Something the Lord Made Page #7

to the cheeks of others.

Dr. Alfred Blalock.

Thank you. I am indeed honored.

And while I am grateful...

for the many gifts

that have been given to me in my life...

perhaps the greatest gift

has been the support...

of my colleagues over this last year.

My good friend, Walter Dandy.

The wonderful, brilliant colleagues

who assisted me in our operation.:

Dr. Helen Taussig...

Dr. William Longmire...

Dr. Denton Cooley...

Dr. Mel Harmel.

I believe...

one group of people

could not have accomplished...

so much in so little time

without a strong, unified effort...

in the spirit of breaking new ground...

together.

To further the reach of medicine

is one that should be cherished...

and never allowed to die.

What the hell is this?

l need to do something different.

What about our work?

You got all of those other people

you were thanking.

What are you talking about?

Belvedere Hotel.

The Belvedere is segregated.

You were there?

Snuck in, just like a bellhop.

ls that what this is about,

hobnobbing with the powers that be?

Vivien, they will never

let you into their club.

lt is naive to think otherwise.

Will you stand still?

l'm not talking about them.

l'm not talking about Hopkins.

l'm talking about you.

Me?

What have l ever done

except fight in your corner?

l have taken you every step of the way

with me...

and now you want to throw all that away?

For what?

ls that any way to show your gratitude?

l don't know. You tell me, Doctor.

Vivien, take pride in the fact

you have power in your mind...

and in your heart.

-And in my hands.

-Exactly, in your hands.

We made history together.

We changed the world.

The world.

l'm invisible to the world.

l don't mind that. l understand that.

l thought it was different in here.

Mr. Thomas, I'm a little confused.

Now you want college credit

for Morgan State...

without actually taking classes?

ln certain courses, yes.

l'll take the test. l'll take finals...

Chemistry, Biochemistry, Science, Physics.

Also, l can get the credit

for material l already know.

l need to get through college

a little more quickly...

so l can get on to med school.

And so you actually participated...

in all this groundbreaking research,

Mr. Thomas?

Yes, l did.

l'm afraid it just doesn't work like that.

You'll have to start with Freshman English.

Social Science, maybe.

l don't have time for that.

l'm 35 years old.

You're saying

that l have to start at the beginning?

Yes, Mr. Thomas.

l'm afraid that is in fact what l'm saying.

l thought this institution

provided opportunity for colored people?

l have a wife, two young daughters, son.

And l've been working in my field for over....

Almost 15 years now.

l'm from Nashville, l came....

And what can l do for you?

My name is Vivien Thomas.

l work for the Ralph Wintham company.

We have a line of pharmaceuticals,

particularly antacids.

We already have a supplier of antacids.

Yes, well, these antacids

block against gastroesophageal reflux...

-without any adverse side effect--

-Vivien Thomas.

The fellow with the blue babies?

A patient of mine who works at the hospital

told me about you.

Hopkins is doing well

because of what you did for them...

and here you are.

l don't have anything against the hospital.

l'm just working in medicine

in a different way now.

Let's see what other lines you have.

Yes, we have effervescent powder here....

Oh, William, look who's here?

-Hello.

-Say hi to Grandma.

My goodness.

How you doing, sweetheart? Look at him.

Stop running. Go up and wash your hands.

And you bring your little sister down.

And be careful on them steps.

What about construction?

l keep asking him. ''Thomas and Thomas.''

With the building boom, we could clean up.

Now, he know l can't saw a plank

worth a damn.

-Yeah, that's the truth.

-Yeah, Dad.

l did see that mailbox

leaning to the side a little bit.

l don't understand

why you quit teaching in the first place.

l never really liked the classroom

that much, Clara.

Too many kids.

But you fought all those years,

and you won the case, so--

Exactly.

And quitting now means

you've just wasted a whole lot of time.

-No--

-l don't think it's a waste of time.

lf Harold wasn't down there

doing what he was doing...

there'd still be a lot of colored teachers

down there getting cheated.

l think they ought to

name a school after him.

Yeah. Harold Thomas High.

-Harold Thomas High.

-Hear, hear.

No, most of these young teachers,

they don't know anything about that strike.

They take their equal paycheck for granted.

Harold, you're full of excuses.

There's no point

in waiting for the world to thank you.

That bus ain't never going to come.

-Amen to that.

-l'm not waiting, Pop.

l'm just looking for something

that excites me as much as...

hammering nails pleases you.

Viv, Jeopardy is on.

l'll be in in a minute.

You okay?

l'm fine.

Stomach's bothering me a little bit,

but l'm fine.

Why don't you take those fancy antacid pills

that you always brag about?

lt's your brother?

l miss him. l miss the old Harold.

Seems a little lost now.

l miss you.

Still got my mind in that lab.

lt's not just your mind, Viv.

lt's your heart, too.

l don't know

what l'm supposed to do, Clara.

l think l've embarrassed myself enough.

l can't go back in there

with my tail between my legs.

lt's where you belong, Vivien Thomas.

So how you walk back on in there,

well, that's up to you.

Yes?

Doctor. Good morning.

How was your trip to Europe?

lt was very gratifying...

and how well it seems

to have stood on its feet...

for this moment in time.

What can l do for you, Vivien?

l've made a mistake...

and l would like my old position back.

And how's it going to be any different?

l'm still the same self-righteous bastard.

lt's not about you.

lt's about the work.

l like the work.

Mr. Thomas, we've got an animal

going into shock here.

What do we do, sir?

Did you try clamping off

the lateral part of the atrium?

Yeah, hold it right there.

-Careful.

-Okay.

Yeah. You handled yourself

well there, Doctor.

-That's good.

-Thank you.

lt started--

There was a message for you, Mr. Thomas.

Dr. Blalock wanted to see you.

l'm sorry. Would you....

-Tell him l'll see him--

-He's about to leave for the day.

Honey, l have to call you back. Okay.

How's your girls?

They're fine. They're doing well.

Theo's in Morgan State now.

-That must feel good.

-Yes.

How are things with you?

l've had the unfortunate experience

of being put in the hands of a surgeon.

You have something on your mind, Doctor?

Yes, Columbia's been dangling

an offer to teach...

but l wanted to talk to you first.

l really would like you to come with me.

They know about your work.

You could write your own ticket.

lt's hard to imagine being there without you.

l thank you for thinking of me, Doctor.

l think l should stay here.

We could do great things there.

Wouldn't it be fun to do it one more time?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes