[Announcer] That's a nice first serve by Sergio...
[Mitch, Reading] "Love. What is love, anyway?
"Can anybody tell me what that word really means?
"The temperamental U.S. Open champ waxed philosophical as he denied he was having an affair.
"'We're not in love. We're just friends.
Love is what I feel for my god and my wife. "'
- [All Laughing] - You didn't see the ball!
[Mitch] There he goes again. This guy's not having a good week.
Oh-ho, yes!
[Sergio Shouting In Italian]
[Indistinct Shouting]
How do you guys sleep at night, eh?
- Some of them sleep with their wives. - [All Laughing]
That's it. Media out! Out, all of you! Out! Out!
Get out of my life.! Out.! Out, out.!
- [Laughter] - [Reporter] Oh, my God!
Hey, Mitch! Hey, why don't you clock out already and come over and join us?
- Come on. - I'll be there in a minute.
- [Dialing Cell Phone] - Very mature.
- [Laughing Continues] - [Phone Ringing]
[Sighs] Hello?
Hey, I didn't wake you, did I? I just wanted to hear your voice.
No, I was gonna call you. I, uh, I've been doing a lot of thinking.
Yeah, so have I.
Mitch, I don't think we should see each other anymore.
- [Raucous Laughter] - What?
- Whoa, wait a minute. Wait... Let me just... - No, no, just let me say this.
I can't keep pretending that we're ever going to be a real couple...
because I know in my heart that we are never going to be.
- Please don't say that, Janine. - Mitch.
This is so hard, but I can't wait anymore.
We just don't want the same things.
That's not true. I love you. I...
I know you love me. And I love you.
[Crying] But I need more than that.
- Okay. - [Reporter] Oh, my God.!
Can we please just not do this on the phone?
I-I will get a plane. I will come home tonight.
No, Mitch, don't. I won't be here. It's too late.
- Janine. - I can't be with you anymore.
I'm sorry.
Hello? Janine? Hello?
Hey, mystery woman.! He's sneaking her out.!
[All Shouting]
Mitch, come on, let's go.
- Mitch, get the lead out! - I'm coming. I'm coming.
- Hey, Sergio! - [Shouting Continues]
[Mitch Grunting]
- [Tires Screeching] - What the hell am I doing?
[Dispatcher On Radio, Indistinct]
[Chattering]
[Gasping, Wheezing]
[Groaning]
It's all right, sweetheart. I'm here. I'm right here.
God bless you, sweetheart.
- Ta-da! Food man. Hey, Connie. - Hey.
Is that Mitch? Must be Tuesday.
It's Mitch. How ya doin', Coach?
I hope you haven't eaten already, 'cause I got some very good stuff here.
- Ah, what do you got? - I got...
some hummus.
- Ahhh. - I got pita bread, nice and warm.
- Yeah, good. - I got apple cobbler.
And I got... I got that.
Huh. Tongue!
- Ugh. - You remembered.
Oh, you don't forget somebody eating tongue. No, no.
It's like repressed memory. It actually attacks me in the middle of the night.
- What is that? - Well, if you're gonna keep giving me...
this meaning of life stuff, I want to remember it.
- I'd like your voice. - When I'm dead?
- No, don't say that. - Mitch, I'm dying.
- It's been established. - Yeah, yeah.
[Sighs] That's a pretty big machine, huh.
Must've cost you a fortune.
You know what? This is a stupid intrusion. I'm gonna put it away.
Hey, you still don't understand. I want you to remember...
and I want people to know my story.
That's a very nice machine. Now, put it back. Go on.
- Okay. - All right.
Now do you want to hear a real tragedy?
I can't eat tongue anymore.
But I'm gonna save it.
Maybe I should have it mounted and hang it in my study, huh?
Okay. So I made a list of subjects for you to talk about.
All the heavy stuff... death, love, marriage, family.
Oh, all of the stuff that you're scared of. Huh.
- Things I want to hear you talk about. - And you're scared of.
Why be ashamed? Everybody's afraid of those things.
Add fear to the list.
You don't seem to be scared.
I told you, I have my early morning moments.
Did you ever know anybody who was dying?
Yeah, I had an uncle. Mike. He was young.
He was more of a brother, really.
