" Good morning, Chris." " Morning." "Beautiful morning, isn't it?" " It is." "It has possibilities." " I'll say." " You're in a good mood." " Yeah." "You know why?" " You had a good breakfast?" " No." "It's my birthday tomorrow." "I'll be 30." " 30." "That's a biggy." "Congratulations." " Yeah it is, isn't it?" "How you holding up?" "What?" "Yeah." "I've never been better." "Good." "Here in the West we have this morbid fear of aging." "The simplistic glorification of youth." "In the Orient old age is revered." "It's a time of wisdom" " ...and influence." " That's the way it should be." "We impose these chronological imperatives on ourselves, and if we don't make a million by 30 we jump off a bridge." "I know." "It's crazy." "Yeah." "Look at the arts." "Poets, artists, painters." "They put their head in the oven or run the car with the garage closed." " It's a waste." " Yeah." "They can bend statistics any way they want I guess." " What statistics?" " You know those adult crisis shrinks" "Buhler and Daniel Levinson, you know." "You don't it by 30 you ain't gonna get it." " Get what?" " Basics." "Career track, intimacy." "They talk in percentages." " Percentages?" "Really?" " Yeah." " What percentages?" " I don't know 90, 95%." " Wow." " Yeah." "You still got 5% to play with." "Happy Birthday." "I'll see you later." "Yeah, thanks." "4x01 "NORTHWEST PASSAGES" Subtitles subXpacio" " Good morning Marilyn." " Good morning." "What we have on the books today?" "Splinter removal?" "M and M's up some kid's nose?" " No." " No, of course not." "My colleagues from Columbia are nipping and tucking up to Westchester and I'm stuck in the middle of Alaska praying for a case of lyme disease." "What are you reading?" "Driver's manual." "That right?" "You're getting your license?" "Great." "Good for you." "When I took the test I missed only two." "Didn't even read it." "Go ahead." "Ask me something." " Something?" " From the pamphlet." " Speed limit in an alley." " Speed limit in an alley?" "Ok." "Ok. 10 mph." " 5?" " No." "Come on." "Higher?" "Lower?" "Give me a hint?" "You said to quiz you." "Ok. 15 miles." "15?" "No kidding?" "Look, we don't have any appointments in the near future," "I'll give you a driver's lesson." "No." "Why not?" "You make me nervous." "Oh, I make you nervous?" "Thank you very much." "Know what?" "You make me nervous." "I make you nervous." "That's great." "That's just wonderful." "I make you nervous." "Good morning Cicely, Chris in the morning her on K-BHR, got a hot news flash." "Guys vs. Gals 8-ball shootout Friday night at the Brick." "Half price beer and dogs." "Don't want to miss that." "Birthday greetings to our own Maggie O'Connell, who's turning the corner on the big 30 tomorrow." "It's an important marker in life's journey." "Leaving youth, entering middle way." "Safe passage, Mary Margaret." "I got a little milestone of my own happening here." "My engineer license came in." "I've been working the board here, for what, 2 or 3 years now?" "And now I got a genuine certificate saying I know how." "Does it matter?" "I don't know yet." "Does it make a difference?" "Does a piece of paper make two people more married?" "Does bar mitzvah make a child a man?" "Why do I have the urge to legitimize myself with a piece of paper?" "Was it to simply put a post it note to this chapter of my life, or to say to the world, "Kilroy Stevens too was here"." "Let's see, marinated artichokes." "And... smoked oysters." "You might as well treat yourself, you only go around once." "You said it." "You have a bundle of mail dear." "Birthday greetings, no doubt." "Look at this." "Lynnie Lawrence." "What do you know?" "We were best friends growing up." "Isn't that nice!" "Got it." ""You're not getting older, you're already there."" "That's funny, very funny." "These are her kids." "They're so big." "Denny, 6." "Matthew, 4." " Cute." " They look just like her too." " Neat as a little button." " That's the spirit." "What's the spirit?" "People are so foolish about their birthdays, especially big ones, like yours." "They seem to think that there's a light shining on everything lacking in their life." "What, like not having children?" " Well..." " Ruth-Anne," "I'm just 30." "There's plenty of time to have children." "Absolutely." "Plenty." "I mean I could always do in vitro or adopt." "And if you never have them it won't be the end of the world." "I love my children, I loved being pregnant, but if I hadn't had them, I'd have held my head up just fine." "Don't forget I have a career." "I fly a plane." "Yes, you do." "And I have a wonderful