"Maurice?" "Hello, Maurice." " I'm up here, Maurice." " Ed?" "Up here." "Where?" "Morning, Maurice." "What the hell are you doing up there?" " I don't know." " You don't know?" "I've been trying to reconstruct events, and I remember I flossed my teeth, then I went in the bedroom, put out the lights" "Ed." "Why don't you come down from there before you break your neck?" "Okay, Maurice." " Well?" " I need a ladder, Maurice." "Okay." "Marilyn, can you write this down, please?" "Our patient's history of chronic suprascapular discomfort... indicates arthralgia- that with, neuromuscular dysfunction." "How's that?" "It's arthritis." "Is it hot in here?" "No." "Last week I was diggin' up this cesspool, and afterwards my shoulder hurt like gangbusters." "I could have sworn I'd torn a muscle." "The absence of ecchymosis clearly overrules that." "Oh." "Are you sure it's not hot?" "You have any problem with salicylates?" "What?" "Aspirin." "Don't think so." "Okay, I'm prescribing two tablets, Q. I. D." "Four times a day." "Okay." "Thanks, Doc." "Yeah." "Man." "Oddest sensation running up and down the bridge of my nose." "Feels like something's stuck up there, like," "Pins?" "Yeah." "Yeah, like pins." " What?" " It's probably nothing." "What do you mean, it's probably nothing?" "Of course it's probably nothing." "Here's the mail." "Why don't you check the radiator?" "It feels like the heat's on in here." "Hey, everybody, a little reminder to those intending... on signing up for the fall session of the Cicely... continuing ed program- the deadline's this Friday." "Let's see what's new this quarter." "Lou Volpe will be teaching a course on practical rural law." "Topics include, "Road Kill:" "Whose Moose Is It?"" "And the always controversial "Right Of Way:" "Snogo Versus Dogsled. "" "Hey, Ed." "Come on in." "If you're hot for bonsai tree sculpting, you'd better get those applications in tout de suite." "Class is filling up fast, and there's only a dozen dwarf cypresses to go around." "I'm sharpening my pruning shears." "What's going on, Ed?" "Chris, I need to ask you something." "Have you ever woken up somewhere, then you didn't know how you got there?" "Oh, only about..." " a couple hundred times." " Really?" "Yeah, man." "Goes back to the days of heady adolescence." "You know, I'd wash down my yellow jackets with some sweet bourbon." "Sometimes I wouldn't even remember my name." "Jane Fonda in The Morning After." "Right." "I don't drink, Chris." "I got you." "I got a cousin in the joint- the blond Mike" "He got bopped over the head with the business end of a pipe wrench." "From that day on, every morning he wakes up in a steel bunk, right?" "Mystified on how he got there." "Yeah." "I haven't hurt my head either." "All right." "We're making this harder than it is." "It's probably very simple." "Why do people usually forget things in the first place?" "I don't know, Chris." "'Cause they don't want to remember." "Alimony checks, multiple murders, car crashes" " Trauma, right?" "I mean the mind sloughs off all this nasty baggage." "It happens all the time." "Oh." "But I wouldn't go crazy trying to figure it out." "I mean, these kind of things- They come back to us." "Like, for instance, in a couple of days, maybe a week, if an angry hillbilly named Otis puts a shotgun in your back... and says, " You gonna marry my daughter, boy,"" "I guarantee it's all gonna come rushing back to you, Eddie." "Well, that's great." " Well, thank you, Chris." " No problem." "* Hey there Can I get you something to drink *" "* Coffee, beer or just water from the sink *" "Coffee." "* I'll be back in a flash *" "* The special today is salmon-egg hash **" "Shelly, your prenatal supplements just came in." "I put 'em in the kitchen." " Okay, H." " Order up." "What's the matter with her?" "What do you mean?" "She's singing everything." "Oh." "You're from out of town?" "Yeah." "Baltimore." "Shelly's been that way for months." "She woke up one morning chirping like a meadowlark, and she hasn't stopped since." "Nice, isn't it?" "Something wrong with the chowder, Joel?" "Oh, no, Holling." "It's not the chowder." "I just... don't feel very well." "I seem to have no appetite." "Well, that's too bad." "Say, Dave just