circumstances, we have misused our newfound powers, plundering and poisoning the planet.
“Almost done, Ry, just two more paragraphs. Hang in there, brother, you’ve gotta get this!”
We have reached what Buckminster Fuller called our “final evolutionary exam.” The questions before us are simple: Can we move beyond this limited mode of consciousness? Can we let go or our illusions, discover who we really are, and find the wisdom we so desperately need? These questions face us everywhere we look. Degradation of the environment is forcing us to examine our priorities and values. Political and economic crises reveal the shortcomings of our self-centered thinking. Disillusionment with materialism implores us to ask what it is that we really want. The ever-accelerating pace of change demands that we become less attached to how we think things should be. Many social problems reflect the meaninglessness inherent in the contemporary worldview. And our personal relationships are continually challenging us to move beyond fear and judgment to love without conditions. From all directions the message is, “Wake up!”3
“That really is some powerful writing,” Ryan agreed. “Maybe this is what you’ve been searching for, Jules! Here’s something really big—planet-changing stuff—that you can sink your teeth into. I think you should go for it!”
“I think you’re right, Ry. This could be it for me—the direction I’ve been looking for. Couldn’t be better timing, either. Do you realize that with the internet and all our sophisticated communication systems, we can gain and disseminate information around the planet instantaneously? You and I are lucky to live at a time like this, you know? If we can get our acts together, imagine what kind of influence we can have! People who lived before us were limited pretty much to their own experience and that of their local environment, but no more! We can benefit from and add to people’s knowledge around the world! That in itself is mind-boggling! We can collectively stimulate each other’s awakening. We have to be on the cusp of a quantum leap forward in our evolutionary development. Wow, I’ve gotta get to work!”
“And we’ve gotta get outa here!” Ryan exclaimed. “It’s almost eleven, and this place closes in fifteen minutes. Oh, by the way, I got a call from my mom today.”
“Really? What’s going on with her?”
“You won’t believe this, but she’s getting married!”
“Married? Wow, that IS a shocker! To whom?”
“Oh, some guy named Tom who did a remodeling job on her house when she had to move out to Summerville. You know, after my dad died last year, she just couldn’t keep up the Church Street house anymore. The taxes down there were killing her!”
“Yeah, my parents are always complaining about it too. Getting married, huh? This guy must be pretty special, knowing Cathy!”
“No doubt. I haven’t met him yet, but she seems totally taken by him. Here’s the really big news, though: she wants us to play a tune or two at their wedding next Christmas!”
“Wow! How would we do that? No band since Charleston, and we’re probably a bit rusty, wouldn’t you think?”
“Yeah, we certainly haven’t done much musically since we’ve been out West. It’s not like we haven’t been super busy in school, though,” he added, obviously trying to rationalize his new priorities a bit. “But I was thinking, Jules…maybe we could talk Ben into flying home with us. He’d probably love to visit Charleston, and he seems pretty good, as least from those couple of jams we all did together last fall. We could also probably get Kyle to help us on drums, if he’s still around, that is. We’ve got over a year to figure it out, anyway.”
“Well, sounds like fun, and I like Ben; he was cool the few times we all got together. And by then it’ll be a couple of years since we’ve been home; not since your dad’s funeral last year actually. Christmas too…Charleston’s awesome at Christmas!” Julian grinned. “Hey, they’re flickin’ the lights. Come on, let’s head home—enough of saving the world for one night!”
“I AM going to medical school, though,” Ryan reiterated. “Alternative medicine, I think, however. Remember when we first got here and I told you I walked through NCNM?”
“Vaguely.”
“Well, I liked it then, and I’ll bet I still do. Two more years, and that’s where I’m heading!”
“Maybe you can team up with Ben when he graduates,” Julian suggested as they zipped up their backpacks and headed for the stairs. “The two of you would make a great team. With his mom being a nutritionist, he should be pretty open-minded, at least for an MD,” Julian shrugged.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea, Jules. I’ll have to think about that one. Come on, I’ll race you home!” Ryan yelled over his shoulder as they walked out of the main library doors.
“Damn,” Julian mumbled, “where does that guy get all his energy? It’s almost midnight, for God’s sake!”
chapter 13
Excitation, Graduation, Intubation, Revelation
Dallas, Texas
May 2005
It was a beautiful morning in Dallas—sunny, 80 degrees, and early enough that the temperature was still relatively pleasant. It was Friday, May 19, and Carmella was very excited. After almost 5 years, she was finally graduating from Texas Woman’s University with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. It has certainly been a struggle. The two years of commuting from Denton to Dallas for her job at the nursing home had been very stressful, but that got better once her clinicals started and she was able to get an apartment in Dallas. Then there was the event with Gabriel Franklin, which had seemed more than crazy at the time, but in retrospect, had certainly helped her financially, giving her the time and extra money she needed to finish the nursing program. Carmella had no family other than a brother who had been in prison for the last 7 years, so whatever she had was due to her own hard work and initiative. Most of the time it had been difficult for her to envision the end result, just the struggle it was going to be getting there. Today was an exception, however, as the end was here, at least the end of her time at TWU. It seemed like it would never come, but now that the day had finally arrived, she was savoring every moment of it.
Carmella still hadn’t adjusted to the thought of actually being a nurse. After all those years as a nurse’s aide, this was really a big step up for her. She would still have to pass her boards in June, but after that it would be Carmella Brown, RN. It was still hard to imagine! What was even harder to envision was the fact that she would be starting graduate school in the fall. That was a big deal, but even bigger was the location of the school in Portland, Oregon, over two thousand miles away from Texas, a state she had never been out of in her life! Carmella would never have even thought of graduate school had it not been for Norma Reyes, her academic adviser at TWU, who had been almost like a mother to her for the whole time she had been there. Norma had quickly picked up on Carmella’s spirit and determination, and did everything within her sphere of influence to help Carmella reach her potential, which she reckoned to be considerable. Norma had set up a tutor for Carmella, coaching her on grammar, enunciation, writing and oral communication—all skills that she had been notably deficient in due to her rather-rough upbringing. By the first semester of her senior year, she had Carmella ready for the GRE, which she then passed with excellent scores. Ms. Reyes suggested OHSU for Carmella since she herself was a graduate of their master’s program. After considerable deliberation, Carmella had applied to the Family Nurse Practitioner program and had received her acceptance notice just the week before. In addition, Norma had pulled some strings to get her a part-time job, starting in the fall, as an RN at the OHSU hospital, which was very near the nursing school.
Today, however, Carmella just wanted to thoroughly enjoy her first triumph—graduating from TWU! On Monday, she started orientation for a summer job at St. Paul hospital, an 11–7 night shift position as a graduate nurse on a busy medical floor, so she was determined to make the most of her graduation weekend. Three whole days of freedom with no studies, no job,