Testing, testing. [Clears Throat]
Mike taught me football, taught me music, taught me how to drive.
[Chuckles] We used to drive around this empty lot for hours.
Yeah, he was 42 when he died. Cancer.
And you never talked about it?
We did what people do, you know? We pretended nothing was wrong.
- Hmm. - That's actually when I gave up music, when Mike died.
- Oh, yeah, when you grew up, huh? - When I woke up, Coach.
Saw I better get moving if I'm gonna make anything out of my life.
Well, you made a big success. I always knew you would. But you ran.
Did you ever stop to think about what you're running from?
[Turns On Recorder, Clears Throat]
Okay, what do you want to tackle first here?
Death? Love? What about marriage? That's a good one.
- Stickball. - Stickball?
- Yeah. Did you ever play stickball? - Uh, no.
Kids don't play stickball anymore, really. I played Little League.
They don't play anymore? Oh, that's too bad.
Stickball was what all the slum kids played.
You know, where I grew up. Manhattan, the Lower East Side.
- [Children Chattering] - A broom handle and a rubber ball was all you needed.
You could play anywhere.
Best place to play was right outside the candy store my mother ran for the landlord.
[Woman Shouting In Russian]
- My mother was only 25. - Moyshe!
- But she was sick as long as I could remember. - Moyshe! Moyshe!
I felt if I ignored it, maybe the sickness would go away.
What happened to her?
She went to the hospital, and she died there.
[Sobbing]
They sent us a telegram.
My father couldn't read English, so I had to read it.
[Reading In Yiddish]
[Morrie] That's how I learned that my mother had died.
I've still got the telegram.
It's all that's left of my mother, except memories.
So you grew up with your father?
My father... He was an immigrant from Russia, a very silent man.
He never showed what he really felt.
After my mother died, he... he'd come home from work...
when he could get work...
and he'd never come in the house.
He'd stay outside, read the newspaper...
until he knew I was asleep.
What was he feeling? See, I never knew.
What... Was he in pain? Was he suffering? I...
All I knew was that... that I needed his love.
I needed him to hold me so I wouldn't be so afraid.
[Sighs]
Never got it, though, did you?
No. Not from him.
He remarried about a year later.
[Speaking Russian]
[Morrie] 'Course I resented her at first. I pushed her away.
[Yiddish]
But she was a wonderful woman.
And from her, after I stopped being such a little smart-ass...
- ** [Singing In Yiddish] - I finally began to get the love that I'd been missing.
** [Singing Continues]
[Mitch] What about your father? Did things get better?
[Morrie] He did something...
God, I found very, very hard to forgive.
He said I had a new mother...
and that I should forget.
He wouldn't even let me talk about my mother.
It was like she'd never existed. [Sobbing]
- Need help here. - I think we should stop.
No. I want you to hear this.
My father was afraid of love.
He couldn't give it, and he couldn't receive it either.
- Maybe that's worse. - Morrie, we should stop.
Not letting ourselves be loved...
because we're too afraid of giving ourselves to someone we might lose.
[Gasping]
[Gasping Continues]
- Um... Connie! Connie! - [Hissing]
Ahh. Connie! Connie!
[Bell Ringing]
You're okay. Okay.
- [Groaning] - That's it. Okay, breathe.
Good. Good. Okay. You're okay.
[Morrie Sighing]
[Pager Beeping]
[Sighs]
[Phone Rings]
Where the hell are you? You're supposed to be in New York for the play-offs.
Yeah, I'll be there tonight, Walter.
Oh, it's only the play-offs. Hey, what is this number? How many jobs have you got?
It's got nothing to do with work. I just...
- I thought that the column came first. - This is personal, okay?
I just need a little bit of time...
You have time for everybody but me.
- I got plenty of guys here dyin' to write a column. - What is that supposed to mean?
- You think Detroit can't live without you? - Why don't you find out.
You know that comp time you've got built up? I suggest that you take it.
- You do whatever the hell you want to. - Well, fine, I will.
Fine!
[Toilet Flushing]
[Connie] Here we go.
We'll soon have you back in your chair.
Okay, I'm just gonna get your feet clear.
One. Okay, you're all set.
Connie. Connie, show me how to do that?
- Mm-hmm. - Okay. Come on over here.