whipped up some scampi." "That ought to set you up right." "Scampi?" "Shrimp?" "Big Gulf prawns, fresh flown in yesterday." "Please, the last thing I want to think about is shrimp right now." "Is that so?" "Let me get this straight." "You're saying the thought of shrimp is distasteful?" "Will you stop?" "I'm gonna vomit right here on your bar." "Joel-The bridge of your nose" "Does it feel like it has pins in it?" "Well, I don't know if I'd call it exactly pins." "Why?" "Your groin?" "A little tender?" "Well- Glacier dropsy." "What?" "Tundra fever." "Yukon ague." "What are you talking about?" "That's what you've got." "It's an illness peculiar to this part of Alaska." " Everybody gets it sooner or later." " " Glacier dropsy. "" "I'm afraid it's something that has no cure." "You just have to ride out the fever." "Luckily, once you have it, you'll never get it again." "Forgive me, Ruth-Anne, Holling, my esteemed colleagues, but I am a specialist in internal medicine, okay?" "I did a double rotation in infectious diseases." "I read every bit of literature, and there is- there is no such pathologic entity as glacier dropsy." "Beg to differ with you, Joel." "I've had it myself." "I cramped up so bad I put a shotgun in my mouth." "Luckily I was too weak to pull the trigger." "There's only one thing that hurts worse, and that's childbirth." "Guys, look, I have the beginnings of the flu, okay?" "Influenza-with maybe a superimposed sinus infection- but believe me, that's all." "Go to bed and put your feet up before your knees begin swelling." "I'll whip up a birch-leaf plaster." ""Birch-leaf plaster"?" "All right..." "Go ahead." "Why don't you touch your left index finger to your nose." "And your right." "Excuse me." "I'm just incredibly thirsty." "Glacier dropsy'll do that to you." "There's no such thing as glacier dropsy." "Hey." "Remember, I got bit by a tick?" "Two weeks ago?" "I told you?" "Yeah." "I don't know why I didn't think of it." "They're known carriers of Coxiella burnetii." "Oh." "Not to worry." "A very mild rickettsia which responds immediately to tetracycline." "Which reminds me" "I don't know, Ed." "I mean, your reflexes are good." "Your cerebellar functions, cranial nerves" "Do you mind if I sit down?" "Oh, no." "Go right ahead." "Ed, I can't find any anatomic problems." "Sleepwalking is," "It's very rare in adults, and it's almost always associated with a significant psychopathology." "What about if it's sleep flying?" "Sleep flying?" "Ed, there" " There's definitely been times where I've been worried about your hold on reality." "I mean, that business with your alleged spirit guide." "One Who Waits." "Right." "See, sometimes the mind, for reasons we don't necessarily understand, just goes to the store for a quart of milk." "What?" "Did I just say that?" "I'm sorry." "What I mean is" "What I think I advise, is," "What-What am I saying?" "You were saying what you'd advise." "Right." "Right." "Oh, my God." "What I advise is... a psychiatric evaluation." "If that's okay," "I'd be happy to set it up." "Now, if you'll excuse me," "I have to go teach a C. P. R. class in Sleetmute." "Well, see you later, Dr, Fleischman." "Yeah." "Let me know what you decide." "Fleischman?" "Hey." "Fleischman, why aren't you in bed?" "O'Connell, I don't have time for this." "I'm really running late." "Fleischman, you're only gonna make yourself sicker." "Do you realize that?" "Look, I appreciate yours and everybody else's medical advice, okay?" "But I'm fine." "Everything is under control." "Everything is riding on peanuts." "Fleischman, you should be under the covers, slathered in Vicks, wrapped in plastic laundry bags, sweating out these toxins." "You know, O'Connell, here we are, the end of the 20th century, with all of the advances in the sciences and the healing arts, and you people have managed to preserve unspoiled, your own little corner of the Dark Ages." "I'm worried about you, Fleischman." "Look." "This one time your arrogant pigheadedness may really cause you pain." "Look, if you're so concerned about my well-being, let me enlighten you, okay?" "I'm suffering from a benign parasitic infection, and even as we speak, it is being eviscerated by antibiotics, okay?" "Appreciate