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 This book is dedicated with love to my mother, Marsha W
for being my role model in education, for developing my pa
public speaking, and life-long learning, and for your unw
support, encouragement, and friendship
 About the Author

Anne Williams is a licensed massage therapist, esthetician, certified

reflexologist, clinical hypnotherapist, registered counselor, aromatherapist,
spa consultant, author, and educator. She is director of education for
Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP), where she
develops support materials and resources for massage students, instructors,
schools, and professional members.
Before joining ABMP, she worked as a massage therapist with a special
focus on healthcare massage for people recovering from car accidents. She
also worked as a massage instructor for 8 years with an emphasis on
curriculum development and program implementation for Ashmead College
in Washington State. She has offered a number of different continuing
education programs including workshops on hot stone massage,
aromatherapy, spa therapies, and reflexology. In 2004, she became
Ashmead’s director of education and ran the education program at the
Tacoma campus for 3 years.
Since she has been with ABMP, she has served on the Federation of State
Massage Therapy Boards’ (FSMTB) test writing committee and developed
ABMP’s Student Success Program and a wide range of resources for schools
and instructors. She also wrote the curriculum and implemented the
“Instructors on the Front Lines” massage teacher training program for ABMP
and acted as project coordinator and editor for a joint book project between
ABMP and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) titled Teaching Massage:
Foundation Principles in Adult Education for Massage Program Instructors,
which was published in October 2008. She is also the author of Spa
Bodywork: A Guide for Massage Therapists, and publishes articles for
Massage & Bodywork magazine. When not writing or working at ABMP,
Anne loves rock climbing, ice climbing, hiking, camping, trail running,
biking, skiing, hanging out with friends, and anything that gets her out into
Colorado’s beautiful countryside.
 Preface

Massage Mastery: From Student to Professional is organized into 24

chapters that cover the key areas addressed in massage programs of 500 to
1200 hours in length. It does not cover the subject of anatomy and
physiology, recognizing that this important topic should probably be covered
in a separate textbook. The space created by the absence of anatomy and
physiology allows a broad discussion of foundation massage to be addressed
with appropriate depth for a beginning student progressing to an entry-level
professional. It also allows for the inclusion of new topics that are necessary
to prepare today’s adult learners for successful massage careers. A helpful
appendix on healthcare terminology, a comprehensive massage glossary, and
ancillary materials complete the package.
Organization, Structure, and Content
The textbook is broken into two parts. Part I (Theory-Focused Topics)
presents program subjects that form the framework of a professional massage
practice with particular focus on building “soft-skills.” Effective
communication, professionalism, critical thinking, maintaining a healthy
therapeutic relationship with clients, and practicing good ethics are
highlighted. Detailed chapters on massage effects and indications, and
massage cautions and contraindications help adult learners understand the
powerful reactions clients have to massage and to work safely from early in
their studies. A thorough career planning a self-assessment process presented
in Chapter 9 (Your Massage Career) provides adult learners with personal
information to envision the future in a way that meaningfully frames their
educational experiences.
Part II (Technique-Focused Topics) teaches practical skills in logical
progression matching students’ developing abilities. Subjects like positioning
clients, modest draping, opening and closing the massage, and proper body
mechanics lead to information on a variety of common massage systems
including Swedish massage, seated massage, spa therapies, hydrotherapy,
stone massage, reflexology, myofascial release, and deep tissue and
neuromuscular therapy. For schools that introduce students to Eastern
bodywork a chapter on Chinese medicine concepts that underlie Asian
bodywork therapy, and a taste of techniques from tuina, shiatsu, Thai, and
ayurvedic massage is helpful. Similarly, Chapter 18 (Energetic Approaches)
describes key concepts in energy medicine, reiki, polarity therapy, and
therapeutic touch.

