation.

I die in desperation.

It's beautiful.

When I was a little boy in New York,

My father used to take me to the Metropolitan Opera House.

The old one at Broadway and 39th Street.

Such a beautiful building.

It's gone now, and in its place is an office building all glass and steel.

Shiny material.

Every week we go to the Met.

And he'd get standing room because we didn't have enough money for seats.

My father and I, every week, we'd stand

and watch Puccini, Manny, Mozart,

Wagner, and my

father would cry.

Once I asked him, why are you crying, Pop?

And he turned to me and said, be quiet.

Listen.

I'm 72 years old now and dying of cancer.

Ironic, isn't it?

A distinguished liver man like myself, betrayed by his own liver.

The radiation, chemotherapy, I'd have a slightly better chance, but the nausea,

diarrhea, stomach cramps.

I'd be septicemic from skin infections.

The slightest cold could easily turn to pneumonia and finish me off in a week.

What are you going to do?

Nacho.

You

know

what I think?

Tell me.

You should see a doctor.

Hi, Doctor. I was just thinking about you.

You tired?

Tired? What could I have been doing all day long to be tired?

We're at the Ramos Hospital as you play gin rummy. Gin rummy? That's my game.

You've got the cards.

How about that?

All righty. I love playing gin rummy. Now, the idea is you give me the good

ones. I've saved some for myself, you know.

Oh, oh, very good. I can tell.

I can tell by the feel.

Where are you from, Don?

New York.

New York, huh?

Been there once.

Shall we?