After Shirley's second call, Susan Kelley gazed out the window to the Arboretum lawn.

Things were moving fast. The platform was up. Steve Blanchard was doing a PA sound check. Early arrivers were assembling on the grass. How could anyone stop what was now in motion?

Grimly, she took her cell phone and called a preprogrammed number.

"Hello - Dalai."

At the soothing voice and the familiar joke, Susan's eyes welled with tears.

"Dalai, it's Susan Kelley."

"Ah, Susan. How wonderful of you to call. But Susan: you don't sound very serene today. Have you tried chewing that bark I told you about?"

"Dalai, something terrible has happened. I need your help. We all do."