Thorough Coverage of Assessment, Treatment

Planning, and Documentation
Treatment planning, and documentation are essential skills that students need
to practice effectively in all massage-related settings. Massage Mastery
separates these issues related to wellness massage and health care massage
into two in-depth chapters instead of lumping them together. In Chapter 12
(Assessment, Treatment Planning, and Documentation for Wellness
Massage) students learn the basics of visual assessment, palpation assessment
and session planning. They are introduced to SOAP (subjective, objective,
assessment, and plan) charting and quick forms often used for recording
information related to relaxation-oriented massages. Posture, range of
motion, pain assessment, treatment planning, and documentation specific to
healthcare massage are taught later, in Chapter 19 (Assessment, Treatment
Planning, and Documentation for Healthcare Massage), when students have
the foundation to absorb these sophisticated concepts.

Thorough Coverage of Massage for Clients with

Specialized Needs
The final chapters of the book integrate information for adult learners ready
to take on advanced skills and work with clients who have specialized needs.
Chapter 22 (Musculoskeletal Injury and Massage) explores the forces that
stress soft-tissue and lead to injury, the inflammatory response, and massage
techniques effective for common conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome,
whiplash, sprains, and strains. Chapter 23 (Massage for Chronic Pain
Conditions and Selected Pathologies) explains the anatomy of pain, the
impact of pain on quality of life, and describes massage for osteoarthritis,
rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, headaches, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. In
Chapter 24 (Massage for Special Populations), students learn how to work
with athletes, mothers and babies, elderly clients, obese clients, clients living
with disabilities, and the terminally ill.

Chapter Structure Designed for Today’s Adult

Learners
Adult learners in massage school are a dynamic group consisting of
individuals from different generations, cultures, ethnicities, with different
personality preferences, cognitive styles, learning patterns, and life
experiences. They are often balancing multiple responsibilities including
family obligations, full or part-time work, the need for social interaction, and
school. Education researchers notice that specific practices can build adult
motivation for learning.1 One area that requires careful reflection is
homework assignments. Researchers report that typical homework
assignments can burden adult learners in ways that lead to lower motivation
for learning, lower grades, and lower student retention rates.2 Associated
Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP) Instructors on the Front Lines
massage teacher training program recommend that teachers assign no more
than 10 pages of reading per day and use a specific reading system to take
notes from textbooks. Adult learners receive points when reading notes are
turned in as homework.3 In response to this research, Massage Mastery was
structured so that each chapter is broken down into a number of specific
topics. These “bite-sized” chunks of related information make perfect reading
assignments for adult learners. This organization also makes it easy for
teachers to match the textbook to a variety of curriculum models.

Textbook Content Designed to Address Recent

Trends in Massage Education
A decade ago adult learners were often older students “dropping out” of
corporate America in search of a more holistic profession. Today,
approximately two-thirds of massage students are younger and choosing
massage as a first profession, and this percentage is likely to get larger. This
change in massage school demographics suggests that schools add material in
particular subject areas to ensure their younger graduates have the skills
necessary to work successfully in the massage field. Massage Mastery
addresses these new topic areas and allows massage teachers to include
instruction on building therapist emotional intelligence and understanding the
psychological factors at play in a therapeutic relationship (Chapter 7),
interpersonal communication skills as a precursor to professional
communication (Chapter 8), and critical thinking in relationship to
contraindications, client populations, and session planning (Chapters 5, 12,
19, 22, 23, and 24). In addition, Chapter 4 (The Therapeutic Nature of
Massage) teaches research literacy and provides a meaningful discussion on
evidenced-based massage. A feature titled, “It’s True!” discussed later in this
preface reinforces the value of massage research as a fundamental aspect of
our technique choices. Another emerging change in the massage profession is
the movement from private practice to work as an employee. Massage
Mastery addresses this trend with an expanded section on writing resumes
and cover letters, interviewing, and expectations of employers.
Textbook Features
Massage Mastery has many features that support student academic success.
Chapter outlines, key words, learning objectives, and introductions help adult
learners find information quickly and preview the subject of a chapter. As
mentioned previously, topics inside the chapters are structured to allow for
manageable reading assignments that build a student’s sense of
accomplishment and motivation. Every effort has been made to ensure that
Massage Mastery is colorful and visually instructive. Tables, boxes, charts,
graphs, and anatomical illustrations illuminate theoretical content. Self-
assessments, proficiency checklists, and scenarios bring skill sets to life in
real-world examples. Special learning features include technique boxes,
concept briefs, and the Massage Fusion section at the end of chapters.

