The tail end of CBS news today captured the tail end of one man's legacy. Or should I say the beginning of his legacy? Wow. I stopped in my tracks for this poignant interview with a professor about his last lecture. "Last lectures" have become known on campuses as the talk one would give if he/she had this last chance to share and teach. Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon gave such a talk. The difference-- he really IS dying. When asked if he'll be here for Christmas, he said 50/50. Father's Day? "I wouldn't buy me anything."
An inspirational, if bittersweet, lecture by Randy Pausch, given on September 18, 2007:
last lecture video link This is a brief excerpt. I highly recommend viewing the full lecture version (you can fast forward) so you can absorb more of his "lessons learned" especially, and the end of his talk.
full lecture video
CBS correspondent Steve Hartman writes: I can't possibly tell you everything I want to tell you about Randy in
this short blog. Tonight's story will be equally lacking. Which is why
I've asked Katie and our other executives here at CBS if I can visit
with Randy every few weeks for as long as he has to live. They have
agreed. Randy is thinking about it - although he cautioned me to be
careful what I wish for. "Death can get ugly," he said. Maybe, but I think he's got more than enough life to shine through.
Randy says he doesn't know how to not have fun. "I'm dying and I'm having fun." He reminds me of my friend Tom, who died recently at age 37. He threw a big celebration party (insisted on this instead of a funeral) at which he repeatedly told us,"I love my life" and passed out gifts to us. Tom managed to fall in love with and get married after he knew he was dying and before he passed. I received a beautiful, unexpected thank you note from him- and was reading it near the moment he actually made his final transition.
In their dying, these men show us how to live.