your concern, but I feel better." "I do." "You know, that..." "That sweater looks great on you." "Fleischman?" "Fleischman!" "Fleischman!" "You all right, Doc?" "You okay?" "Okay." "You guys, I'm fine." "I'm fine." "Watch the threshold here, buddy." "Little light-headed." "That's all." "Okay." "Let's get him straight to bed." "I can make some salmonberry tea." "Maybe I misdiagnosed." "Maybe it's not Coxiella burnetii." "Whatever it is, it's definitely known to medical science, and I'm sure it has an adequate treatment." " You got any camphor?" " Oh, God." " Come on." "Camphor?" "Please." " I'll look for the camphor." "Look, really." "No, I" " I don't need- I appreciate this." "There we go." "You're trying to treat a fictitious illness with some old wives' remedies." "I mean, something about- Smoked whitefish" "I'm gonna get your shoes off here." "Okay, and I can make some tea." "I don't need tea." "You know what I need?" "Hey, I need Neil Weisberg." "Who?" "Neil Weisberg-The guy" "He's the top infectious disease man in New York." "He'll know what's going on." "Just... tell him" "No, Fleischman." "We-We know what this is." "The number's in my address book." "Just get him on the phone." "I'm gonna get your shirt here." "This guy is incredible." "I'm telling you." "He's a brilliant virologist." "He had his pick of fellowships." "Mt." "Sinai and Yale and Johns Hopkins." "My God." "Yeah, may I speak with, uh, Neil Weisberg?" "Doctor Neil Weisberg." "Yeah, I'm calling forJoel Fleischman." "DoctorJoel Fleischman." "No." "No, it's not an emergency." "What are you talking about?" "It's an emergency." "Well, could you have him callJoel?" "Fleischman." "Right." "Do you need the number?" "O'Connell!" "Tell him-Tell him it's urgent." "All right, thank you." "Yeah." "Bye-bye." "O'Connell, tell him it's urgent." "Fleischman, he's out of the office." "Tell him it's" "He's out of the office." "Sure." "Yeah, he's probably... playing mixed doubles at Forest Hills, you know?" "At some luncheon fund-raiser." "All right, here we go." "They trot him out like some- some stud bull, I tell you." "No camphor." "I've got some at my house." "I'll go get it." "Toro, toro, toro." "You take the first watch here, Chris." "I'll be back this evening." "Shelly, it's Lowell Grippo's 55th." "I know he would be tickled pink if you did the warbling." "* Sure thing, babe I'll spit that birthday tune *" "Here you go, Lowell." "Fifty-five big ones." "Shelly." "I don't get it, Holling." "I know that song cold." "Shelly, you're talking." "I am." "I'm talking." "Wow." "Listen to me." "I'm not singing anymore." "Leonard." "Evening, Joel." "What time is it?" "Did Weisberg call?" "Nobody's called." "While you were sleeping, Joel, I noticed some left-sided maxillary contractions." "I've only seen that a couple of times in glacier dropsy." "Hey, what is this?" "Oh, sulfur wrap." "Maggie thought it'd be good for your sore throat." "Oh, yeah." "Naturally O'Connell." "By the way, Joel, you have a patient, Meredith Anderson" "Female, Caucasian, age 52." "What?" "The Augmentin you prescribed seemed to be doing the trick." "Still, I told her she should wait a week before going swimming." "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "You telling me y- you're seeing my patients?" "Marilyn asked if I'd take up the slack while you were down." "Oh, Leonard, you can't be seeing my patients." "I don't mind." "I'm happy to help out." "That's not what I mean." "That's not right." "Come on." "You're a healer." "You're not an M. D. You don't even have a license." "You can't close the office, Joel." "People get anxious when they don't have a health-care provider to turn to." "Leonard, you don't understand." "It's a question of ethics." "Not to mention insurance and liability." "Oh, this is definitely not Coxiella burnetii." "I don't understand." "Why didn't Weisberg call?" "Joel, would you like me to dance?" " Dance?" " Oh, it won't cure you, but I've observed in my practice it has a palliative effect." "I don't think so." "Thanks though." "Hello, Ed." "Oh." "Hi, Leonard." "Would you care for a seat?" "I have half a cheese Danish here." "Oh, thanks, but I better keep walking or I might fall asleep." "That's a problem?" "I managed