The Last Lecture

I have been blessed through my life for many things and many people. And I am a firm believer in balance, everything happens for a reason and karma, luck or whatever you want to call it. How you look at it and how you handle it are just as important. You get divorced, you loose money, you loose love...ok. So what do you have? Your health? Maybe you are not in that great of a shape. One thing you can never loose is faith. Oh you can have a crisis of Faith. Who hasn't at one time or another? You think, Why God? Why? Guess what? Climb down off the cross, build a bridge and get over it! (I love that line!!!)

Never explain. Your friends won't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.

In other words, lock up tight and DRIVE ON! A friend here at work and some others are amazed at my attitude; because of everything that has happened to me.

I don't even know why. I just do what has to be done. There was a period that I was depressed. Did I think about taking a long walk off a short pier? Yep? Did I ever do it? Nope. I forget what book, movie or TV Show I say this on; but an alien telepath made the comment to someone about "living in the past" meaning he 'lived' his son committing suicide. That memory was always with him. I don't think I ever lived in a place like that, but we all visit those places. How we handle the things that life throws at us are important. And because of the things that have happened to me I have learned a lot. I am in a better place spiritually and emotionally I think. Financially though, I suck. But that's the trade off. Or as I like to say, payment for what I had. The bill has come due. Financially of course. But also emotionally and a few other 'ly' 's
I love books; I am a bibliophile. I can pick out a few that are my favorite. Ones that I go back and read time and time again, or just parts of. I have a hierarchy of them also. Some books I read all the way through once. Then there are those you have by your bed that you pick up and read a part here and there, or the whole thing because its an easy read. Like the Bible. Yeah, I am comparing some books to the Bible for this reason: if you can take some thing from a book and it stays with you and hopefully helps you and comforts you-that's what the Bible does. I have the Bible by my bed too. It is the first book. Yes, I believe what was written. Yes, I know it was written by humans, and that humans are flawed. No, I do not believe them to be fables or similes or anything but the truth. I do that because I believe. I have faith. I also have a couple of other books there too. And I think I just found another.

A friend here at work has been lunching with me and we have been talking and he even suggested, and I am applying to be, a volunteer firefighter, but he asked if I had read the book, "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. I had seen his video on line and even watched him on Oprah. It is amazing. Also sad and warm felt at the same time. He loaned me the book and said if I thought it was good, then he would read it.

In the book is stuff that I always knew and always "preached" to everyone, about going for your dreams. It follows his lecture pretty good, but when I got to the place about Captain Kirk in the book and the No Win Scenario, I had to made a copy of it. It is amazing! I had just said that a few days ago, about not believing in the NWS and how Kirk was leader. As always, when I read something that goes along 99.9% with my thinking, I knew this man. At least THIS part of him.
It also reinforced things about myself that I have crisis in. Decisions and things where I am the hardest on; more than anyone else.

With the passing of Chief and I know that Randy Pausch also passed-I can only hope that they are together somewhere, along with others that have gone before; and are swapping stories and watching us. I hope his widow and kids know that their man will 'live' a long time. As print is a medium that will never die. And neither the lessons he gave us in his Last Lecture.