life." "Things are great." "And tomorrow's my birthday." "And I hope you have a very happy one." " Thank you, I will." " Bye now." "Hey Chris, listen to this." "I really nailed it this time." "Chapter 1." " Ready?" " Yeah." ""3 score and change on God's green I've decided to take time from the daily rigor to look back over the years and chart the course of life, whose challenges and achievements may serve as an example and benefit" "those who read these pages."" "I like it." "Read on." "That's to come." "I've got it all mapped out sort of like a blue print, here in my head." "How does a lad from Tulsa rise to fame as a US astronaut?" "How does he parley that fame into vast fortune?" "We'll meet his early influences, his math teacher, his wrestling coach, his mother..." "That's the beginning and that's a good place to start." "Yeah." "It'll be my contribution to space travel literature." "I envision book of the month club, Main Selection." "I see libraries, schools, maybe a film adaptation with George C. Scott" " ...in the later years." " Right." "I can see it." "I'll be right back with the newest installment." " Hurry up." "I can't wait." " Yeah." "One Beef Stew." "I don't know how you do it Maggie." " Do it?" " Keep it together. 30!" "I'm looking at the big 21 and I'm ready to call a T.O." "It's really not all that bad." "Actually, I'm dying to get out of my 20's." "I am." "Truly, I am." "I've always wanted to be in my 30's actually." "I've always thought the 30's would be my decade, that I'd come into my own." "Both the 30's and the 40's." "Yeah but 30!" "You get crow's feet and chicken chin." "Your nips start heading south and your bum turns to yogurt." " It does?" " Oh yeah." "And the competition's coming up, gaining on you quick." "Who's gonna look at a chick at 24 with all these teenagers strutting their booty and talking their trash?" "You'd think they'd invented spandex." "Good morning Maggie." "Can I top you off?" "Guess what hon'?" "Maggie's turning 30." " Well." " Bummer, huh?" "Maggie's just a baby." "30 is a slice of pie." "He would say that." "He'll live to be 120." "But she's only got 10 years until 40." " Than what'll she do?" " What are your plans?" "Did you want to have a party?" "No." "I think I'd just like to spend some quality time with myself." "Quality time?" "You know, think about the past." "Laying it all to rest and getting the old baggage off so I can move on ahead." "The Indians do that." " They do?" " Yeah." "To hold back the terrors of aging they'll go to the river and send messages to all the people they've known, dead and alive, that are holding them in the past." "Then they think that the great river delivers those messages." "Cool." "That's meaningful." "That's really beautiful." "Yeah." "I think I'll do that." "Good morning, friends." " Holly, cup of java if you please." " You got it." "Maggie's turning 30, Maurice." "She's blowing off her party." "She's by herself and unloading her baggage in the river." "Congratulations, Maggie." "That's a very important year in a life." "That's the year that separates the men from the boys." " Really?" " That was the year I made colonel." " Only 30." " Yep." "I think I've got something about it written here." "Let's see." "There we are." ""We were like stallions in the desert." "Coop, Shepard, me and Schirrar." "In my thirtieth year." "Leaving the glory of our youth behind us and embracing our middle years"." "Marilyn, I find it's always best to look both ways." "You're a little close to the side." "Aim for the center a bit more." " Better?" " Yeah." "That's much better." "You might give it a tad more gas." "Not so much!" "Ease up for God's sake." "Like this?" "Very good." "There's a parking space." " Can you make it?" " Ok." "My God." "Thank goodness." "Back in one piece." "So how'd I do?" " You did very well." " Really?" "For the first lesson you just did fine." " Same time tomorrow?" " I'm afraid not." "I'm too old for this sort of thing." "Any more stress on these worn out nerves and they'll snap just like a frayed old fan belt." "Good luck." "It's been a year since your last physical." "You better not leave a bruise." "Keep your mouth shut." "Big day tomorrow, huh?" "Turning 30." "I'm up against it myself." "Poor baby." "What?" "You telling me it doesn't bother you?" "Why should it?" "I've a whole life ahead of me." "You?" "You get hysterical if there's a bunion on your toe." "The death of your youth doesn't raise a riffle?" "That's the difference between us." "I see a passage, you see a wall." "You're running a slight temperature." " You feeling