Okay, now bend down.
- Slide your arms under his like you're lifting a log. - Okay.
- Okay, now he can't help you at all, honey. - Like this?
- Yeah, it has to be all you. - All right.
- Now lift. Okay. - [Morrie Groaning]
- Sorry. I'll get it. - Okay, let him move.
Okay, okay, good. All right, I got ya.
- I got ya. Okay. - [Groaning Continues]
- Okay. - You got him.
[Groans, Sighs]
- Sorry. You all right? - Oh, yeah.
Sorry. I'll get better at it.
[Morrie Mutters]
Don't look so sad because I'm gonna die, Mitch.
Everybody's gonna die. Even you.
But most people don't believe it.
They should have a bird on their shoulder.
That's what the Buddhists do.
Just imagine a little bird on your shoulder...
and every day you say, "Is this the day I'm gonna die, little bird?
" Huh? Am I ready? Am I leading the life I want to lead?
Am I the person that I want to be?"
If we accept the fact that we can die at any time, we'd lead our lives differently.
So every day you say, "Is this the day?"
- Hmm? - One sec. One sec.
Okay, go ahead.
[Morrie On Tape] If you did have a bird on your shoulder...
you wouldn't put off the things closest to your heart.
[Mitch Narrating] I didn't need the recorder to hear his voice anymore.
It was always in my mind now.
I thought of his helpless weight in my arms as I lifted him... -
that frail, failing body...
and the voice, the spirit inside...
at its ruthless mercy.
- [Muttering] - And time whooshing past...
like the jet stream outside my window.
And not just for Morrie.
I'd taken Morrie's advice. I'd put a bird on my shoulder.
O-Oh, yeah. Come on in, baby. Let's hear it back.
- Oh, hey, Mitch Man, I didn't see you. - Hey.
- So, what do you think? - Oh, I couldn't hear it. I was outside.
No, no, no. I mean, about her going solo. No more backup.
- She didn't tell you we're gonna lay down some tracks? - Get outta here.
Oh, yeah, man. She's got the voice. I mean, all she needs is the "want to. "
Very nice, baby. Let's hear playback.
- Hi. - Hi.
** Where is that worn-out wish **
** That I threw aside **
**After **
- This sounds great. - ** What **
**My lover needs**
Can we go someplace after this? I really need to talk to you.
Mitch, we broke up. Don't do this, please.
- Good night, guys. - I think it's great, you goin' out on your own.
Well, I'm singing. That's enough for me.
- Uh, so I've been seeing a lot of Morrie. - How's he doin'?
He's amazing. When I'm with him, I don't want to be anywhere else.
I don't even take my cell phone with me anymore.
- That is amazing. - Uh, he's made me think about a lot of things.
- [People Laughing] - And, uh...
Well, he always asks about you. He really wants to meet you.
Will-Will you come with me to see him next Tuesday?
- Mitch, how can you do this? - I want you to get to know him the way I do.
How can you just... blow in and expect me to come back into your life...
- as though nothing's happened? - Something has happened.
Look, Janine, I have something to say to you...
and I really can't do it here.
W-Will you come home with me? Please?
I can't. I'm sorry.
- Janine, come on. Please. - Morrie sounds wonderful.
He's done something for you. I can see that.
And I wish I could've met him. But it's just too late.
- Janine? Janine, please. Can we just talk for once? - [Engine Starts]
A few months ago, Shawn Daley, 18, a hot college prospect, had a brilliant future.
Cut to last night: Sports car, drinking, drugs, tree.
- Well, you know the story. - If they cancel my scholarship, it's like my life is over.
- I'm dead. - Yeah, right, Shawn. You're 18, in perfect health.
You maybe blow a scholarship, and you think you're dead?
You got your whole life left to screw up in, you stupid idiot.
On his way home from yet another night of toasting his success...
Shawn crashed his new GTO "jockmobile" into an innocent tree.
Shawn, who managed to squeak past his SATs...
had no such luck with his drug and alcohol tests.
With no daily deadlines, no Janine, I had lots of time on my hands.
I thought of Morrie counting his breaths, what time meant to him.
[Morrie] Work, money, ambition. We bury ourselves in these things.
But we never stand back and say, "Is this what I want?"