Technique Boxes
For the purposes of this textbook, a massage technique is defined as a
specific procedure used to produce a particular therapeutic outcome. It can
usually be applied to a variety of body areas with minor adaptations. For
example, tapotement is a rapid and rhythmic percussive technique used to
“drum” on the client, stimulating the muscles and improving muscle tone.
Each individual massage technique is pulled out of the body of the text,
illustrated with photographs, and clearly labeled. This organization of content
allows students to efficiently work through step-by-step directions when
learning a new skill. It also helps students understand that a particular
technique is often used in a variety of massage systems or applied in
integrated forms of massage. A list of techniques at the front of the textbook
helps learners easily locate and practice techniques.

Concept Briefs
Concept Briefs act like note cards for adult learners when they preview or
review a chapter. The purpose of these boxes is to distill relatively complex
concepts into understandable bits of information that provide “anchors” for
students reading through new or challenging material.
Massage Fusion Section
The Massage Fusion section at the end of chapters includes several
components that assist adult learners as they integrate theory and technique.
Study Tips: The Study Tips feature in the Massage Fusion section
provides useful hints for how to approach information and study
efficiently. In Chapter 12 (Assessment, Treatment Planning, and
Documentation for Wellness Massage) the study tip is called, Nothing
Lost in Translation. It reminds students that when they begin charting it
is helpful to write out everything in long hand on a “scrap” SOAP chart
in the proper sections. After the session, rewrite the SOAP chart
translating the longhand into abbreviations. This insures that students
collect all of the relevant information and learn proper abbreviations at
the same time. While this is time-consuming at first, it is the surest way
to build good skills. Soon students naturally progress to writing in an
abbreviated format and charting gets faster.
Good to Know: This feature provides background material that clarifies
aspects of a topic to build insight or to form connections to students’
personal interests or experiences. For example, the Good to Know
feature in Chapter 3 (Sanitation, Hygiene, and Safety) takes a close look
at allergies and explains the impact of allergies on the body’s immune
system. In Chapter 6 (Ethics & the Law), the Good to Know feature
explains how massage therapists can get involved with legislative
processes in the states where they practice massage.
Massage Inspiration: This feature in the Massage Fusion pages
encourages students to have fun and enjoy the process of becoming a
therapist. It is particularly useful for kinesthetic learners who need to
“do” in order to learn efficiently. For example, in Chapter 13 (Swedish
Massage Techniques), students make a CD of their favorite songs to
experience how music and the emotional state it produces affect
technique application. Students play their CDs, which may contain any
style of music they like, while giving a massage to classmates, friends,
or family members. The goal is to incorporate the emotions of the music
into the massage—even if this means departure from traditional
techniques. This exercise helps students develop a flowing, connected
progression of strokes. Like many Massage Inspiration activities, this
can also be used as a classroom exercise.
It’s True: With an increased interest in the scientific basis for the
benefits of massage, researchers like Tiffany Field at the Touch
Research Institute have designed clinical studies that demonstrate health
benefits that many massage therapists have long known. Research is
showing that massage has provable benefits for the human body and
should be viewed as a viable treatment for a variety of conditions
including chronic pain, tension headache, fibromyalgia, and depression.
It’s True! highlights massage research relevant to specific chapter topics.
Chapter Wrap Up: This closing feature is designed to encourage
students to keep learning, even when school feels challenging. They
remind students to remember how far they have come in their
educational processes and relate information in a variety of chapters to
one another so that students understand how various bits of massage
learning fit into an integrative whole.
Online Resources
To provide support students and instructors as they use this text, a wide
array of resources are offered online at http://thePoint.lww.com/Williams-
Mastery.

