The Music Never Stopped

Fairy tales can come true

It can happen to you

if you're young at heart

For it's hard, you will find

to be narrow of mind

if you're young

Henry?

At heart

Henry.

You can go to extremes...

What?

Don't you hear

the phone ringing?

With impossible dreams

No.

You can laugh when your dreams

fall apart at the seams

Hello.

Yes, is this Helen Sawyer?

And if you should survive

Are you sure it's him?

I'm very sorry.

He's at the hospital...

out of being ali...

We're here to see

Gabriel Sawyer.

She can take you back.

This way.

He's right here.

Oh, God.

This brain image shows us

a midline tumor,

extending on both sides

into the frontal lobes.

It also reaches backward

to the temporal lobes

and downward

to the forebrain here.

So the tumor is

in this area here?

No, Mr. Sawyer,

that is the tumor.

It appears to be benign,

but it went unchecked

for so long,

we won't be able to tell

what kind of permanent damage

has been done

until after we operate.

How are you doing

this morning?

I'm gonna ask you

some questions,

and I want you to tell me

the answers, okay?

Okey-dokey.

What's your name?

Gabriel.

Okay, good.

What year were you born, Gabriel?

Fine.

And what year is it now?

All right, now, Gabriel, can you count

from 1 to 10 out loud for me?

Oount me out.

I'll start you.

Buckle my shoe.

He seemed to be

fooling around with you.

That's a good sign, isn't it?

That's not really fooling around.

Part of Gabriel's brain

which controls inhibition

has been destroyed,

so he reacts incontinently

to things around him.

It's like it's not even him.

When was the last time

you saw him?

He, uh... he left home...

several years ago.

Nearly 20.

Did drugs cause this?

No, I don't think so.

From the way he looks,

he was on the streets for some time.

Oh, God.

And unfortunately,

though slow-growing,

the tumor also

destroyed structures

of the medial side

of both the temporal lobes,

in particular what is

called the hippocampus,

and these are the areas of the brain

we use to form new memories,

like what I'm telling you now,

new information.

Mr. And Mrs. Sawyer, even if Gabriel

makes a full recovery,

his memory has been damaged.

Gabriel's long-term memory

stops at a certain point,

and even if he regains

some cognitive function,

like perception

of his surroundings,

it's likely that it will be

inconsistent and intermittent.

Henry Sawyer.

Oan it wait till tomorrow?

I'm on my way to the hospital.

Okay, be right there.

How's Gabe?

Oh, you know, hard to tell.

We're moving him

to a permanent-care place.

It's, uh, closer to home.

Thanks for asking.

Henry, I can only imagine

what you're going through.

Actually, I can't even.

I don't know how you could possibly

concentrate on anything.

Oh, it helps me to work,

Mike, to be here.

Yeah. I get that.

But let's be candid, Henry.

At the moment, when you're here,

you're not really here,

and we're dealing

with harsh realities on our end.

You're a fine mechanical

engineer, Henry,

but we're getting into

the still video market.

We need computer coding skills,

ASIOs chip programming,

you need Fortran, things like that.

Are you firing me?

Henry, you've got

a year and half of sick days,

and you've got your full pension.

Do yourself a favor.

Take the time.

Be with your family.

There were bells on the hill

but I never heard them ringing

No, I never heard them at all...

Okay, ready for inspection?

Okay.

- Pencils?

- Oheck.

- Notebook?

- Oheck.

Robin Hood lunchbox?

Roger that.

You know what song this is?

Till There was You.

- Mm-hmm. Year?

- 1950.

Oomposer?

Meredith Wilson.

The first time I heard this song

was June 23, 1950.

It was the opening night

of the Roseland Dance Hall.

Two days before Uncle Gabriel

went to fight in the war.

That's right.

And Uncle Gabriel took Ruth McDonald,

and I had to go with Ruth's sister, Gladys.

The fat one.

Yeah, the big old, super-duper

vat of Velveeta cheese fat one.

Henry.

Yeah, that one.

And this song was the very last song

the orchestra played that night,

just as I first set my eyes on your...

- Mom.

- Mom.

It was the first song.

No. It was the last song.

Last time,

it was the first song.

Gabe, it's time.

I'd like to buy the world a Coke

and keep it company

It's the real thing...

Hey, Gabriel. What's happening?

In perfect harmony...

Gabriel.

It's Bernie from down the hall.

Bernie the Hernie.

It's the real thing

You must be very hungry, Gabriel.

I'm Gabriel. You're hungry.

I am.

Gabe, open your mouth.

Olose your eyes.

Go to sleep.

Gabriel, open your mouth.

Open your mouth.

Stick out your tongue.

Why don't we let Gabriel

try to eat by himself?

I'm going outside.

Oome on, Gabe.

You have to eat.

Would you like a sip of Ooke?

It's the real thing.

Now you can play

like your Uncle Gabe.

He's gettin' it.

Maybe trumpet's

not the right instrument.

He's getting it.

Is this good?

It's fine.

We should get going soon.

You go on ahead.

What do you mean?

I'll go tomorrow.

He doesn't know the difference.

Take your pills.

You're not going to bed

anytime soon, are you?

I'll be right back.

Hey, can you hand me my radio?

Oh, sure.

I bet you like what my son likes.

There we go.

The edge of the night...

There we go, sweetie.

This one?

I gave him his meds at...

Okay, who knows

what song that was?

I don't know what happened,

but I don't see

any significant change

in his functioning this morning.

We'll certainly keep observing.

But I have noticed

a difference in him.

What do you mean?

L... I think Gabriel remembered

part of a television commercial.

We were eating lunch, and I asked him

if he'd like a sip of Ooke,

and he said, "It's the thing"

"It's the real thing. "

Yeah.

What is?

No, it's the commercial.

I think the line is "It's the real thing. "

Yeah. That commercial

was on the TV in the rec room.

Well it's possible to read into

Gabriel's behavior

in any number of ways.

But he remembered

a commercial.

Gabriel was watching TV.

Helen, the fact is

the tumor has destroyed

some of Gabriel's cognitive functions

and the parts of the brain

that operate them.

But he made a connection.

He may make random

or repetitive connections,

but they won't be consistent

or indicate a recovery of memory.

I'm sorry.

Oome on, Helen.

Let's go home.

Thank you, doctor.

This is Cap Carsen throwing you

back to 1968 and the Tulips,

their top 10 hit,

It's about Summer.

All the kids, they want today

All they ever think about's

about summer

Please leave it on.

It's about summer

All the kids, they want today

All they ever think about

is about summer

It's about summer

All the kids, they want today

All their problems to go away

It's about summer

- It's about...

- One second!

You want to spray

something in here?

Hey, Dad.

Gabriel, your mother's

just about ready with dinner.

Far out. I'm starving.

Ah, man, that's great.

I'm so hungry.

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