[Mitch] Unless somebody teaches us to.
[Morrie] We all need teachers, Mitch.
- Why'd you become a teacher? - I needed a job.
Lots of jobs pay better than teacher. You could've been a doctor or a lawyer.
I hate the sight of blood. And I hate lawyers.
[Laughs] So what made you become a teacher?
[Coughs] Well, you think there's only one reason why we do things?
[Coughs] In a way, because of my father.
- Your father? - Yeah. It's...
- Is this him? - Yeah. Yeah.
Well, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would encourage you.
He didn't. He tried to get me started in his trade.
- What did he do? - Sewed fur coats together, when he could find work.
There was this... factory. It was a sweatshop.
Third Street and Avenue B.
- Still remember the address? - I will never forget that place.
It was the only work he knew, and he hated it.
- But he wanted you to work in it? - What could he do?
Hunger allows no choice.
[Workers Shouting In Foreign Language]
I'd hear him complain to my stepmother. How he was cursed at, belittled.
Always pushed to do more, and denied the money he had coming.
That was my father's world.
It was going to be my world too...
- except I found out something that day. - [Gasping]
- [Mitch] That you'd do anything but that. - Something else.
It's when I learned I had asthma.
- [Laughing] - 'Course, they thought I was just a crybaby...
- that I was scared. - [Gasping Continues]
They were right about my being scared, but there was something else.
I made a vow that I would never do work that used people...
that hurt them and degraded them.
I was never gonna make money off the sweat and pain of others.
- Tsk. So, in a way, you owe your father. - Yeah.
My-My-My stepmother, Eva...
- uh, she was just the opposite. - Loz der moyekh trakhtn.
Everything I love about education I learned from her.
The father of our country is?
- [Slurping] - [Young Morrie] Washington?
It's what I call the tension of opposites.
- [Mitch] The tension of... - [Morrie] Opposites.
Life pulling you back and forth like a rubber band.
Pull you one way, you think that's what you want to do.
Pull you another way, you think that's what you have to do.
- Sounds like a wrestling match. - You could describe life that way.
- So, who wins? - Love. Love always wins.
You don't believe that?
I don't know. Maybe I don't. I mean, have you looked at the news lately?
Love's not exactly racking up the gold medals out there.
Maybe the game isn't over yet.
- What are we... We're through? - Coach, can I talk to you for a second as a friend?
That's the way we always talk. Now, why did you stop the tape?
Well, because this is, uh... Uh, I need a little help here.
Um, I bought a ring forJanine... an engagement ring.
Congratulations! Does this mean I finally get to meet her? [Coughs]
Well, um... Look, I'm ready to make the plunge.
I really am. I'm talkin' marriage, family, the whole nine...
Everything I've been putting off up to this point, basically. But, um...
Okay, I take her way too much for granted. I always have. I know that.
And, believe me, I know what a selfish jerk I can be, especially with my time.
But, um... You know, it's just what you said.
It's about this fear that I have about not just giving love but receiving it.
And, uh... And of being part of something that isn't just all about me. And, uh...
You know, uh, living for somebody else and, uh...
- uh, learning to give and, uh... - She didn't like the ring?
Oh, I never even got to give it to her.
- But you love each other? - Yes, we do, a lot.
Uh-huh.
So, if love always wins, what the heck is the matter with us? [Chuckles]
I could use a little... little wisdom here.
Maybe my wisdom isn't what you need.
Start that thing again.
This is our last thesis together. We got to get it right.
We don't have a lot of time.
[Coughs]
[Morrie On Tape] We think we don't deserve love.
That if we let it come in, we'll become soft.
[Mitch] He had answers for all the big, important things.
- [Morrie Continues On Tape] - Why not me?
Love is the only rational act.
Said it right. Love is the only rational act.
Let it come in.
- [Tape Recorder Clicks Off] - [Sighs]
[Beeps]
Okay, I'll be right down.
Thanks, Lloyd. I'll just be a couple of minutes.
[Mitch] I hate sports metaphors. I never use 'em.
But this was a real Hail Mary. A last-second desperation play.
I wrote a letter to Janine. Everything I'd never said to her.
Including the part where I begged her to marry me.