Student Resources
Student Resources available are the following:
Free Study Guide, with quiz questions and exercises relating to all topics
discussed in the text. The Study Guide includes Learning Contracts and
Rubrics for gauging progress.
Quiz Bank
Videos demonstrating many of the techniques found in the text
Audio Glossary

Instructor Resources
Online resources to support instructors and massage programs are the
following:
Lesson Plans keyed to Chapter Objectives, including activities and tips
for teaching the topics presented in text
Image Bank
PowerPoint slides
Test Generator
A Note to Students
I am excited for you because you have chosen to embark on a challenging
and very rewarding journey. Each class, each practice massage, each
instructor, and each of your classmates has something to teach you that may
dramatically affect how you think about your life, the human body, and the
power of touch. Massage is an exciting field because it is both a science and
an art. In massage school you learn that the body is both delicate and
resilient. You learn that some things are easy to explain and supported by
scientific research and that some things are not explained but work anyway.
While massage does involve very specific procedures and detailed
techniques, it is also a form of creative expression. Massage moves and flows
like dance, or music, or painting. Great therapists combine the science and art
of massage seamlessly in sessions that inspire many clients to make positive
changes in their lives and attain a higher level of health. I hope that this
textbook helps you connect information and build conceptual knowledge to
inform a satisfying massage career. Massage school can be stressful at times,
but if you keep your eye on your goals, stay positive, keep trying, and keep
learning, very soon you will be a skilled professional massage therapist.
Welcome to the massage profession!
I am grateful for the opportunity to share massage with all of the inspiring
and talented therapists and students who populate our profession. I invite
professionals, instructors, school administrators, and students to share with
me their experiences, best practices, and suggestions. I can be reached at
anne.williams20@yahoo.com.
Anne Williams,
Boulder Colorado, 2011
1. Tennant M. Psychology and Adult Learning. 3rd ed. London and New
York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2006.
2. Wlodkowski RJ. Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn, Revised Edition: A
Comprehensive Guide for Teaching All Adults. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-
Bass Publishers, 1999.
3. Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals. Workshop Handout for
Instructors on the Front Lines: From Handholding to Capacity Building.
Information available at www.abmp.com, 2011.
User’s Guide
 Acknowledgments

