Ever since I first heard about him - when my brother emailed me a link to his Journeys Lecture (aka 'the last lecture') on YouTube nearly a year ago - I've been following Randy Pausch's story. If you don't know about it/him, there are plenty of places on the web (including his own page) where you can read about his accomplishments, and the inspiring lecture that made him an accidental celebrity.
Like most people who saw it, I was charmed and delighted by the talk and Pausch's infectious enthusiasm and passionate call to dream big, live with wonder and joy, and to push through the tough stuff to really live fully.
But it was the news that he had pancreatic cancer - had been diagnosed a year before (and he underwent the same experimental surgery that my mom had) - and it had come back with a vengeance just a month before his presentation, which gave the lecture a resonance and weight it might not have had otherwise.
And it was this connection - knowing in some small way what he had gone through and was facing - that had me looking in on his 'status update' page at least once/week, and feeling a huge attachment to this stranger and his family.
Pausch understood the desperate need for research, and he allowed himself to become a "poster boy" at a time when most people are just hunkering down with their families trying to get more good days than bad. His grace and humor - his ability to walk his talk (we cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand) - and how he used the media attention around the Lecture to bring attention to this ruthless disease was just amazing.
Over a month ago, his status page - which had grown sparse with updates on how he was doing - suddenly went completely quiet. I'd look in every couple of days, bracing myself. And yesterday, I saw the sad and inevitable news.
I didn't know him, but it feels like a friend has died.
white space
(side note: the lusgarten foundation finally put links up on their site to their fund-raising walks ... october 12th in boston looks like a strong possibility ... and pan-can's 1/2 marathon in miami in january? maybe both ...)
Always sad when a light in the world goes out.
Posted by: Will | July 28, 2008 at 08:25 AM