**[Mitch Playing Jazz On Piano]**
My Hail Mary hadn't worked.
As Tuesday neared, I had plenty of time to think what a stupid idea it was.
[Phone Ringing]
[Answering Machine Clicking]
- [Beeps] - Mitch. Walter. Call me, please.
I've got a temper, so do you. It goes with the job. Just...
I'm tryin' to tell you that I'm...
**[Resumes]**
I asked for an "aisle. " You're gonna find me an "aisle. "
- Is that too much to ask? - What the hell happened to the air conditioning?
It's not the airline's fault, sir. Just wait your turn.
Hey, back off, pal! Huh? I got a big, big problem here.
[Woman On P.A.] Please consult a ticket representative...
What are you going to do?
[Clicks Heels]
If this is a no, why didn't you just call me?
Because I don't know what the answer is.
Whatever Morrie did that made you write that letter...
I want to see for myself.
Food man's back!
- Hey, how's he doing today? - Not so good.
- You can put the food in the kitchen and... - I'll see you later.
- I'll go get 'em. - Uh, Connie? Connie?
- I'd like you to meet Janine. - Oh, hi. I'm sorry.
So many people come through that door, sometimes I forget my manners.
- Very nice to meet you. - Hi.
All right. Let's see. Can you take some of this off this table, please?
- Uh-huh. - You can just put it right up there.
- You all right? - Yeah.
It's gonna be fine. The two people I love the most...
are finally gonna meet each other.
[Wheelchair Clattering]
[Connie] All right. Here we go.
- Oh, there's my buddy. - Hey, Coach. How ya doin' today?
All right [Laughs]
- [Kissing] - What'd ya bring today?
- I have some grape leaves. I got some pasta salad. - Oh, boy. Uh-huh.
- Nice warm pita bread. - Oh, you always bring the right things.
- Oh! - Oh, uh, I brought something else with me today, Coach.
Morrie...
- this is Janine. - Yeah, Janine.
Can I tell ya somethin'? You're as lovely as your name.
Thank you.
[Both Laughing]
[Slurping]
- [Slurping] - [Clears Throat] Morrie...
- Huh? - Tell Janine the story you told me... about the ocean?
- The ocean? Oh, the little wave? - Yeah.
Yeah, it's a sweet little story.
See, there's this little wave.
And he's out there bobbing up and down and havin' a grand old time.
You know, just enjoying the sunshine and the wind...
Right. Until he see... Until he sees the other waves.
Yeah. He sees the other waves crashing into the shore, so he gets scared.
- And another wave sees him and... - He's like, "Oh, my God."
- Look at what's gonna happen to me. - Does he do this to you?
- I'm tryin' to tell a story here. - Sorry.
And another wave says to him, "Why do you look so sad?"
And the little waves says, " Because we're gonna crash.
All us waves are gonna be nothin: Don't ya understand?"
And the other wave says, "You don't understand.
You're not a wave. You're part of the ocean."
Part... of the ocean. [Coughs]
- Oh, that's a beautiful story - [Gasps] Thank you.
Okay. No. I got ya.
- [Morrie Gasping] - [Oxygen Tank Hissing]
Okay. There you go.
[Steady Breathing]
- Okay. - Okay?
Thank you.
My helper, that one.
Mitch tells me you're a wonderful singer, a professional, huh?
Well, I mostly sing backup.
- Backup? - Uh-huh.
Yeah, background, you know? The humming and the oohing that makes the singer sound good.
But she's not really gonna do that anymore.
- Oh, you don't like the humming and oohing? - No, it's just that she's gonna be...
- the one out front now. - I like singing, any kind.
Yeah, but let somebody else back her up.
I don't feel like I have to be number one.
- What's wrong with being number two? - [Laughs]
Would you sing for me?
You know what, Coach? Everybody asks her that.
I'll tell ya what, she's recording now. I'll bring ya a tape next time.
Wouldn't that be nice? Would you excuse us for a few minutes?
Exc... Me?
Yeah, just go make some phone calls or something like that, would ya?
- Sure. - Bye.
[No Audible Dialogue]
- Hey. - Oh, hi.
No, no. Please don't get up. You look exhausted.
[Sighs]
So, is it... It's really bad?