to stay awake last night, but frankly I don't know how much longer I can keep this up." "Here." "Thanks." "So what seems to be the trouble?" "Nightmares?" "No, my dreams are nice enough." "The problem comes when I wake up." "Well, you see, it's never in the same place as where I went to bed." "Oh?" "Yup." "One time I woke up in a tree, and another time I even woke up on a roof." "Always some high place." "Exactly." "You know, it's almost like I've been" " Sleep flying." "Yeah." "Wait." "You mean you've seen this before?" "Yes, I have." "What's going on, Leonard?" "Why is this happening to me?" "I don't want to jump to any conclusions, not until I run some tests." "Hey, Fleischman." "Hey." "Did Weisberg call?" "No." "Not yet." "Maybe he didn't get the message though, you know?" "Could you try him again?" "Well, I did already." "He's unreachable." "What do you think?" "You like 'em?" "Flowers." "That's very nice." "More snake oils from O'Connell's traveling medicine show?" "Special pollen increases the negative ions, balances the four humors?" "No, they're just flowers, Fleischman." "They look pretty." "It's so hot." "Hey!" "Who took this off?" "Come on, O'Connell." "I did." "Sulfur wrap?" "Are you serious?" "Well, when I had dropsy, it was very soothing." "I can't stand this anymore." "Hey!" "Hey, Fleischman, what are you doing?" "All right." "Get back in bed." "I can't stay in the bed 'cause it's spinning, you know?" "Yeah, well, come on." "Get back in it." "Okay?" "Easy." "All right, all right." "I'm okay." "I'm all right." "Could you just gimme an aspirin?" "Mmm." "Mmm, can't do that." "What do you mean, you can't do that?" "Well, when Maurice had dropsy, he took two aspirin, his whole tongue swelled up like a sweet potato." "O'Connell, if, for some reason, Maurice's tongue swelled, believe me, it had nothing to do with the aspirin." " Well, I just don't think I can do it." " Well, I don't care what you think." "I don't want to know your thoughts or your feelings or your opinions." " Okay?" "Can I just please have an aspirin?" " No." "No." "No." "O'Connell, you know, I always knew that you were stubborn and malicious and petty." "I just didn't realize until this minute how profoundly stupid you are." "I think that's the whole enchilada." "That's what it's all about." "The whole cornerstone of your personality, the rock on which your house is built." "This is just the fever talking." "This is not the fever talking." "I am lucid." "I am rational." "I know exactly what I'm saying." "You're a dolt, you understand?" "You're a complete moron." "You're a pathetic cretin." "You're an idiot." "That was uncalled for, Fleischman." "O'Connell, just give me the aspirin." "O'Connell, plea- I demand that aspirin!" "Well, Leonard, maybe you ought to tell me what's going on here." "I don't want to alarm you needlessly, Ed." "I'd prefer to wait." "Well, it's not likeJoanne Woodward in Three Faces of Eve, is it?" "Multiple personality disorder?" "No." "But let's not kid ourselves." "Ed, sleep flying" " It's not an everyday experience." "It's definitely transcendental." "It indicates a person who straddles both the physical world... and its metaphysical counterpart." "Yeah?" "It could be you've been called." "To be a shaman." "Me, a shaman?" "That's right." "You mean a healer, like you?" "But that just doesn't make sense, Leonard, on account of I'm not really a religious type person." "I mean, for sure I celebrate the holidays and all, but" "Religiosity has never been a prerequisite." "In Western culture too." "Why, look at St. Francis." "The man was a playboy before he got the call." "Well, let's not get too worked up until we know for sure." "Have a seat." "Stick your hand in the hole." "There's bugs in there, Leonard." "Oh, it's nematodes." "They won't bite." "I know this seems odd, but given the situation," "I'm afraid it's the only diagnostic tool that I have." "Comfortable?" "Oh, I guess." "I'll have some food sent out." "Would you like a radio?" "Oh." "Okay, thanks." "Afternoon, Cicely." "We've got a medical update on our own Dr. J." "With his temperature hovering at a balmy 103.2, he surely hasn't seen the worst of this microbe." "Got a few changes in the Fleischman bedside watch