The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture
personal. I didn’t discuss my specific religion in my lecture because I
wanted to talk about universal principles that apply to all faiths—to share
things I had learned through my relationships with people.
Some of those relationships, of course, I have found at church. M.
R. Kelsey, a woman from our church, came and sat with me in the
hospital every day for eleven days after my surgery. And since my
diagnosis, my minister has been very helpful. We belonged to the same
swimming pool in Pittsburgh, and the day after I’d learned my condition
was terminal, we were both there. He was sitting by the pool and I
climbed up on the diving board. I winked at him, then did a flip off the
board.
When I got to the side of the pool, he said to me, “You seem to be
the picture of good health, Randy.” I told him: “That’s the cognitive
dissonance. I feel good and look great, but we heard yesterday that my
cancer is back and the doctors say I only have three to six months.”
He and I have since talked about the ways I might best prepare for
death.
“You have life insurance, right?” he said.
“Yes, it’s all in place,” I told him.
“Well, you also need emotional insurance,” he said. And
then he explained that the premiums of emotional insurance
would be paid for with my time, not my money.
To that end, he suggested that I needed to spend hours making
videotapes of myself with the kids, so they’ll have a record of how we
played and laughed. Years from now, they will be able to see the ease
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