cold rooms chapter 2 - Bomb shell TIME: FALL 2008 SETTING: SAM MAXWELL, A SENIOR 20 SOMETHING ANESTHESIOLOGY RESIDENT AT COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS IS FINISHING HIS RESIDENCY. SAM IS TRYING TO DECIDE ON A CAREER PATH - BATTLING WITHIN HIS MIND BETWEEN A HIGH END SUBURBAN JOB V DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS. SAM LIVES WITH KERI - WHO HE MET AT WEAGHMAN’S PARK - A WISCONSIN THEME ESTABLISHMENT AND 20 SOMETHING HANGOUT AT THE CORNER OF CLARK AND ADDISON IN FRONT OF WRIGLEY FIELD. KERI AND SAM MET DURING THE CUBS MAGICAL 2008 SEASON - WHICH ENDED IN AN UNFORTUNATE EARLY PLAYOFF EXIT. THE O.R. ( OPERATING ROOM ) AND WEAGHMAN’S PARK ARE THE SCENES OF SCRIPT CHATTER - EXTENSIVE NARRATIVE DIALOGUE ABOUT MEDICINE AND SURGERY, CHICAGO SPORTS, AND OTHER IMPORTANT CHICAGO CULTURE AND EVENTS. FOLLOW ALONG AS EACH EPISODE BUILDS WITH EXCITING RELATIONSHIPS AND CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS. KERI SAM - HOW DID THE YOUNG TRAUMA KID DO ? SAM HE’S REALLY STRUGGLING - I MEAN HE HAS A CHANCE - BUT WITH TRAUMA TO LONG BONES, HEAD, CHEST, ABDOMEN, RETRO-PERITONEUM, AND PELVIS - IT WILL TAKE A LITTLE WORK OF GOD TO GET IT DONE. KERI I WAS WATCHING WGN AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW GRUESOME THIS ACCIDENT WAS ON THE STEVENSON THEY WERE NOT REALLY OPTIMISTIC REGARDING THIS GUY’S CHANCES. SAM I’M TOTALLY DRAINED - I MEAN TOTALLY ! KERI YOU ARE ACTUALLY DOING YOUR DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS RIGHT HERE IN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO. SAM DO WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THIS TONIGHT ?
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KERI NO WE DON’T - HERE’S A BEER - A LEINIES - TAP, ZUERCHER CHEESE, AND SOME ZUERCHER MEATS - THE BEST. AND A FOOT MASSAGE ON TOP OF THAT. SAM WOW - WHAT IS HAPPENING ? KERI YOU ARE GETTING TREATED LIKE A GOD - YOU KNOW LIKE YOUR SURGICAL BUDDIES. SAM WELL - YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOD AND A SURGEON ? KERI NO. SAM GOD THINKS HE’S A SURGEON ! KERI OK - WELL ENJOY TODAY BECAUSE I’M MOVING OUT THIS WEEKEND - AND I JUST WANTED TO ENJOY OUR LAST COUPLE DAYS TOGETHER. SAM WHAT ? KERI DOES THIS TOE HURT ? SAM KIND OF - WAIT A SECOND - YOU’RE MOVING OUT. KERI YES - IN WITH MY SISTER. SHE HAS A SPARE BEDROOM. IT WILL WORK FOR NOW. SAM I DON’T GET THIS - WE DIDN’T EVEN TALK ABOUT THIS WHAT IS GOING ON - WHAT DID I DO ? KERI IT’S WHAT YOU DIDN’T DO SAM ? SAM LIKE GET A RING, SET A DATE, BUY A HOUSE, GET A JOB, PLAN KIDS, SHOP FOR FAMILY STUFF - THE WHOLE THING - I GUESS IT IS WHAT I DIDN’T DO.