Writing and producing Massage Mastery: From Student to Professional has

involved the contributions of many people, some who are unknown. I am
thankful to all of them and would like to acknowledge those who stand out
here.
During its development, Massage Mastery: From Student to Professional
has been reviewed by a number of professionals in the massage industry,
each of whom has given time and thought and provided helpful inputs. I
would like to thank them for their time and contribution.
Thanks to the photographers, Rick Giase and Mel Curtis for their visual
contribution to the book and for being such lovely people. Thanks to the
models and also to Angie Patrick and Massage Warehouse for help with
some of the images of massage equipment.
Thanks also to the amazing team at Lippincott Williams & Wilkins for their
tireless enthusiasm and hard work. I would particularly like to thank Linda
Francis for her understanding, great organization, and dedication to the
project.
I am grateful for the insight, creativity, and vision of John Goucher who
played an essential role in the formulation of the plan for this book. John will
forever be one of my favorite brainstorming partners. Thank you, John. I also
want to remember Pete Darcy, my first acquisitions editor, who suggested me
for this project.
A huge “Thank you!” to the two people who have helped me to develop as
a writer. First, Keith Shawe, whose considerate feedback of my first book
helped me to learn and grow both as a writer and person. Just as important
was my development editor on this project, Tom Lochhaas. Tom, I thought I
was good at structuring content. You showed me just how much I still have to
learn. Thank you for your insane skills as a writing coach and textbook
development editor. Your insights into structure, content delivery, and style
have changed me forever and influence my thinking everyday.
I am grateful for the amazing massage professionals, instructors, and
administrative staff I have had the privilege of working with and learning
from including Amy Klein, Amy Stark, Andrew Biel, Angie Parris-Raney,
Angie Patrick, Ben Benjamin, Bill Fee, Bill Langford, Carey Rosen, Carole
Osborne-Sheets, Cherie Sohnen-Moe, Cheryl Young, Chris Froelich, Christy
Cael, Cliff Korn, David Christian, Debra Persinger, Deby Giske, Dennis and
Gina Simpson, Elan Schacter, Felicia Brown, Gini Ohlson, Jack Elias, Jade
Shutes, Jan Schwartz, Jeff Mahadeen, James Sutherlin, Jill Standard, Jesse
Cormier, Kathryn Bromley, Katie Armitage, Kathy Thielen, Kim Precord,
Laura Allen, Marla Gold, Marsha Elston, Marti Mornings, Mary Ann Foster,
Mary O’Reilly, Mary Rose, Melanie Hayden, Melody Lickert, Meredyth
Given, Nina McIntosh, Patty Glen, Ray Siderius, Rick Rosen, Rita Wynegar,
Roger Patrizio, Sara Gregg, Scott Dartnall, Su Bibik, Susan Salvo, Suzanne
Carroll, Til Luchau, Vickie Branch, Vicky Karr, and Victoria Robertson.
A special “thank you” to CG Funk, Darren Buford, Diana Thompson, Erin
Murphy, Jenny Good, Lara Bracciante, Leslie Young, Lorine Hill, Mary
Bryan, Ruth Werner, and Whitney Lowe for their great insights and influence
on my thinking and work.
I extend my sincere appreciation to my parents, family, and friends for
understanding when I couldn’t be at events because I was working on the
book, and for their unwavering support and encouragement during the time
that I was writing. “Thank you” to Mom and Dad, Jill Shawe, Cindy, Larry,
Jason, and Sarah Rantanen, Pam, Kurt, Joe, Gloria, and Natalie Mayer, Rick,
Sharon, Jeff, and Gayle Selden, Anthony Knoll, Derek Peace, Deanna Scalf,
Edana Biddle, Gretchen Pelsma, and Kim Virant.
I also want to thank my fitness trainer and friend, Burt Henry, for helping
me close the computer and pick up a dumbbell. I gained 30 lb on the last
book and lost 30 on this one. Thank you, Burt!
I am especially grateful to my rock climbing and adventure family who
entice me away from the computer regularly, ask about progress on the book,
and make my life so much fun. Thank you, Abram Herman, Jon Barr, Ronie
Warner, Arthur Nisnevich, Michael Pastko, Tyler Knowles, Adele Schopf,
Chris Devenney, Ryan Jaret, David Weinstein, Christy Sims, Jerilyn
Sambrooke, Tiffany and Zack Shocklee, Meg Letts, Katie Mills, Eric Brown,
Seth Brown, Matt Esper, Jim Erickson, and Mike Munger. Abram and Jon, I
think you know you did very little to support my writing process and that
more often you were a complete distraction! Both of you helped me learn to
Another random document with
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 Oh, I know we’ll get tired of each other if that’s what you’re
suggesting.

Sabine
(Detecting an agreeing look in Randolph’s face)
That may be what I mean. (Eyeing Randolph keenly as he sees
her bite her lips.) If that’s all, I’ll return to the library.

Randolph
Have you no suggestions?

Sabine
(Coldly)
Be careful not to make a fool of me—in public.

Mrs. Sabine
There speaks the man.

Randolph
Then you’ll be silent?

Sabine
Until——

Randolph
Until?

Sabine
Until you get your deserts.
 Randolph
A threat?

Sabine
(Smiling)
No. Only I know my wife.

Mrs. Sabine
And that’s the sort of man I married. (To Sabine) Do you blame me
for throwing you over?

Sabine
Have I?

Mrs. Sabine
(Indignantly)
How dared you open me to this?

Randolph
Don’t blame him, Mary.

Mrs. Sabine
(Indignantly)
You knew, and you let him steal your wife.

Sabine
Some men like their women that way.

Mrs. Sabine
 Isn’t it funny! It’s losing its romance—being handed over like some
food at supper. Isn’t it funny—and disappointing.

Randolph
I can’t say I admire you, Sabine.