schedule." "TonyJohnson threw a rod in the Trooper and he's stuck out on the farm." "So, sorry, Maurice, you're gonna have to pull a double shift." "I'm gonna take the 4:00-to-6:00 slot." "Joel, if you can hear my voice, push those fluids, keep the faith, buddy, 'cause we're all in your corner." "I'm gonna have to move you now." "Come on." "Work with me, will you?" "There you go." "Thank you." "Boy." "You're gettin' a little ripe there." "You want a sponge bath?" "Suit yourself." "Afternoon, Joel." "I'll take over now." "All right." "How's he faring?" "Oh, his fever's up." "Boy, it's as hot as hell on Sunday." "I've whipped you up some kvass, Joel." "It-It's an old Russian drink." "It's made from fermented bread, raisins" "It's very, refreshing when you've got the ague." "Care for a cup?" "No." "Dr. Fleischman's residence." " It's a Dr. Weisberg." " Oh, God." "Neil" "Dr. Weisberg, Joel's indisposed." "You see, he's a little under the weather." "Holling, tell him I'm running a fever of 103.8." "Neil, I have diffused lymphadenopathy, plus a morbilliform rash... and a nonproductive cough." "Did you get all that?" " Any myalgia?" " Oh, I'm in agony." "Oh, that too." "Yes." "Okay." "He says you got cocci- Cocci what?" "No, no, Neil, it's not Coxiella burnetii." "I thought it was, but it's not consistent with- with the rash." "Hey, hey, Joel." "Pally, why you bustin' my chops?" "Oh, Neil." "Thank God." "You call me on my day off and argue with my diagnosis?" "No, no, no." "There's the rash." "There's a swelling in my groin." "Bud, who's the infectious disease man here, you or me?" " Neil" " Interstitial pneumonitis." "It's clear as day." " Oh?" "And what about my nose?" " Referred pulmonic pain." "Neil, you're missing the" " There's a whole thing." "There's aversion to shrimp." "Crustacea phobia." "It's pathognomonic." "I want you on tetracycline." "No, I took tetracycline." "It didn't work." "Orally, 250 milligrams, Q. I. D." "Hey, don't " Q. I. D." me, Neil." "I'm talking to you." " And get some inhalation therapy." " Neil!" " Let's wet down those bronchi." " Neil!" "Joel?" "Joel, he's hung up." "He's not on the line." "Now" " How about some of my kvass?" "Hi, Ed." "Hello, Shelly." "Brought you some chow." "Oh, thanks." " Ed, aren't you gonna ask me?" " Well, ask you what, Shelly?" "Why I'm not singing anymore." "Didn't you notice?" "Well, I guess I didn't." "Oh." "Well, everybody else sure did." "Feel like egg salad or salmon loaf?" "Oh, egg salad, please." "Nobody says anything, but I know what they're thinking." ""There's poor Shelly Tambo." ""She used to sing." ""She used to be some righteous waller." "Now she's just a knocked-up waitress from Saskatoon. "" "Do you have some mustard?" "You know, Ed, all my life..." "I had the skankiest, " grotyest" voice." "I could never carry a tune." "And then one day I wake up, and I can sing as good as Exene." "I just don't get it, Ed." "It's like somebody gave me this big old piece of chocolate fudge cake," "I take two bites and-whammo- they snag it away." "I mean, why'd they even give it to me in the first place?" "You know, Shelly, this is just the sort of question I ought to be able to answer." "Well, if it's like Leonard thinks, and I'm a shaman." "Well, that's a healer." "You?" "For real?" "Well, it's a theory." "Awakenings." "It's this movie." "See, the plotline is sort of similar to yours." "Robert De Niro- He's this catatonic, until Robin Williams comes along and gives him this experimental drug." "And then, for a while, he's normal again." "You know, he buys a suit, walks into the ocean, goes to Greenwich Village" "Then what happens?" "Well..." "Then he's back to being a complete vegetable." "It's not much help, is it?" "I can't stand it!" "You're gonna be fine, Fleischman." " Just breathe." " Breathe?" " He's at eight centimeters." " What?" "Where?" "Try to relax between contractions." "Contractions?" "What are you talking about?" "For heaven's sakes, you're having a baby." " I'm what?" " Do you feel the urge to push?" "There's been a mistake." "I'm a man." "I can't have a baby." " Head's crowning." " I'm not having a baby." "Breathe through the contraction." "Oh!" "This is impossible!" "Push!" "Here it