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KERI EXACTLY CORRECT - BUT IT’S OK - I’M HANDLING IT FINE. I APPRECIATED KNOWING YOU - BUT I MYSELF MUST MOVE ON. WE ARE GOING NOWHERE. SAM NOT TRUE. KERI WELL I GOT A MINDFUL OF STUFF DOWN AT BERNIE’S AND WEAGHMAN’S PARK THE OTHER NIGHT. THERE ARE NOW NURSES FROM COOK HANGING OUT AT THESE PLACES BECAUSE OF MELANIE - THAT DESPICABLE BITCH AND YOUR OLD GIRLFRIEND WHO WILL NEVER QUIT. SAM WHAT HAS GOTTEN IN TO YOU KERI ? I STILL L......... KERI NO YOU DON’T. ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS SPORTS, YOURSELF, ANESTHESIA, AND MAYBE OTHER GIRLS - I DON’T KNOW. THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF - MOST FOLKS CAN LIVE TOGETHER - COHABITATE AS THEY CALL IT - BUT I JUST CANNOT ANY LONGER WITHOUT COMMITMENTS. JUST CAN’T. I’M NOT WAITING AROUND FOR YOU TO WAIT AROUND TO SEE IF THERE IS SOMEONE BETTER OBVIOUSLY I’M NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU - O.R. I’M MARRYING UP O.R. SOMETHING. ENJOY TONIGHT. SAM WHERE DID YOU GET THE LEINES TAP STUFF ? KERI I BOUGHT IT OFF THE TRUCK AS IT WAS BACKING INTO WEAGHMAN’S PARK. AND THE ZUERCHERS FOOD - I BOUGHT FROM JOSH NEAR WRIGLEY. ALL FRESH STUFF. SAM WELL THANK YOU....BUT I THINK YOU’VE MISINTERPRETED A TON. KERI NO I HAVE NOT - I’VE MADE MY DECISION. SAM WELL OK I’M NOT STOPPING YOU. I MEAN I’D LIKE TO - BUT YOU SEEM REAL DETERMINED. KERI VERY DETERMINED. ENJOY TONIGHT - ENJOY SIBERIA - NO ROMANCE -
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SAM I DON’T THINK YOU UNDERSTAND THE STRESSES AND STRAINS OF THE COLD O.R. . KERI GIVE ME A BREAK - YOU CAN WEAR A FLEECE O.R. ONE OF THOSE NURSING JACKETS. SAM I MEAN THE TRAUMA, OB, MEDICAL LEGAL RISK, THREATENING SURGEONS, NASTY INDIGENT PATIENTS, AND.......... KERI GIVE ME A BREAK - IT MUST BE REALLY TOUGH ON YOU HAVE YOUR PICK OF THE LITTER WITH A NEW GRADUATING NURSING CLASS GRADUATING EVERY YEAR. YOU’LL NEVER GROW UP - JUST WON’T. SAM OK OK OK - I GET IT - WE NEED TO TALK. KERI NO - WE’VE TALKED ENOUGH - I WANT ACTION. SAM BUT KERI I’M NOT READY TO......MY CELL IS GOING OFF. IT’S THE GUYS DOWN AT WEAGHMAN’S PARK - THE TEXT SAYS THEY ARE ALL GETTING TOGETHER LATER. DO YOU WANT TO GO ? KERI NOT PARTICULARLY. SAM WELL WE CAN PUT EVERYTHING ON HOLD HERE TONIGHT BECAUSE WE HAVEN’T BEEN DOWN THERE SINCE THE MISERABLE CUB PLAYOFFS. KERI OK - SINCE THERE IS NO ROMANCE AND THIS IS OUR LAST NIGHT AND YOU’VE THAWED OUT FROM YOUR COLD O.R. ROOMS - WELL WE CAN HOP ON THE L AND GET THERE IN A FEW MINUTES. SAM MAYBE WE CAN TALK BULLS ON THE WAY - YOUR BOYFRIEND......... KERI THABO SEFOLOSHA - GREAT NAME !
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SAM YES - HE HASN’T DONE SQUAT THIS YEAR. KERI OUR WHOLE BULLS O.R. GANIZATION SUCKS - PORTLAND ONLY BEAT US BY 42 - WE COULDN’T HAVE BEATEN AN INTRAMURAL TEAM ON THIS NIGHT. SAM THE ONLY GOOD THING WE’VE GOT GOING IS ROSE. WE HAVE A BUNCH OF HIGH PAID FIRST ROUNDERS WHO ARE ROLE PLAYERS - NO REAL STUDS WHO CAN CREATE THEIR OWN SHOT. SOME OF OUR PLAYERS LIKE HUGHES COMPLAIN IF THEY GET TOO MUCH PLAYING TIME. FIGURE THAT ? KERI THE WHOLE THING IS BAD - PAXSON AS GM, VINNY AS COACH, JERRY AS OWNER, AND SOME OF OUR PLAYERS COULDN’T PLAY TOGETHER AS A TEAM IF THEIR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT. SAM NOAH IS IN A DREAM WORLD - HE FLAT OUT NEEDS TO PICK IT UP. KERI DENG IS PLAYING AWFUL - ALL THESE BIG MONEY GUYS ARE JUST PLAYING OK - NOT STEPPING UP - THEY ARE GETTING BURIED - PLAYOFFS ARE A DREAM SAM I AGREE - IN FACT THE CROWDS WILL START TO GET SPARSE - WE ARE PLAYING OURSELVES INTO THE CELLAR - WE MAY NOT EVEN BE ABLE TO HANDLE MILWAUKEE THIS YEAR. KERI IT SEEMS THE HARDER WE TRY THE WORSE WE GET. WE MAY BE BETTER OFF WITH THE GUYS IN THE D LEAGUE FROM CEDAR RAPIDS. SAM THEY WOULD PROBABLY PLAY HARDER THAN WHAT WE’VE GOT. KERI I DOUBT IF THEY’D LOSE AN NBA GAME BY 42 POINTS - BUT I GUESS A LOSS IS A LOSS. SAM THE RED LINE IS AT WRIGLEY FIELD - WE’LL GET OFF HERE -
