The Last Lecture

But I was hugely impressed. Kirk, I mean, Shatner, was the ultimate example of a man who knew what he didn’t know, was perfectly willing to admit it, and didn’t want to leave until he understood. That’s heroic to me. I wish every grad student had that attitude.

Before going to see him, I did eighty hours of homework. I asked all the virtual reality hotshots I knew to share their thoughts and questions about this Disney project. As a result, when I finally met Jon, he was wowed by how prepared I was. (It’s easy to look smart when you’re parroting smart people.) Then, at the end of the lunch, I made “the as

I ended up being so glad I’d spilled that soda. Because later in the weekend, little Chris got the flu and threw up all over the backseat. He didn’t feel guilty. He was relieved; he had already watched me christen the car. He knew it would be OK.

Whenever the kids were with me, we had just two rules: 1) No whining. 2) Whatever we do together, don’t tell Mom.

I hope they’ll also explain to my kids how hard I fought to stay alive. I signed up for the hardest treatments that could be thrown at me because I wanted to be around as long as possible to be there for my kids. That’s the message I’ve asked Laura and Chris to deliver.

THE MOST formidable brick wall I ever came upon in my life was just five feet, six inches tall, and was absolutely beautiful. But it reduced me to tears, made me reevaluate my entire life and led me to call my father, in a helpless fit, to ask for guidance on how to scale it.

The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”

But I like to think that my flaws are in the social, rather than in the moral category.

Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something.