ok?" " Yeah." "Maybe it's just a bug or something, it's nothing." "I'll tell you what I think." " I think you're in denial." " About what?" " About what?" "Turning 30." " That's ridiculous." "So heavily into denial, you're denying your denial." "Ok, I admit I had some trepidation, a big life cycle event like this, but no pain no gain." "I'm not saying it's not scary, but I'm eager to get on with it." " Where's the party?" " I'm not having one this year." " No party?" " No." "I'm gonna spend some quality time with myself." "Quality time with yourself?" "Yes." "I'm going camping." "Ed told me this wonderful ritual where you write letters and resolve issues with people from your past, living and dead, and send them via the Great River." "That sounds like a blast." "You know, 5 minutes of self examination and you'd be your own patient at Belleview." " Have a ball with yourself." " I will." "Next." "Hey, Marilyn." "What brings you out this way?" "You." " Me?" " Teach me to drive." "You want me to teach you to drive?" "Wow, I never did anything instructive before." "It's not that I don't want to." "It's just it's never come up." "You know me, I'm a student of this life, not a teacher." "I'm more like a sponge, then a fountain." "You're a good driver." " I am?" " I've seen you." "That's true." "I am." "I've got a feel for the road." "I'm experienced." "I've been burning rubber since I was 9 years old." "Hotwired a Mustang at 10." "Me a teacher?" "Sure, why not?" "I'd be glad to teach you to drive." "It'd be my privilege." "Good." " Hello, Maggie." " Hi, Ed." "I think that's everything:" "bedroll, flyswatter, lots of paper and pencils for writing my letters." "I brought you a map to your place on the river." "X marks the spot." "Thanks, Ed." "You're welcome." "I hope you're not offended I'm not asking you along." "No." "'Cause any other time, I'd really enjoy your company," "We'd have lots of fun, we'd camp along the river, take out our kayaks, hook salmon." "Right." "But this is a personal journey, a time to contemplate and reflect," " just something I need to do alone." " Ok." "I'll write my letters." "I'll look at the stars." "I'll set my past to rest." "Sounds really good, Maggie." "Well, here goes." "Wish me luck." "Maggie, can I ask you a personal question?" "I suppose." "How does it feel to be 30?" "Well, almost 30." "It feels good." "It feels really good, Ed." "I feel more confident, at ease with myself." "Of course I wish I'd known at your age what I know now," " ...but better late than never." " Right." "I feel like I'm on a real point of growth, transition, like I'm really opening up to what's inside, that's why your passage ritual is so perfect." "It's a way for me to unburden myself of everything that's been festering in my guts." "You know?" "A way to expel it into the universe like a big popped boil." "Yeah." "Next time you see me I'll be a different person," " I'll be..." " You'll be 30." "Yeah." " Bye." " See you." "Heads up." "We've got an emergency." "I went to take a whiz and the damn thing wouldn't grasp." "I had to do my business like a south paw." "Ok, relax." "Have a seat." "Ever happen before?" " No." " No?" "Any other pain or symptoms?" "No." "I'm as a horse." "You know that." "110/70." "What is it?" "What could cause me to lose the use of my hand?" "A lot of possibilities." "Potassium abnormality but usually affect large muscle masses, like your thighs or calves." "Tetanus but you'd be sick otherwise." "It could be nerve damage." "This is a fine final chapter to my memories." "I reach outer space and I can't even hold my peter to take a proper pee." "It's your memoirs." "Every time I see you, you're scribbling on this yellow pad." "Yeah, they say a computer's better, but if pen and paper was enough for Hemingway it's enough for me." "You have writer's cramp." "If you grip a pencil for hours on end, you're hand tends to cramp up." " You think so?" " In all probability." "I'll be damned." "What are we gonna do about it?" "Lay off the writing until the hand comes back, put some heat on it, massage it, it'll be as good as new." "No can do, Joel." "I've got a boy at Doubleday waiting for the first installment and prospectus for the rest." "I've set myself a schedule and I aim to keep it." "See you, Fleischman." "Hey." " Yeah?" " Excuse me." " Hello." " What are you doing here?" " Fishing." " Here?" "Yeah." "It's a beautiful spot, isn't it?" "Best salmon fishing on the river." "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to move." " Beg your pardon?" " Yeah." "I need to camp here so you'll have to fish someplace