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Tonight was the farewell episode for the character of Dr. Mark Green on E.R., one of only two or three shows I make an effort to watch every week, and one that I’ve watched for years now. I was so profoundly moved by tonight’s story as Mark, played by Anthony Edwards, spends his last days in Hawaii where he grew up, together with his rebellious teenage daughter Rachel, his wife Elizabeth and their baby daughter Ella. He tries to reconcile with Rachel, with what little time he has left, a scene it seems he played out with his father when he was the same age. I can only imagine what it would have been like to watch this episode for someone with children, a daughter especially, and to not have felt so completely overwhelmed with emotion at the thought of it all: What would you do or say to your daughter if you knew your life was waning. How would you spend your last days on this planet with the ones you loved? What would your regrets or wishes be? Would you want to do things differently? How do you want them to live their lives when you are gone?




As the show progresses and he can no longer see what he writes, he asks his wife Elizabeth, if she would help him write letters to his daughters, future letters to be opened at the important moments that will happen in their lives: graduation, their marriage, the birth of their children.




The story nears its conclusion as Rachel comes into the room and sits on the bed beside him. He tries to think of something important to say, something he thinks every father should tell his daughter as the one thing to always remember. He is half-joking of course, as is the nature of his character. His face looks so very tired, the cancer in his brain allowing him almost no mobility at this point, save sleeping and quiet words. Yet his eyes are restful, he speaks to her in a voice that is soft yet clear, and tears from the windows of his gentle soul well into his eyes: ‘Be generous Rachel,’ he says, ‘with yourself, with your life, with your love. Just be generous.’