Sabine
No, you can’t. But you will when you know my wife better.

Mrs. Sabine
(Losing control)
I’m more ashamed of you than I am of myself. Why didn’t you stop
me if you knew? What’s the reason? Why didn’t you strike me? Why
didn’t you, so I could feel you and I were quits? Why didn’t you—like
that and that. (She strikes him furiously with her gloves once or
twice, but he continues smiling.)

Randolph
Mary, don’t let’s have a scene. Sh!

Mrs. Sabine
I wanted a scene! And to think I wasn’t even worth insulting!
(She goes out quickly, leaving the hall door open. She has
dropped her glove and as Randolph, with a resigned,
half-bored air, starts to follow her, Sabine stoops, picks up
the glove and, smiling, halts Randolph.)

Sabine
My wife dropped her glove. Will you take it to her? I have my work,
and, as you remarked, another month will about finish it.
 Randolph
(Smiling in spite of himself)
Life would be so much simpler if all husbands were so
considerate.

Sabine
The spice would be gone.

Randolph
I suppose she is waiting——

Sabine
—For the glove. (Offering it to him.)

Randolph
(Taking it)
Yes: for her glove.

Sabine
I’m glad you will drive in the closed car.

Randolph
(At the door)
Our reputations must be protected.

Sabine
No man likes to be made a fool of.

Randolph
 (Slowly)
After all, she’s only a woman and they’re all alike, eh?

Sabine
(Slowly)
All alike. Yes.

Randolph
(Casually)
You’ll find the cigarettes on the table.

Sabine
Thanks.
(Randolph goes out, closing the door. Sabine stands a
moment, then turns to the window and looks off till he
sees the car has driven away. He turns down the light and
then crossing eagerly, he knocks on Paula’s door. He
repeats this.)
Paula! Paula!!
(He stands waiting.)
[Curtain]
 FOOTNOTES:
[E] Copyright by George Middleton. See back of title
page.
 THE HOUSE
THE PEOPLE
Charles Ray, a professor of philosophy.
Elizabeth, his wife.

SCENE
A room in an apartment hotel suite. One evening.
 THE HOUSE[F]
Professor and Mrs. Ray are at the little table finishing their coffee.
In the center there is a white-robed birthday cake with three golden
candles sending a gentle light on them. A myriad of faint wrinkles on
the Professor’s kindly face might betray his age, though his thin
body, in spite of its slight stoop, belies his seventy years. As he sits
there precisely dressed in his evening clothes, he is the
personification of fine breeding, the incarnation of all that blood and
culture can produce. And through it all, there glows an alluring
whimsy which one has no right to expect in a professor of
philosophy.
Mrs. Ray, gowned also for the ceremony they are celebrating, is
ten years younger; soft and gentle, too, yet sadder somehow, as
though, in spite of her effort to live in his enthusiasms, it has become
a bit difficult to sustain his mood of happiness.
But as they sip their coffee alone in the hotel suite with its
conventional furnishings of a stereotyped comfort, graced only by a
large bunch of white roses, one senses the deep and abiding
affection which has warmed their long life together.

Professor
(With a sigh of contentment)
Ah!
(He sees she is thoughtful: he reaches over and takes
from behind the table the quart bottle of champagne. He
 pours a little in her glass.)

Mrs. Ray
Oh, dear; I’m afraid I’ve had enough.

Professor
Nonsense.

Mrs. Ray
But I’m beginning to feel it.

Professor
That’s the intention. (Filling his glass.) There. Now a toast.
(Standing with the greatest gallantry.) Here’s to my comrade of forty
years: may we have as many more together.

Mrs. Ray
Oh, Charles, I’m afraid that’s asking too much of Providence.

Professor
We should ask much and be satisfied with less.

Mrs. Ray
(Raising her glass)
To my friend and husband.

Professor
You make a distinction?

Mrs. Ray
 The world does.

Professor
What is the world doing here on our wedding anniversary?
(Seriously) Let’s drink to each other—and the children.

