The Thing Is

A lot has been made of Randy Pausch. You may have heard of him. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon university who was to give the annual last lecture to the students and faculty. Because he was so popular and it was so well attended, they taped his lecture and then posted it on the internet for any students and faculty who missed it in person. It was a big hit on the net because after giving his philosophy of life, he announced that he was doing this lecture for his kids because he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Over 10 million people viewed his lecture on the net and he was interviewed by Diane Sawyer and his lecture was expanded and published as a book.
Now I am not saying that he did not have a good viewpoint or attitude or didn't have something to offer us as we approach the struggles of life. I am also sure that he was a great husband ,dad and human being. But the thing is he had a good life. He was smart and had a good education, married the woman of his dreams and had a lucrative and satisfying academic career.
How come the media never shows us the courage of the underprivileged and downtrodden in this society? Why some Wasp college professor and not some elderly African American lady raising her grandchildren in a crime infested neighborhood? That is my real hero. The person who has the deck stacked against him or her and reaches beyond their limitations to find the truth and good in themselves to overcome for the benefit of someone else. That is a true hero.

Because It Sounded Good At The Time

And because I haven't posted in a long while. Here's something from a blog archive. Supposed to bring me enlightenment. God,do I ever need that! ( I think this is the blog equivalent of burying a statue of St. Joseph upside down in the yard when trying to sell real estate.)

1. Open the nearest book to where you are sitting. Don't reach for anything cool or hip, make it truly the nearest book.

2. Open to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence. (The instructions don't say whether this should be the fifth complete sentence or the fifth including whatever incomplete sentence begins the page. You're on your own here. )

4. Post in your blog the 5th, 6th and 7th sentences, along with these instructions.

5. Upon completing this, enlightenment will be yours. Or at least somebody's.

Ok, I did it so here goes.

"Hours from now. Go on back to Quarters. I mean it."

P.S this picture is from flickr, not mine. I just liked it a lot and since the above quote is from a science fiction novel ( the Pride Of Chanur)about intelligent felines, I thought this was appropriate.