else." " You want me to move my camp?" " Yeah." "This is Alaska." "There's 600,000 square miles of wilderness out here." "There's nobody on this river for 50 miles." " This is my spot." " But I need to camp here." "See, I'm from Gross Point, Michigan." "I carry around a lot of baggage from the past." "My parents got divorced last year and I couldn't help feeling that" "I've been rebelling all my life against something that didn't exist." "Look, lady..." "My mom, even if she was passive aggressive, she was overbearing so I have a lot of invasion issues to work out." "And my dad, he just wasn't there." "I mean he was there but he had this way of keeping me at arm's length." "And I've had all these boyfriends that just die on me." "Each one has been a horrible coincidence." "And was it my fault Rick got hit by a satellite?" "A satellite?" "And tomorrow's my 30th birthday." "So what I want to do on the eve of my birthday is write these letters to my significant others, and then mail them up the river." "And tomorrow the weight will be lifted and the slate wiped clean." "I'll tell you what lady?" "You can have it." " I can?" " Yeah." "Write your letters, do your business." "Howl at the moon, whatever it takes." " I'm out of here." " Great." "Thank you." "Driving is like breathing." "You can't think too much about it." "You're comfortable behind the wheel." "That's important, confidence." "Confidence, common sense and consciousness." "How you feeling?" " Alright." " Good." "You see the road, the road is your future." "You, the vehicle and the road." "You're part of a continuum." "The vehicle is just a means, an extension of your idea." "That's the joy of it." "The greater your rapport with the vehicle, the greater the joy." "Ok." "Take my bike, why do I have a hog?" "I can get from A to B in a station wagon, minivan, a moped, right?" "But for me, a Harley-Davidson is the ultimate driving machine." "I think, therefore I do." "I can 50." "Boom I'm going 50." "I like the smell of the exhaust." "I like the rumble." "I lean into a curve, she's there for me." "This is interesting." "This is very interesting." "Without realizing it, I was taking all this for granted." "This is what teaching means to the teacher." "It makes it all so clear, so crisp, so present." "Thank you." "You're welcome." ""And now that time has past," "I look back on our time together, Rick, and see the great happiness that was ours." "The cabin by the lake, our flight checks, our midnight mail runs to Barrow." "I know that had you lived, you would have realized the error of your ways and known too that I'd forgive everything as I do now." "Fondly always, Maggie"." "Well." "I guess that's everybody." "Let's do it." "I guess I got up too fast." "Ok, let's go you guys." "Rick." "Bruce." "Bye, Bruce." "David, take care of yourself." "Glen, don't take any wooden nickels." "I got to lie down." "There's been a lot of speculation throughout history as to when a boy becomes a man." "In the previous chapter, I mentioned an episode that took place on the US Grant military academy play yard, that I will subsequently refer to." "Will there be anything else for you?" "It concerns fist to cuffs with a young cadet named Stasson." "Sorry I was afraid I'd lose my train of thought." "That would be a tragedy." "This young man had accused me of using a Full Nelson, which would clearly be a violation" " of the regular rules section..." " Bye." "Excuse me, Maurice." " Good morning, Joe." " Do you know where Maggie is?" "She's at the river." "There are a million." "I need to find her." "You know which one?" " Yeah." " What's wrong?" "Is everything alright?" "No, it isn't." "She was in my office yesterday with a slight fever." "She said it was a bug but I ran her blood this morning." "Her white counts are markedly high, 15,000." " Oh my dear!" " That's bad?" "It indicates a severe bacterial infection, but she's in the middle of nowhere writing letters to a river." " Ruth-Anne?" " Go." "Go." "Go." "Bye." "Two waffles with boysenberry syrup, ham, a cup of coffee, two sugars." "The fish is in my pocket." "Oh." "I'm outside." "It's my birthday." "Happy birthday." "This is the first day of rest of my life." "So what could happen to her?" "Pneumonia, pancreatitis, appendicitis, infected gallbladder, kidney, liver..." "You can pretty much name your organ." "How about leukemia?" "Yeah." "High polymorphonucleocytes can indicate leukemia." "Maggie could have...?" "No." "She doesn't have leukemia." "I ran a differential on her blood." "There was none of the atypical or abnormal cells that would