Yeah, it's getting to his lungs. Couple of times there, I thought we were really gonna lose him.
It's a damned shame. He's such a sweet man.
**[Janine Singing]**
** That's everything **
** The very thought of you **
**And I forget to do **
* The little ordinary things *
** That everyone ought to do **
**I see your face in every flower **
** Your eyes in stars above **
**It's just the thought of you **
* The very thought of you *
- **My love** - [Laughs]
I told you there'd be tears. [Chuckles]
Mitch doesn't believe in tears. I'll get to him someday.
[Chuckles]
[Mitch] You ever gonna tell me what you talked about?
He told me how much he loved dancing.
That's all?
No.
Hmm, mostly he let me talk.
[Chuckles]
So many times I've heard you sing.
Never like that.
Um...
The letter I wrote, I guess it wasn't the best way...
The ring that you gave me was beautiful.
[Scoffs] But you gave it back to me.
Well, when you give it to me again...
I'd like for you to do it in person.
- Okay. - Mmm.
[Sobbing]
[Mitch] I talk to Charlotte almost daily now.
She told me about the bad times that I rarely saw on our Tuesdays together.
[Sighs]
Now I was afraid that each Tuesday would be our last.
[Thunderclap]
He hasn't been able to eat solid food for some time now, Mitch.
I'm sorry, Charlotte.
I just want to bring him something, you know?
- [Coughing] - Boy, maybe I shouldn't stay today, huh?
Oh, don't be silly. He's been asking for you all morning.
"Where's Mitch? It's Tuesday. "
You bring him a great deal, Mitch. You bring him so much.
**[Soprano Singing Opera]**
**[Continues]**
- Hiya, Coach. - Hiya, buddy.
[Chuckles] How ya doin'?
Ever see such rain?
Oh! I was thinking about the kids...
trying to move their stuff into the dorms out of the cars.
- It must be gettin' all wet. - Nah.
These days some people hire people to do that for 'em.
- Oh? - They go off and have a latte somewhere.
- So, how ya feelin', Coach? - Oh...
I passed a landmark.
Remember what I said about someday somebody havin' to wipe my ass?
- I'm there. - You're not gonna expect me to do that, are you?
Why not? You might be good at it.
You know, the culture teaches us to be ashamed of that. See, I don't...
- W-W-W-W-Wait. You always... - [Indistinct]
- Wait. You always start before I'm ready. - Huh?
- You always start before I'm ready. Wait. Okay. - Oh.
- Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You okay? - [Groans]
Coach, maybe we shouldn't work today, huh?
You look like you should be in bed to me.
If you're in bed, you're dead. That's my latest aphorism.
We're gonna work, and the subject is dependency.
- Go. - I'm dependent on others...
for just about everything, you know...
eating, urinating, blowing my nose.
The culture says I should be ashamed of that.
- Since when have you ever done what the culture says? - Oh, since never.
There is nothing innately shameful about being dependent.
- [Groans] - What's the matter?
My feet. There's some salve over there.
They're... They're useless, you know, but they hurt. I-I...
When we're infants, we need others to survive.
When we're dying, we need others to survive.
But here's the secret. In between, we need others even more.
We must love one another or die.
- Oh, quoting Auden, huh? - No. I'm quoting you.
- Oh. - I do that a lot these days.
Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.
Yeah, but do you believe that? Does it apply to you?
I don't know.
If you listen to that little bird on your shoulder, you'll believe.
It's not that easy, Coach. Out in the world it's kind of hard...
- it's kind of hard to get in touch with your inner bird. - [Chuckles]
Ever tried being spiritual in a locker room full of naked jocks?
You hate that word, don't you? "Spiritual."
You think it's just touchy-feely stuff, huh?
Well, I guess I just don't understand it.
We must love one another or die!
It's a very simple lesson, Mitch.
Good student like you shouldn't have any trouble with it.
What are you thinking about?
I was thinking about regrets.
- What do you have to regret? - [Laughs] So much.
Pride, vanity, hardness of heart.
When were you ever hard-hearted?
I had a strange dream.
I saw my father...
under a tree...
He was reading his paper, as usual.
You know how my father died?
- I think he was scared to death. - How?
Well, it was after I was grown up.
One night he was walking and reading his paper, like he always did.
