Gideon's Crossing

In the opening scene, Gideon is trying to get his son, Eli, off to school. Neither of them is in a good mood, and Eli is being extremely difficult. It's a battle every step of the way. Gideon asks Boise to perform his routine physical for insurance purposes. He eats his first of dozens of antacids eaten through the show. The questions on the lifestyle portion of the exam seem to accuse Gideon of being burnout, impatient and at risk for stress related illness. He dodges the question on alcohol consumption as ""the bear."" Frustrated with Boise's thoroughness and candidness, Gideon ends the session early with this statement ""Sometimes you eat the bear; sometimes the bear eats you."" Gideon is treating a patient with Parkinson's disease. The patient's gradual deterioration has motivated his wife to opt for the highly risky, but sometimes miraculous fetal stem-cell implant therapy. Gideon is apprehensive; the surgery is irreversible and without protocol at this hospital. She insists.