Tuesdays With Morrie
Mitch Albom, a sports columnist for the Detroit Free Press, had studied under Professor Morrie Schwartz at Brandeis University in the late 1970s, and well-remembered him as his favorite professor. But nearly 20 years later, while Morrie was dying from Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), Mitch "rediscovered" his old friend, and their relationship took on a new meaning.
Morrie's struggle with ALS became known nationwide, not so much about the incurable disease, but more because of his open attitude toward death. To him "...once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
He was interviewed three times (at home) for Ted Koppel's "Nightline" on ABC TV. Mitch Albom first learned about Morrie's disease when he saw him on TV. And immediately he began weekly visits with Morrie, which meant flying from Michigan to Massachusetts, in hopes that his professor would be up to conversation. And he always was, even when his nurse interrupted to take Morrie to the bathroom, lift him up to the toilet, and later "wipe his ass".
But Morrie's physical deterioration directly had something to do with their subject matter. "Death ends a life," Morrie told Mitch, "but not a relationship", meaning that love lives on. And to him, "love is when you are as concerned about someone else's situation as you are about your own." People, who are after what money can buy, are "...so hungry for love that they are accepting substitutes."
Finally on their Tuesday visits, they began exchanging hugs, holding hands, and sometimes sharing tears, often after Morrie's long coughing spells. Affection became vital to both of them.
Mitch said his goodbye to his friend several days before his death. But Morrie said that their talks could continue when Mitch visited his grave. "You talk, I'll listen," he suggested.
Mitch Albom has written several books, and has been voted American's No. 1 sports columnist (10 times) by the Associated Press Sports Editors.