indicate leukemia." "We don't have to worry about that." "Well good." "I just want to get there before she gets toxic." "Yeah, poor Maggie." " It's her birthday today." " Yeah." "I don't know." "Maybe she really was ok with it." "Yeah." " With what?" " Turning 30." "Maybe she's right." "To me it's this big black wall." "By the time you're 30 you should be where you're going..." " Where am I?" " Alaska." "Yeah that too, nowhere." "Nowhere I'd planned to be anyway." "I had an agenda." "I had goals." "I remember sitting in the stacks in the library at Columbia." "And all this work was gonna pay off." "I figured by 30 I'd be partners at a practice." "I'd be raking it in, stuffing money into a pension plan." "I'd be married." "That was before Elaine dumped you." "Just wasn't gonna work anyway, not to mention there's male baldness in my genetic history." "And the steady decline in a man's sex drive after 18." " There is?" " Oh yeah." " But you know the worst thing is?" " What?" "I won't be a whiz kid anymore." "I skipped 2 grades in school." " Why?" " Because I was precocious." "Estelle Fleischman's brilliant little grandson." "She got a lot of mileage out of that at the Jewish community center." "And I bought into it." "Youngest in my debate club." "Youngest intern in my surgery rotation." "But after 30, you're just another guy on the rope, pulling." "I still sew the same sutures, still treat the same gout." "But it's expected." "I'm not adorable anymore." "You see?" "You look ok to me, Dr. Fleischman." "Thanks for that." "Just forget it." "I didn't mean it like that." "You're cute." "Better than ok." "I'd call you handsome, but you're not very tall." "It's more like cute." "Before we get behind the wheel we'll take a look under the hood." " You might ask why." " Why?" "That's a good question." "Most people are afraid of technology." "They're solution is to forget it." "They get in the car and go." "They move without understanding." "I want you to keep in mind the words of Robert Pirsig." "Ok?" " Who?" " Robert Pirsig." "He wrote a book called "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance"." "And he pointed out, and wisely, that Buddha is just as comfy in the gears of a cycle transmission, as he is the mountaintops or the pedals of a flower." "Let's take a little look see." "There she is." "That's the engine." "Isn't she beautiful?" "Why do we say she?" "Maybe because an engine is both temperamental and powerful." "That is 360 cubic inches of internal combustion." "Now the mechanics of an automobile are relatively simple." "You turn your key." "A small motor starts there," "That sends a spark to the plug which is right here." "At the same time you're giving her a little gas, right?" " Yes." " Ok." "The gas goes into the carburetor, which is right there, where it's mixing with air, then at the exact moment the spark causes a controlled..." "You remember the spark plug?" "Good." "That causes a controlled explosion." "That explosion takes your piston, right here under this manifold cover and makes it becomes force." "You with me so far?" " I think so." " Ok." "Let's talk about torque." " Torque?" " Torque." "Webster's defines torque as a force that produces or tends to produce rotation or torsion in the driveshaft." "You have any questions?" " Let's go for a spin." " Sure." "In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines." "And she shivers all night through." "What is this?" "Glen?" "Why did you write this?" "Did you want to humiliate me?" "The letter?" "You got the letter." ""When you had sex you made that whimpering noise." "Some women might have been turned off." "I thought it was sweet"." "How could you say that?" "What?" "I never made any whimpering noise." "I had a deviated septum." "So when I breathed heavily it made a whistling sound, but I never whimpered." "Glen, it's no big deal." "Really." "It isn't." "It wasn't." "I'm sure I made noises too." "You stop to think how this might make me feel?" " But you're dead." " Same old Maggie O'Connell." " What?" " My feelings don't count." "I don't have any feelings because I'm dead." "Well you are." "Aren't you?" "What's the point?" "I never could talk to you." "Wait a minute." "We can talk." "Glen, we can talk." "I'll listen." "I will." "Glennie, I'll listen." "I'll listen." "And so began my northern country years." "One of the pioneers of Cicely was tavern master Holling Vincouer." "Maurice, can I get you anything?" "Yeah, tenderloin, blood red side of rings and a cold one please." "Loin, still kicking." "When I first met Vincouer" "I realized I'd found a