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KERI HECK - I CAN SMELL THE BRATS AT WEAGHMAN’S PARK ALREADY - JOSH MUST HAVE QUITE A CROWD. IT’S CHILLY OUT - CAN YOU HOLD ME SAM ? SAM IT’S NOT ANY COLDER THAN THOSE COOK O.R. S. THESE PERIMENOPAUSAL NURSES SET THE THERMOSTAT SO DAM LOW - THERE ARE ICICLES IN THE DOOR JAMS. KERI DAMMIT SAM - HOLD ME - I’M COLD. SAM JUST SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY WE WERE HERE THE NIGHT THE CUBBIES WENT DOWN TO LA. WHAT A SAD NIGHT. KERI I’M SURE LOU HAS SOMETHING UP HIS SLEEVE FOR NEXT YEAR. SAM I’VE HEARD NO MAJOR CHANGES - BUT I’M CERTAIN THEY WILL LOOK AT ALL THE PROSPECTS FROM RYNO’S PEORIA CHIEFS, DAYTONA, DES MOINES, DAYTON - ALL OVER THEY’LL ALL BE THERE THIS SPRING. KERI OK SAM I NEED TO GET HELD TIGHTER - SORRY I’M ABSOLUTELY FREEZING. SAM OK - HOW IS THIS ? KERI GREAT ! SAM HELLO EVERYONE - JOSH, WILL, ELLIOTT, AND MELANIE. KERI OH MY GOD SAM I MUST LEAVE - THAT PUTRID YOU KNOW WHAT - I CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO BE IN HER PRESENCE. SAM KERI - JUST CHILL - IT’S NO BIG DEAL - I THINK SHE IS WITH SOMEONE. RELAX. KERI OK - I’LL RELAX. I’LL JUST DRINK FASTER -
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SAM OK - WELL DO WHAT YOU MUST - I DON’T REALLY CONSIDER MELANIE A THREAT. KERI DOESN’T MATTER ANYWAY I GUESS - I’M GONE IN A COUPLE DAYS. THEN I DON’T CARE - WELL I GUESS I DON’T REALLY CARE NOW. YOU CAN HAVE HER SAM. SHE’S ALL YOURS. SAM OK AGAIN JUST SUPER CHILL - EAT A BRAT - HAVE SOME ZUERCHER’S CHEESE - THEY HAVE THE COLBY ON SPECIAL. O.R. DER A BIG PLATE KERI OK - AND I’LL HAVE AN OCTOBERFEST LEINIES. MAYBE I’LL PUT A LIME IN IT SO TO BE GIRLY. JOSH SO WHAT HAVE YOU TWO BEEN UP TO ? HAVEN’T SEEN YOU AROUND. WHAT IS GOING ON ? KERI WE’RE GETTING READY FOR THE CUBS SPRING TRAINING. SAM AND I ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO ARIZONA THIS YEAR. WE THINK THERE WILL BE SOME HOT COMPETITION FOR SOME POSITIONS. SAM KERI WE NEVER TALKED ABOUT.......... KERI SHUT UP SAM - WE DID TALK ABOUT IT - YOU WERE JUST TOO TIRED TO REMEMBER - ANYWAY GO AHEAD JOSH. JOSH OK - I FEEL THE CUBS WILL REGROUP - GET BETTER AND AT LEAST MAKE IT TO THE NL FINALS - WE MAYBE - IN FACT WE WILL REPRESENT THE NL THIS YEAR. PHILLY WILL FALL, MILWAUKEE WILL LOSE SABATHIA - LA WILL PROBABLY LOSE MANNY. KERI WE WILL NEED A COUPLE RINGERS ON OUR TEAM - WE ARE GETTING TOO OLD - ALFONSO, DEREK, EDMONDS, SOME OF THESE GUYS NEED WHEELCHAIRS. WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE SOME TOUGH DECISIONS IN SPRING TRAINING. SAM AND LOU IS THE EXACT GUY TO DO IT - SOME OF THESE GUYS WILL BE ROLE PLAYERS, SUBS, FILLERS, WHATEVER
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- I DON’T KNOW IF THE OLDER GUYS CAN PLAY EVERYDAY THAT SIMPLE. JOSH AND DID YOU SEE WE ARE ADVERTISING HERE AT WEAGHMAN’S FOR NEXT YEAR - PUTTING IN A NEW BACK ROOM. KERI BUSINESS MODEL WORKS - RIGHT JOSH ? JOSH ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ! SAM WELL LOOKS LIKE MORE PARTIES HERE NEXT SUMMER AND FALL. KERI NOT FOR YOU SAM - YOU’LL BE CLIMIBING INTO YOUR IGLOO IN SIBERIA. JOSH SO YOU DECIDED TO GO WITH DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS UPON FINISHING THE RESIDENCY SAM ? SAM NO - I’M DEFERRING IT FOR A BIT. I’LL GO - I JUST DON’T KNOW WHEN. KERI SAM DECIDED HE WOULD BE MISSING TOO MANY BULL GAMES. JOSH YES - ISN’T THIS UNBELIEVABLE - WE BRING IN PAXSON, VINNY, NEW RECRUITS, PAY ALL THESE GUYS AND THEN GET BLOWN OUT BY PORTLAND - 42 POINTS - A MODERN POST MICHAEL FRANCHISE BLOW OUT RECORD. SAM WELL THE GOOD THING IS THAT VINNY HAS BEEN PRETTY COOL ABOUT IT - ROSE HAS A SHOT TO BE AN ALL STAR AND GORDON IS SCORING. KERI BUT SEFOLOSHA, NOAH, HINRICHS, THOMAS - ALL THESE GUYS NEED TO FLAT OUT STEP UP. GIRLS LIKE BASKETBALL COMPETITIVE BASKETBALL.
