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A few months ago, doctors told him that he would
probably have no more than six months of good health left. Back
then, he had a 95-percent chance of dying. He is a professor of
computer sciences at an American university. His name is Dr. Randy
Pausch. He will almost surely die soon at age 47. He’s married
with three kids, ages six, four and two. He is dying of pancreatic
cancer, a disease that kills almost every single person it attacks.
Randy isn’t one to back away
from impending death and run off into a corner and wait for it. He
has determined that he will enjoy every remaining day with his wife
and kids. He isn’t morbid or sad, or, if he is, he certainly does
not show it. Instead, he has become a celebrity of sorts.
Randy decided to videotape a talk
for his children to be viewed when they are old enough to
understand. But what made his farewell to his kids more poignant,
more meaningful is that he decided to deliver his talk in front of
his students at the university. He felt that was the thing to do so
that one day they could watch his last lecture and “see their dad
at work, in his element.”
Randy delivered a 70-minute talk
(www.emw.edu/randyslecture) before his students and some faculty of
the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, US. When you know a man
is dying, you tend to listen more closely to him and pay attention
to what he has to say.
His lecture is not about cancer,
but about a father’s effort to digest a lifetime of advice for his
children into one talk, a talk that Randy knew he would not be
around long enough to deliver. He talked about the usual things we
want to teach our children. About good, tenacity, and overcoming the
trials that are part of everyday life. He talked about things that
every parent wishes for his kids: show gratitude, tell the truth, no
job is beneath you. Things like that.
His simple talk somehow got onto
the Internet and has been viewed by more than 10 million people.
That was something Randy never expected.
Somehow, as I said, we tend to
pay more attention to somebody who is giving his farewell message.
When a man faces death, he tends to tell it as it is because he has
nothing to lose. He will not be able to take it back later so you
can expect the truth.
If you have problems about
drugs, alcohol and behavior/attitude call my office at 8206107 or
8251771 or e-mail me at gvcbuenca@vasia.com or write me at P.O. Box
2099 MCPO, Makati City.
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