Some muggers pulled a gun on him.
He threw his wallet down and ran.
Now, he had seen terrible things in his life.
Why was he so scared that night?
He ran until his heart gave out.
I got a call from the police.
Come down to the morgue...
and identify him.
I looked at my father. I didn't even cry.
I've got tears for everything nowadays.
But I couldn't cry for him.
I couldn't forgive him. Not then.
- But you did. - Yes, too late.
First, I had to understand and forgive myself.
All those years that I shut my heart to him.
Why couldn't I stop and see what was in his?
[Sighs] God, that poor man...
was scared most of his life.
I was selfish. I thought of nothing but how I needed him.
Oh, God, the waste of it all!
I... Forgive everybody everything!
Now! Don't wait!
Not everybody has the time that I'm getting.
[Labored Breathing]
I won't die like he did. [Laughs]
I'll be surrounded by love...
of my family, my friends.
At peace.
Yes, the tension of opposites.
We learn from what hurts us...
as much as what loves us, you know?
**[Opera]**
**[Continues]**
- [Grunts] - Okay.
- You all right. Okay? - Yeah.
**[Continues]**
- I've never seen your bedroom before. - I hope you never see it again.
- When you're in bed, you're dead. - Yeah, well...
sometimes a bed's just for sleepin', okay?
- [Aldo] Let's roll over, Morrie. - There ya go.
- How's the congestion today, huh? - [Groans]
Let's see what we can knock loose, huh?
Ooh.! Ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh.! What are you doin'? What are you doin'?
[Groans]
Well, he's got all this poison in his lungs.
And this keeps it from solidifyin'.
Feel it in there, Morrie, huh? Do ya feel it loosenin'?
- Feel something loosening. - [Pounding Continues]
Maybe it's my ribs. [Groans]
- [Connie] Mitch, telephone. - Saved by the bell, huh?
[Groaning]
- Hello. - Hey, buddy. It's Walter. Finally got ya on the phone.
- Yeah. Sorry. I should've called. - Yeah. Look, uh...
Janine told me about, you know, your friend back there, uh...
Should've said something.
Um, anyway, I'll make this short.
I was wrong, and I'm sorry.
Just, uh, tell me how far I have to crawl.
- Oh, no, no, no. We were both wrong. - [Flesh Smacking, Groaning]
- I'm sorry too. - So, uh, will I see you in the office?
- [Woman] I got that paper. - I just can't stop things here, Mitch. I-I gotta know.
[Flesh Smacking, Morrie Groaning]
Yeah. I'll see ya in the office, Walter.
- Good. - [Groans]
[Groans]
[Groaning, Slapping Continue]
Show me how to do this?
- Okay with you, Morrie? - Yeah.
[Aldo] Okay, it has to be hard.
It's the only way to break up all that wicked congestion so his body can eliminate it.
- Okay. [Clears Throat] - All right.
- No. A little harder than that. - Harder than that?
- Yeah. There. Under the shoulder - Okay.
- [Morrie Grunting] - That's it. Little bit harder.
Good. Knock the poison loose. Knock it loose.
Oh, you... You wanted to hit me. [Groans]
- This is for that " B" you gave me sophomore year, Morrie. - [Laughing]
When did I ever...
give you... a " B"?
[Together] Six, seven, eight, nine...
[Mitch] The large lessons oflife... We're sometimes...
given the opportunity to learn them.
But how do we know we're gonna be able to keep them?
I know I will, Mr. Albom.
I've had real excellent counseling, and I've learned from my mistakes.
It's like I had my whole life given back to me.
- When they dropped the drug charges? - Yes, sir.
- And let me keep my scholarship... - [Man Whistles]
[Coach Shouting] Hey, Daley! We need you down here!
How can we ever be sure we've learned anything, though?
Well, like I said, I learned my lesson. I'm never gonna forget.
- [Coach] Hey, Shawn, we need you down here now.! - I gotta go, sir.
Thanks for your time.
Hey, Shawn. Hope you're right, man.
[Players]... nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen...
- [Mitch] I was glad to be writing again... - [Chuckling]
Even if it meant Walter screaming about deadlines.
He screamed louder when I asked for two weeks off to go to the islands.
I got one. We made the best of it.