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SAM OK - BUT THE COACHES CANNOT MAKE THESE GUYS PLAY - MAYBE DANGLING THEIR BONUS MONEY ON TOP OF THE BASKET WOULD WORK. BUT WE ARE UNDER PERFORMING. JOSH WELL ANYWAY WE SHOULD BE AT LEAST 500 - WE NEED TO GET A TRUE LEADER/GO TO GUY ON THIS TEAM - EVERYONE STANDS AROUND WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN. NO TEAMWORK EITHER. SAD ! KERI VINNY SEEMS TO SOFT TO ME - MAYBE HE SHOULD HAVE LOU ON THE BENCH. SAM I HIGHLY DOUBT LOU KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT BUCKETS JOSH BUT JUST GETTING HIM THERE WOULD MAKE THESE GUYS PLAY - HE WOULDN’T ALLOW THE DEFENSIVE LAPSES, WALKING DOWN THE COURT, WASTED POSSESSIONS - I FEEL LOU WOULD DO EQUALLY AS GOOD - IF NOT BETTER THAN THE PRESENT REGIME. SAM MAYBE SO - BUT CHICAGO IS REALLY A BASKETBALL CITY AND THIS IS REALLY EMBARRASSING KERI HEY JOSH - THIS GUY BACK THERE WANTS SOME MORE LEINES - EVERYBODY’S DRINKING THE OCTOBERFEST LATELY IT LOOKS LIKE. JOSH YES - WE CAN’T GET ENOUGH - IT’S SEASONAL AND LEINIES IS REALLY HOT AROUND CHICAGO THESE DAYS. KERI SOUNDS LIKE - ZUERCHERS CHEESE IS REALLY HOT JOSH OUR SPECIALS BRING PEOPLE IN FROM ALL OVER - NOW EVEN IOWA AND INDIANA AND A FEW FROM MICHIGAN. WE ARE REGIONAL - NOT JUST THE BORDER FOLKS UP THERE NORTH OF US. KERI SOUNDS GREAT - BUT WHEN WILL YOU MAKE THE BIG JUMP TO WHITE COLLAR WORLD JOSH - I MEAN WEAGHMAN’S PARK IS NICE - BUT A PRETTY GIRL CAN’T LIVE OFF WHAT YOU MAKE DOWN HERE. 10
JOSH WELL I DON’T HAVE A PRETTY GIRL SO THIS WILL GO ON AS LONG AS MY MOM ALLOWS IT - AND SHE IS ON THE FENCE RIGHT NOW - I THINK SHE’S JUST HAPPY I’M AROUND, NOT IN IRAQ, AND NOT UNHAPPILY MARRIED. KERI BUT ALL YOU WEAGHMAN’S PARK GUYS ARE ALL IMMATURE - YOU DON’T WANT TO EVER GROW UP - EVERYTHING IS LIKE HIGH SCHOOL - I’M SORRY LIFE ISN’T LIKE THAT. IT ISN’T. SAM CHILL KERI - WE JUST GOT DONE TALKING ABOUT THIS STUFF - WE’RE OUT HAVING FUN. JOSH KERI - YOU DON’T LOOK GOOD - IT SEEMS YOU ARE ABOUT TO PASS OUT ! SAM I’VE GOT HER JOSH - WE’LL JUST HEAD BACK HOME ON THE RED LINE. SEE YOU SOON.
End-Chapter 2, cold rooms
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