comes." "Ha-ha!" "Outstanding." "It's a girl!" "Oh, Joel, you have a girl- a beautiful baby girl." "A beautiful baby girl." "Oh." "Got a little baby girl." "Yeah." "A little baby girl." "Holling." "Can I get you anything, Joel?" "Has anyone ever died from this?" "Not in the last seven or eight years." "Oh, God." "Oh" "Do whatever you want, Holling." "Birch-leaf plaster, sulfur wrap- I don't care." "You can bleed me with leeches." "Just help me, please." "Please." "Ed." "Oh." "Hi, Leonard." "I meant to get here earlier, but I had to make a house call." "The Hanson baby-just a little colic." "You know first-time parents." "I apologize." "Oh, that's okay." "So, let's see what we have." "Ready?" "Don't pull, Ed." "Just let me do all the work." "Open up." " Roots." " Your test is positive." " Positive?" " You've been called." "Well, are you sure?" "Take a look." "Remember, there were bugs in the hole?" "Now there's vole food." "Vole-You know, tundra mice." "The eat these silverweed roots." "Vole food." "That's the sign." "Maybe we should just do the test one more time, Leonard." "Believe me, Ed, the results will be the same." "Well, I just can't believe it, Leonard." "I mean, me a healer." "Shelly was out here yesterday." "She had a problem, and I could not help her at all." "In fact, I made her feel worse." "Ed, you wouldn't expect a first-year medical student to perform a coronary bypass." "Well, it's not just that." "It's- What?" "Well," "I can't stand the sight of blood- makes me dizzy." "And if I see somebody throw up, well, it makes me feel like throwing up too." "Ed, that kind of stuff" " You see it a few times and you get over it." "Or not." "But why me, Leonard?" "You can't look for a rational explanation." "There is not cause and effect." "These things just happen." "Congratulations." "Good afternoon, Marilyn." "Maurice." "High, Ruth-Anne." "Hello, Marilyn." "For the soup." "Oh, thanks, dear." "I'll go take a look in." "Okay." "Hey." "Could I have a little more of that salmonberry tea, please?" "Get it yourself." "Marilyn." "It's time to get up." "No, I don't think so." "I still feel a little weak." " You saw it, didn't you?" " Saw what?" " The glacier." " The glacier?" " Aha." " Wow, that's really funny." "You know, I was definitely" "I was dozing off a few minutes ago, and I dreamt about this white field of ice." "Yeah." "You could say it was a glacier." "You're ready." "Get up." " Oh, I don't know." " You'll feel better." "All right." "All right." "Okay." "All right." "Oh, boy." "Are you sure?" "Wow." "What do you know?" "Pretty gross?" "Yeah." "That was terrible." "I guess I'm never gonna sing again." "Well, maybe so, but there is an upside to that." "Whether you know it or not, you're clearly very happy." "I am?" "Mm-hmm." "Because you're no longer worried." "Worried... about what?" "Your baby." "Let me guess." "You're in your 18th week now?" "Yeah." "That's when it usually stops." "Although I've known some women who sang throughout their entire pregnancy." "What are you talking about, Leonard?" "The fears." "Every woman is afraid of what she'll give birth to." "They dream all kinds of things- lizards, weasels." "I know one woman who dreamt she gave birth to a hamburger." "Yeah." "I had a dream the pooper came out and she was a fish- all scaly with big, bulging eyes." "There you go." "But what's that got to do with my singing?" "It's like whistling past the graveyard." "A way to quiet your fears- In your case, it took the form of singing." "Really?" "Mm-hmm." "Since you've stopped, it's obvious that deep down... you know you're going to have a healthy baby." "And look..." "If you're really upset about your inability to sing, my cousin's a voice teacher in Nenana." "I'll give her your phone number." "Thanks." "Afternoon, Cicely." "We have some bright news from the viral battlefield." "After peaking at 104.2, Dr. Joel Fleischman's fever finally broke." "That's right, the mercury is headed south." "The enemy is in full retreat." "Dr. Fleischman would like to extend a hearty thank you to everybody who sat vigil at his bedside." "Job well done, everyone." "Also on the medical front, the Hippocratic Club has accepted a new practitioner." "Cicely's own Ed Chigliak, it seems, has