Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 23:10:23 -0000
From: Ann Douglas <ann_douglas@hotmail.com>
Subject: A Study In Scarlett - 3

	A Study In Scarlett
	by Ann Douglas
         (ann_douglas@hotmail.com)

Part Three

	- Today -

	Two hundred eager young faces filled the
front rows of the auditorium as the graduating
class of the Nursing Academy awaited the keynote
speaker.  Normally, the speaker would be an
alumni of the school, or someone from the
medical community who would comment on the
career on which they were about to embark.
	This time, in honor of the school's 25th
anniversary, the speaker was going to be someone
associated with the founding of the school back in
1975.  The recently announced appearance of this
particular commencement guest had filled the hall
to standing room only.
	 At the time the school had been founded,
she had been the CEO and principle owner of the
far-reaching McMurphy Industries.  Although
long since retired from that long held position, she
still sat in the lead chair of the McMurphy
Foundation.  An organization, which, among other
concerns, regularly awarded out scholarships in
the memory of the woman whose name rested on
the academy's letterhead.
	"Ladies and Gentlemen, students and
honored guests,"  the tall Dean of Nursing said
as he stepped up the podium.  "It is my
great honor to introduce a woman, who by the
life she's led needs no introduction.  Her career
and accomplishments as a captain of industry
are only exceeded by her work in the humanities
and the arts. Please join me in welcome Ms.
Scarlett McMurphy."

	A thunderous ovation filled the large hall
as a tall white haired woman appeared from
behing the curtains and quickly moved to the
rostrum. Seventy-two years old, she moved with a
grace and ease which defied her years.  Her soft,
short white hair rested in a carefully crafted style
and her face still reflected the intelligence and
drive that had been the hallmarks of her long life.
To those close enough to see, her most noticeable
features were bright emerald eyes which peered
out from behind round gold rimmed glasses.  Eyes
which still sparked with fire and zeal.
	Scarlett paused until the applause died
down, then thanked everyone for their reception.
Once the sounds of welcome subsided, the
keynote speaker talked for a few minutes about
the school and their careers, exactly the sort of
speech most people expected.

	The white haired woman had been
speaking for a few minutes when she suddenly
paused.  She seemed to be thinking about
something for a few seconds, then seemed to
change her mind about her speech.
	"If you'll forgive an old woman,"  she said
with a touch of humor in her smile, "I think I'd
rather not give the speech I just started.  It's
nothing you haven't heard before, and I'm sure it's
nothing that you'll miss."
	A mixed chorus of laughter from the
graduates replied to her words.  In truth, they had
hoped to hear something more than the same old
speech.
	Scarlett turned to one of the two young
assistants who seemed to follow her everywhere.
In response to her whispered request, the young
blond haired woman reached into her attache case
and handed her boss a thin manila folder.  Scarlett
thanked her and then turned back to the audience.
	"What I'd really like to tell you about,"
The elegant woman continued in a strong clear
voice, "is a woman whose name you see on all the
walls around the school.  Her portrait hangs by
the main entrance and I'm sure most of you pass it
at least once a day."
	Scarlett paused for a moment and took
a sip from the glass of cold water her other
assistant, a short haired Asian girl, had put there
for her.
	"She started her career as an Army Nurse,
in a place few people had ever heard of, at least
until war broke out there a few years after she
arrived.  Aside from her duties in the military, she
also spent those years carrying for the children of
Korea, the innocents who are the most tragic
victims in any conflict.  It was a passion that
consumed her long after both the fighting and her
Army career were behind her.  I'm proud to say
that in her later years, I was in a position to help
with those efforts. "
	Scarlett paused again, wanting to see if she
had the audience's attention.  It only took a brief
moment to see that she did.
	"But even those deeds can be as easily
looked up as the dates of her life that are carved
beneath that portrait." she went on.  "No, what I
want to tell you about is the woman behind those
deeds.  The woman who, for twenty-six years,
was simply the most gracious lady it was ever my
honor to know.  A woman who knew how to
smile, and how to make others laugh.  And a
woman who taught me a definition of love that
few ever come to understand."
	Scarlett paused for a second drink, giving
this speech was harder than she had thought it
would be.  That was why she had originally
started with the more conventional one.
	However, there was no going back now,
not with every seat in the house riveted to her
every word.
	"I like to tell you about Alice Ann
Caldwell",  she said as she seemed to look beyond
the crowd.  "And a life that embodied the goals
and aspirations that everyone in this school should
strive for.  She was more than a name carved in
stone over the entranceway.  She was a living,
breathing human being, who devoted her life to
others.  She was my very best friend."

	Looking down at her folder, Scarlett
beamed as she looked once more at the small
black and white photograph sealed in plastic
that was clipped to her notes.  It was a very old
photograph, showing two young women in front
of an old battered sign.  Of all her considerable
possessions, and among all her varied memories,
that simple faded image was Scarlett's most
treasured keepsake.  It was a brief moment, frozen
forever in time.  A remembrance of love that had
never faded with age.

END