kindred spirit." "I walked into his establishment and introduced myself." ""Minnifield, United States astronaut," I said." "My friend, together, you and I are going to make this town a crown jewel in the final frontier." "Actually Maurice, you asked did I have any sauerkraut." "When I said I didn't, you said that'd be alright" " ...'cause you'd take coleslaw." " I can't right that, can I?" " Well I guess not." " No." "Hey, Blue or thousand on your iceberg?" "Scratch that last." "Just say:" ""I walked into his establishment and sampled the local fair. "" "Which one?" "I got a table of loggers ready to eat their silver." "Vincoeur and I over the years established a very warm bond, as men sometimes do, but it was not without its tribulations." "Ok." "Eat it plane." "You're driving me bat loony with that recorder." "Give it a rest." "The trouble was over a woman, as is often the case." "Sure we didn't miss it?" "You said it was just past the bend." "We past 35 bends." " Look." "There it is." " Where?" "Maggie's camp." "I'll be damned." "You're right." "There it is." "How'd you do that?" "Jump out." "I'll pull the boat up." "There." "Her jacket." "Now what?" " I think she went this way." " You do?" "Yep." "See there that twig snapped." "And there's a footprint." "You can track?" "Alright." "You learn that or are you born that way?" "Beats me." "O'Connell." " Hey I got my first cart there." " Yeah?" " Always better than beer." " Sure is." "Oh my God!" "It's all of you." "Rick, David, Bruce." "All my boyfriends." "You're here." "Just like you were." "My little boo-boos." "Rick, when you'd get the gut." "It's me, Maggie." "I'm so glad to see you!" "You look a little waxy." "Are you wearing blush on?" "I'm dead." "How should I look?" "Did you get my letter?" ""I used to pretend I was asleep so I could watch you flexing and preening in front of the mirror." "You had this sad need to be more beautiful than me"." " You did get my letter?" " You wanted me to look good." "I was your trophy." "Now suddenly I'm vain." "I'm self absorbed." "I'm preening." "You know if I gained a pound, she'd take away my ice cream?" " Yeah." " Yep." " Hot dog?" " Just a sec Bruce." "Rick, I cared about your health." "All those fatty foods." "You had high cholesterol." "And I could picture your arteries, the plaque building up like layers of paint" " on an old windowsill." " That's my metaphor." " Wait." " "Like layers of paint on an old windowsill"." "That's mine." " I wrote that in my book." " You did?" " Yes." " Are you sure?" "Don't play innocent with me." "You always co-opted things" "I wrote, things I said." "Selective memory." "You remember what you want to, why bother with the rest?" " Why are you shivering?" " Why do you think?" "I froze to death on a glacier, or have you forgotten that too?" "Do you want this hot dog or not?" "Yes, no." "I don't know." "She always had to have it both ways." "I'm just not hungry." "Constant need with that patina of independence." "Yeah." "She used to go through my pockets at night." "Ok." "I admit I wasn't perfect but..." "Well we did have good sex." " We didn't have good sex?" " Mediocre at best." " It was alright I guess." " Nothing to write home about." "I liked it ok." "But I loved you, guys." "I did." "Each one of you, in your own special way." "Rick, David," "Bruce, Glen, and you?" "Who are you?" " Steve." " Steve?" " Escandon." " Steve Escandon." "Our dad's were buddies." "We went out once to see "Chariots of fire"" "and had some pizza." " We did?" "Just that one date?" " Yeah." "Did we...?" " But you're not...?" " Lightning." "Oil rig." "I was taking some pictures for an annual report and boom." " Great potato salad, Rick." " Pass me the ketchup." "One time in a mall in Anchorage, we ran into these 2 old friends of hers, Sally and Dick." "Sally and Mike." "It was Sally and Mike" "Let him finish the story." "She always corrected me." "She do that to you?" " I could never get a word in." " I didn't mean to." "Maggie introduced me but didn't tell them we lived together." "Yeah." " It slipped my mind." " Sure." "You were embarrassed." "Don't be ridiculous!" "She didn't want them to know." "They were her smart friends." "If that's what you want to believe." " How well I remember that tone!" " What tone?" "Patronizing with just a hint of sarcasm." "She'd never confront you directly." "It was always this approach avoidance thing." "You know?" " Yeah." " Always." "I never understood why we were together." "I asked her once and she said, "I love you because you make me laugh"." "Wait." "What's wrong with that?" "That's