Randy Pausch

Sometime last year, after seeing what the euphoria about the 'Last lecture' was all about in the news, I went to youtube to listen to this man talk. Years of learning from books can only give a person so much knowledge, depending on how much you choose to cram in the brain. Most professors talk - they impart knowledge, some great teachers talk - they exude wisdom. What can be gleaned from the unspoken words, is probably what stays with us through the lifetime. Randy Pausch is one such person. His speech of his childhood dreams was very engaging. What moved me was his attitude - his positive exuberance, his genuine sense of humor and his overwhelming love for his family. So I asked myself, with all my background of 'you-create-your-disease' new agey paradigms - why is this man - with outwardly impeccable personality, life loving, passionate about work, home and family - why is this man terminally ill and is now no more. He was 47 when he died. I don't claim to know every answer, and I most certainly don't know this one.

I think his message and his inspirational speech has reached far and wide, not only because they deserve every iota of attention, but because he was about to die also. I do not mean to sully the image of his message, by suggesting his credit has a little bit of pity attached to it, but merely that - the silver lining of his death is that his life message has reached thousands more, including me, who would have had little to no chance of listening to a carnegie mellon professor of computer science talk about his love for virtual reality and imagineering.

But I'm glad I did know Randy for 75 minutes. Randy - a little bit of 'you' has stuck with your listeners/students and you still live on through the lives you've touched.