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Randy Pausch - Author of "The Last Lecture" |
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My heart was saddened when I read about the passing away of Randy Pausch, the author of “The Last Lecture.” I must admit that I have not read the book yet but I hope to purchase this evening. Mr. Pausch’s life after diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is another example of how and why we must live life to its fullest everyday. You never know what kind of luck is going to come your way.
Reading about Randy Pausch was like reading the story of one of my mentors who was also taken prematurely by pancreatic cancer. His name was George Hamilton and he was my advisor and instructor at The Pennsylvania State University. Here was a man who was intelligent, driven, humorous and full of integrity, but most of all a family man. He had everything going for him when he got the diagnosis. He kept to his normal routine right up to the end and took the same approach as Randy Pausch in combating the disease, that is, he utilized science, spiritually, optimism and reality.
I will never forget the speech George gave on his condition at one of our professional conferences. I am not sure there was a dry eye in the audience. After the speech he played a power point presentation he made which had many photos between slides displaying the values he thought was important. The background music was “Calling all Angels” by Train.
George Hamilton was 43 when he died four years ago last July leaving behind a loving wife and two daughters. Randy Pausch was 47 and left behind a loving wife and three children. These two men exemplified how to live life. I doubt very much that they had any meaningful regrets. They had their moral compass pointing in the right direction everyday. These two men will not be forgotten and the world is a better place because they lived a good life buy making good choices and giving to others. Let us use their lives as a model for our own.
I will write another entry on Randy Pausch after I read “The Last Lecture.”
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