a lovely sentiment." " She said it to me too." " Yeah, me too." "She said it to every Tom, Dick and Harry" " ...that walked through the door." " Why are you doing this to me?" "Why am I doing this to me?" "Was there ever an honest moment?" "Did you mean anything you said?" "I'm not sure." "I don't know." "I can't remember." " The avoidance thing." " Selective memory there." "Alright." "I'm a horrible person." "You all are too good and I'm so bad." " That's right." " I'd say that sums it up." "Guys, come on." " That's enough." "Give it a rest." " Fleischman?" "Oh God." " You didn't kick the bucket too?" " No." "Ed!" "Nice feathers." "I'm not saying O'Connell hasn't made a mess of things." "Sure there's denial." "She's late getting started." "At 30 she should be able to make a commitment." "But she is working on it." "Yeah." "You tell 'em." "Have some." "If you'd come from the same dysfunctional family where open communication or honest expression of emotions" " ...were shunned, you'd be nuts too." " Lay off mom and dad." "They slept in two different beds." " Who told you that?" " You did." "But I see progress here." "I see growth." "I don't see her running from something." "I see her running to something." " I don't know." " I don't." " You think that?" " Yeah." "Sure." "Now I'm gonna unzip your trousers and pull them down over your hips and I'll try not to get turned on." "Here we go." "Nice and easy." "Get the IV out of my bag." "Ok, Maggie, easy." "Tell me if this hurts." "Alright." "You're gonna be fine." "You're gonna be just fine." " I don't feel good." " This is an IV of antibiotics." " What's wrong with me?" " You have an inflamed appendix." " That's all." "You'll be fine." " Take it out." " We're going to." " Throw it in the river." "We'll get you to a hospital." "You're gonna be fine." "Did you see Rick?" " He's dead, squashed by a satellite." " Ready?" "1, 2, 3." " Hey, Marilyn." " Morning, Chris." "Ready for your next lesson?" " I'm not going." " What do you mean you're not?" "Bad time for you?" "You want to do it later?" "Come on." "We'll have some fun." "I'll teach you to parallel park." " I don't want to." " You don't want to drive?" "Another couple lessons I'll have you soloing." "You're doing great." "You'll be ready to get your license." " I don't want to." " Why?" "I miss walking." "Many saw the appointments at Annapolis that year." "What was it that set me apart from the crowd?" "Was it the fire in belly, the grit, the determination?" "Did you move the kipper snacks?" "They'd bite you on the nose if they were any closer." "Now, where was I?" "Eagle Scout, class valedictorian, state wrestling champion at 142 pounds." "President of the Young Republicans club, none of that could hurt that year." "Give me about a dozen of those double A batteries, would you?" " She's dragging on me a little." " You and me both." "How's Maggie doing?" "Ed checked in." "She's doing fine." "Sailed through with flying colors." " She'll be home in a few days." " Good." "That's a girl with moxy to burn." "Here's a thought." "Yulong Valley dog fight, my first kill." "Paragraph Re." ""The vagaries of existence"." " Could I see that a minute?" " Sure." "It's quite a nifty little item." "The Japs are getting real good at miniaturization." "My goodness." "Been thinking about where I'd be without the teachers who taught me." "Earl P. Duffy, dean of discipline back home in Juvee." "He showed me around the lathe, and in the gym the upper cut followed by the left hook." "Uncle Roy Bower, respect for the rifle, the rules of the woods." "Erasmus, reason and the harmonious shaping of my mental world." "Then it came my turn, graduation from student, I became teacher." "A chance to give back would have been given to me, light somebody else's fire." "What did I do?" "I blew it." "Plain and simple." "I flamed out, flunked the course." "My student came to me with a desire to know the time and told her how to make a watch." "Live and learn." "Power to the hour." "Another broadcast day on KBHR." " You up for a visitor?" " Fleischman." "How you doing?" "I'm swacked out on pain pills." "I'm flying." "You look like holy hell." "Thanks." "You don't look so hot yourself." "I've been up for 36 hours thank to you." " What are you doing here?" " I came on the helicopter." " Helicopter?" " Yeah." "Helicopter." "You were in a helicopter?" "You're scared of helicopters." "Well I'm right there." "Truly horrible." "No wings." "Did you know that?" "Don't even have doors." "What's that for?" "Happy Birthday." "Oh yeah." "Oh God." "Ripped by subXpacio and TusSeries"