Mrs. Ray
(Wistfully looking at the candles)
And the children.
(They sip: he shows he enjoys it; she sits thoughtfully
while he takes out his cigarette case. He starts to take
one, and then, with a twinkle in his eyes, offers her the
case.)

Professor
Cigarette, dear?

Mrs. Ray
(Smiling)
No: thank you. I shan’t begin at my time of life.

Professor
Cato learned Greek at eighty. The minute people cease to learn—
even a vice—they have begun to grow old. So beware.

Mrs. Ray
(Striking a match)
Let me light it for you.

Professor
 (Slyly)
Which illustrates a woman’s part in life: encouraging vice in men,
eh? (He lights it and puffs in enjoyment.) I must say I like my idea
about the cake and the candles.

Mrs. Ray
It’s lovely, dear. Who but you would have thought of having a
birthday cake on our wedding anniversary.

Professor
I started to put forty candles: one for each year; but there was no
room left for the cake.

Mrs. Ray
I like the idea of three—just three.

Professor
Yes; three birthdays that meant so much in our time together:
Teddy, Mary and Paul.

Mrs. Ray
Forty years!

Professor
It’s a long while to be married, dear. Speaks well for our patience,
eh?

Mrs. Ray
And not a word to-night from our three children.

Professor
 (Waving it aside)
After all, our marriage didn’t concern them—at the time.

Mrs. Ray
And we never forget their anniversaries.

Professor
But think how important those have always been from the
beginning: each one the start of a great adventure for us.

Mrs. Ray
And more responsibility.

Professor
Certainly. Isn’t that the way we have broadened our lives? Think,
dear, of how many times we have been young—once with our own
youth and three times with our candles.

Mrs. Ray
(She rises and goes to the roses which she inhales)
And our hair is white.

Professor
(Gallantly rising also)
That can’t be blamed on the children. White hair doesn’t indicate
marriage—always. It’s a matter of pigment, I’m told, and affects
bachelors equally.

Mrs. Ray
You’re right, of course, dear. We have kept young through having
our children; only——
 Professor
(Coming to her)
Only what? Surely there isn’t a regret as you look back?

Mrs. Ray
Oh, no, not regret; only so many of our dreams have never been
realized.

Professor
(As he breaks off a rose and gives it to her)
But we have dreamed; that’s the important thing, isn’t it?

Mrs. Ray
(Looking at rose)
I suppose so.

Professor
Of course it is, dear. And we have dreamed more than most
because we have been young four times.

Mrs. Ray
(As she crosses to the sofa)
But it’s always been through others—for others.

Professor
But now it is for ourselves.

Mrs. Ray
(Smiling)
 You mean our house?

Professor
Yes. Now that they’ve retired me with a pension and our children
no longer need our help, we can build our house.

Mrs. Ray
(Wearily, as she sits)
We have built so many houses.

Professor
Yes. Life’s an experiment. Remember the first little cottage where
Teddy was born? It didn’t leave us much margin even though it was
small. Come to think of it, dear, we’ve built three houses, haven’t
we?

Mrs. Ray
It’s the fourth we’ve really thought of most—and that hasn’t been
built yet.

Professor
That’s to be ours—all ours; with room for the children if they want
to come back.

Mrs. Ray
Oh, that’s it: they won’t come back now. Our house won’t suit
them.

Professor
(Taking a chair over near her)
 How can we expect them to come into a house that isn’t even
built? You know our modern children are very peculiar. They get that
from you.

Mrs. Ray
Nonsense. It’s you who are peculiar. Just look at the kind of house
you want.

Professor
(Doubtfully)
It is different from yours, I’ll admit.

Mrs. Ray
I don’t object to the architecture. It’s the surroundings you insist
on.

Professor
You want the city and I want the forest.

Mrs. Ray
(Shaking her head)
We’ll never agree.

Professor
(As though with an inspiration)
I have a solution. I’ll live in your city house, if you’ll have my forest
around it.

Mrs. Ray
I’m afraid, dear, that is a bit impractical at present prices.
 Professor
(With a whimsical smile)
But we certainly can’t have the city you love around my house in
the woods! I’m afraid of the streets.