been stood for membership." "Kudos to you, Ed." "Ajob well done also." "I read something about medicine once, and it kind of hit home." "Goes like this." ""The healer's art at its best is insight wedded to compassion," ""and thus medicine, no less than religion, is a matter of the spirit," ""of the figurative heart, of the soul." ""True medicine embraces the belief that each and every one of us is important, and that we are all under the canopy of heaven alike. "" "Leonard." "Hi, Ed." "I was just walkin' down the street, and Mrs. Whirlwind came up to me." "She heard about me being called to be a shaman." "And guess what." "She invited me to dinner next Sunday." "Is that so?" "Yeah." "And Don Clearwater came up to me, and he gave me these peach preserves that he put up himself." "Really?" "New jacket?" "Oh." "Yeah." "Well, you know, Ifigured, on account of - since I was called to be a shaman, maybe I ought to start dressing a little more seriously." "So you've decided." ""Decided"?" "To be a shaman." "Well-Well, I didn't know I had a choice." "Well, of course you have a choice." "And if I were you, I wouldn't rush into anything." "Just give it a lot of thought." "Make an informed decision." "But, Leonard, why wouldn't I want to be a shaman?" "Look at you." "People admire you." "They respect you." "They do what you say." "Ed, believe me, it's not all peach preserves and Sunday dinner." "You have to look at the other side of the coin." "What other side?" "Ed, did you like school?" "Oh." "Well, no, not particularly." "Well, you're going to have to study day and night." "You have a whole discipline to learn." "I hadn't thought about that." "And once you're in practice, your life is not your own." "People come to you at all hours of the day and night." "Sometimes a house call can take three or four days." "You have to live, eat, sleep under the same roof with your patients... before you can even make a diagnosis." "Well, Leonard, doesn't it make you feel good, you know, when you make people well?" "Of course." "But you have to look at the big picture." "Do you have any idea what the divorce rate is among healers?" "Well, let me tell you." "I hardly saw my kids when they were growing up." "Oh." "And don't forget the psychic toll" "The dreams, the visions, the spirit voices." "It's not always pretty." "Well, I gotta go." "I want to get back home before dark." "You're leaving?" "Joel will be back on his feet in a day or two." " I do have my own practice." " But, Leonard, what about me?" "You've got a lot of thinking to do." "See ya." "Hey." "Hey." "You're up." "Yeah." "I made you some lunch." "You did?" "Yeah, I did." "Potato soup... and cream cheese sandwiches." "Mmm." "And carrot sticks." "Looks good." "Yeah." "Here." "Look." "If memory serves, I said some pretty rough stuff to you." "No, you didn't." "Well, yeah, I did." "No, you didn't." "O'Connell, I wasn't hallucinating." "I wasn't delirious." "Well, here." "Your soup." "Let me know if it needs some salt, okay?" "Come on." "I said you were... a dolt and stupid and all that stuff." "You telling me you don't remember?" "Well," "I just decided to forget the whole thing ever happened, Fleischman." "You know?" "I mean, what else was I gonna do?" "I didn't want to be hurt." "And I'm tired of being mad at you, Fleischman." "I mean, God, it seems like that's all we ever do." "So, forgetting seemed like my best option." "Well, look." "I'm sorry." "Eat." "I mean it." "Okay?" "Okay." "Shelly?" "Sorry I'm late." "Some people just don't want to hear last call." "What" "What are you doing?" "Baby latch." "So the pooper doesn't get in the Drano." "See?" "Oh." "You gotta push down on this little bar to open it up." "Neato?" "Yeah." "That's-That's clever." "Come on." "Let's hit the sack." "Oh, you go ahead." "I just want to put these plug guards in." "Don't want the little guy getting his fork caught in the socket." "You've sure worked up a head of steam." "No lie, H. I feel cranked." "Everything's gonna be fine." "Well, of course it is." "No." "I mean it really, really is." "Ten fingers, 10 toes." "Oh!" "What?" "Shelly?" "What's wrong?" "The baby- Yes?" "She moved." "She did it again." "You feel that?" "My!" "Oh, my God, Holling." "Oh, my."