Last Lecture Response 1

Chapter One began with Randy discussing the preparations he and his family had made for their life after his departure, and how he had finally decided to do (and received the okay for) his Last Lecture.

Initially, the chapter depicts a meeting with their therapist where Randy and Jai (his wife) are trying to decide whether or not Randy is going to do the lecture. Jai obviously has qualms with the idea, given the short time they have left together and the large amout of time the preparation would take. Also, the Lecture would mean that she would spend her last birthday with Randy alone; a scary concept given the years to come.

I really connected with Jai here; with more than one expirience. I must admit, I had a hard time not crying through this segment. A couple years ago, my father was diagnosed with COPD, and was told that he only had at most six years left. I was still in highschool when I heard this. All of a sudden I got hit with all of the things my father would probably never get to do. My mother had just given birth to my youngest siblings Robert and Marian; would he get to see them graduate? Would he be able to teach them all the things he had shown me as I was growing up? What about we the older children? Would he ever see any of his girls become brides? How about teach his son how to drive? It was scary, and a lot to take in at once. Soon after, my eldest sister offered to let me go live with her in Boston; my original home. It's something I had wanted since I moved to New York; I wanted to go home. I chose to stay in New York to stay closer to my father. Knowing how little time he had, I didn't want to leave and then regret not having that time with him. Even now, my boyfriend (fiance to be) and I decided that rather than travel to get married, we are staying local so my father can see at least one of his little girls is taken care of.

My boyfriend is my other connection with Jai. From September 27th (my 18th birthday) to January 24th, he was away more than he was around. He would be home for a short time, and then gone for a far longer one (the most extreme example being home for an hour, then gone for 2 1/5 months) When he was home, I didn't want to share his time with anyone. The idea of how much it was going to hurt when he left again was indescribable. When during my mid-day astronomy class I received a call that he was on his way, and he didn't have long I hung up the phone, grabbed my things, and simply left class. I walked into the office and signed myself out, then walked off of school grounds to wait for him. I was with him for an hour, then he was gone. I hurt bad enough that when my best friend's brother/my tae kwon do instructor/ one of my best friends (all the same person) made a comment of happiness that he was gone, I started hitting him as hard as I could anywhere I could and did not stop until my friend pulled me off of him. He was thankful for that which made me want to curl up and not come out till my boyfriend came back. He and I have not spoken since. I was only losing my boyfriend temporarily, even if it was going to be a long time; he'd be back. I can only imagine how much agony the idea of losing time with Randy must have been.

But Randy also had several points; he needed to make his mark and he needed to leave a message for his children. In that context, Jai consented to Randy giving the lecture.

Again, I made connections here. The main connection I made was when I damaged my knee in 9th grade. My at the time friend (now fiance) and I had been sparring, and he had wound up tripping and landed full weight on my knee. My kneecap slid out of its tracks and never went back in correctly due to my musclular structure, a problem commonly known as Runner's Knee. Unfortunately, I couldn't take it to a doctor given the lack of transportation and time. That same week my gym teacher started the track unit and did not want to hear that I could barely bend my knee much less run. So, he pushed me hard. It looked like I was going to avoid any further damage until during the mile run when my knee gave out beneath me. I was taken to the nurse and spent three months in physical therapy only to be told there was nothing to be done. I could no longer participate in competitive sports; something I dearly loved. Then my best friend's brother offered to teach me Tae Kwon Do. Given that it mainly focuses on the legs, it may help improve my muscle strength. My parents were both very against it because neither wanted me to injure my knee further. I had to do it. It's funny, at both of my belt tests I was honored by the heads of the Quiet Society for being not only competent and willing to learn, but unwilling to accept 'oops' as an excuse. If I messed up, I got mad. When I left the society, I had just received my Green Belt and was supposed to be going to the first competition that the society had competed in for many years. Even wounded, I had to shine.

In the next section, Randy had to come up with his topic; he knew he did not want the lecture to be about his death, but rather about his life and what made him unique. In the end he decided to give his lecture about his childhood dreams.

For the lecture, Randy did not wear the standard attire. Instead, he opted to wear his imagineer shirt; a blatant symbol of one of his numerous accomplishments.


(To be continued)