Mrs. Ray
Any friendly policeman would help you across them.

Professor
Think of me walking arm in arm with a policeman! I must consider
my reputation, even though I am seventy. No. (With a twinkle.) I can’t
seem to visualize the house, can you, dear?

Mrs. Ray
It isn’t like your dream or mine.

Professor
No. I’d have a hard time finding my birch trees in the moonlight.
Have you ever noticed how lovely they are when the leaves have all
gone?

Mrs. Ray
Somehow they are no more lovely than the sense of life in the tall
ugly buildings man has built with his own hands.

Professor
But trees are eternal.

Mrs. Ray
That’s where we differ. I live in to-day: you live in all time.
 Professor
That’s my profession. You lose count of time when you are a
philosopher.

Mrs. Ray
And I am a woman of the world.

Professor
(As he goes to light another cigarette from the candles)
I’d hardly describe you that way, my dear; that sounds so naughty.

Mrs. Ray
I mean I love every minute that passes and everything the moment
brings. I love the people who are of that moment.

Professor
You still dream of having a salon of celebrities?

Mrs. Ray
(Smiling)
It’s no worse than the museum of antiquities on your book shelves.
But I keep forgetting you want your house in the forest so you can
write about the dead.

Professor
And you want your house in the city for the living.

Mrs. Ray
I wish we could compromise somehow.
 Professor
If we only had more money I could do away with the wilderness
and content myself with a few wooded acres, I suppose. Only it must
be roomy where the winds can speak. And I must have some wild
things about. Though perhaps I could compromise on a pet squirrel,
if necessary. (He smiles.) And if I met you that far do you think you
would be willing to live an hour or so from the city?

Mrs. Ray
Why, of course. But haven’t we been looking for that sort of place
for years; even when we weren’t free to live where we wished?

Professor
I can’t see why money is always getting in the way of our dreams.
I often wonder what scoundrel it was who first invented money.

Mrs. Ray
And yet we might now be able to have what we wished if——

Professor
If? The eternal if?

Mrs. Ray
(She has gone to the table, placing rose there)
I was thinking of all we gave up for our children.

Professor
Wasn’t it jolly?

Mrs. Ray
 While we still dreamed of the house we two would build for
ourselves.

Professor
With rooms for them, don’t forget that.

Mrs. Ray
And now where are our children?

Professor
Living—maybe dreaming a bit of our dreams and not knowing it is
ours. That’s the lovely thing about dreams: I like to think they are
never lost.

Mrs. Ray
Yet here we sit alone on our anniversary and they have forgotten.

Professor
The young have so many things to remember.

Mrs. Ray
And we can never build our house now.

Professor
Nonsense. We can go on building it just as though it were really
possible. Come, little mother, let’s be young together to the end. I’ll
have to throw another log on this make-believe open fire in my
house. (He pulls the sofa around so it faces the radiator which he
eyes dubiously.) Hm! That won’t stimulate the imagination. Wait! I
know.
 (He goes over to the table and smiling quaintly
he lifts up the cake with its three burning
candles and carefully places it on the low radiator.
Then he presses a switch on wall nearby
and the lights overhead go out, leaving only the
candles, a desk lamp and the moonlight through
the window to give the shadows life. He laughs
and warms his hands before the candles as he
would before a fire.)
Come, dear, before my fire! By the way, is there a log fire in your
dream-house, dear?

Mrs. Ray
(Smiling and fitting in with his fancy)
If you are to be with me, of course.

Professor
Well then we have a blazing fire in both our houses, eh? (He sits
beside her on sofa and they gaze at candles.) And how economical
fuel is when you dream about it. I’ve got a whole forest waiting to be
cut by me, to-morrow, after I’ve worked all morning on my new book.

Mrs. Ray
And I’ve been to the musicale at the Biltmore.

Professor
What did you do this afternoon, dear?

Mrs. Ray
(Tapping his arm)
Oh, I had a brilliant reception.