We called Morrie. He cried, of course...
which I took as a sign that things were still normal.
When we got home, I got another day off from Walter, Tuesday.
I told him I was gonna need all my Tuesdays for awhile.
[Clears Throat] So, I'm typing up the thesis.
What there is of it, anyway.
- Thought you might want to read it over. - Okay.
- 'Course we're not finished yet. - No.
So I had a thought. It was kind of weird.
- Wait-Wait, I don't think the tape is rolling. - Oh.
Okay, so, weird thought.
- Uh-huh. - Uh, if somebody could wave a magic wand...
and give you one day... 24 hours of perfect health...
- how would you spend it? - That's a weird thought?
That's a good thought. [Laughs] Oh... [Inhales]
Twenty-four hours?
- Care to share it with the world? - Well...
I'd have a lovely breakfast:
Sweet rolls and tea.
Then a good swim.
I'd ask my friends for lunch, a great lunch. You know, but...
A salad or something simple.
And then we'd take a walk in a park...
with trees, so we could watch the birds.
And we'd talk about how much we meant to each other.
And for dinner, I'd take 'em to a place that had great pasta.
Oh, boy.
And a little duck. Yeah, I love duck. Do you like duck?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
And then I would dance.
Oh, I'd dance with my lovely partners...
till I was exhausted.
Then go home, and I'd have a great sleep.
That's it? That's your perfect day, huh?
- Uh... - Sounds pretty simple.
Oh, yeah.
What about Charlotte and your sons? You didn't mention them.
Well, I don't have to mention them.
I mean, if they weren't there, how could it be a perfect day? [Chuckles]
Oh, I-I picked the spot to be buried.
It's on a hill under a tree.
It's got a pond. Great place to think.
[Chuckles] You plannin' on doin' a lot of thinkin' there?
I plan on being dead there.
Will you come and visit, tell me your problems?
Won't be quite the same, not hearing you talk.
Well, I'll tell you what...
when I'm dead, you talk, I'll listen.
What if, uh, you know, after you're, uh...
What if all this was just... What if...
What if all this was just wasted on me?
Well, you think that could happen?
Well, out in the world... you know, outside this room... things aren't so clear.
Your wisdom and your aphorisms...
"Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
What if you can't learn that?
What if you just want to run like hell when you see death coming?
What if, uh, we're like your father, you know?
What if we can't learn it because we're not really like you?
- Yeah, but you are like me. Everybody is. - Nobody's like you.
And if it took your death to teach me these things, then I'd rather not learn 'em.
All the things you said, I'd give 'em back in one minute. [Sniffles]
- If this wasn't happening to you... - It's happening.
- It's-It's going to happen. - Yeah, well, I don't want it to happen.
I don't want you to die.
That poem you're always quoting, "We have to love one another or die"?
We die anyway, don't we?
We learn to love somebody and they die, or-or we die or it dies.
What's the point? Wha... What do we learn really from all that suffering?
Hold.
[Sniffles] I'm sorry.
I just can't accept it. I don't want you to die.
I guess I flunked the course, huh?
Death ends a life, not a relationship.
Poor Mitch, you still don't know how to say good-bye, do you?
Look at me.
[Sighs]
Don't you understand? You touched me.
What if you hadn't come back to see me? Huh?
This is the way we say good-bye.
- Love you. - [Shudders] I love you too, Coach.
I know. You wanna know something else?
You always will.
[Sniffling]
I'm gonna come back next Tuesday, okay?
- Yeah. - I'm gonna bring, Janine with me, okay, next Tuesday.
- Yeah. - [Weeping]
Of course, next Tuesday. We're Tuesday people.
[Mitch Weeping]
[Mitch] Morrie died on a Saturday morning.
- [Phone Ringing] - We got the call that afternoon.
Hello? Oh.
He had died peacefully and simply, with all his family around him.
**[Continues]**
Just the way he wanted it.
Charlotte kept it small, just family and friends...
- [Rabbi Reading In Hebrew] - all the ones he would've taken dancing on his perfect day.
[Rabbi Continues]
- [Rabbi] Amen. - Of course, there was poetry.
"When he shall die take him and cut him out in little stars.
"And he will make the face of heaven so fine...
"that all the world will be in love with night...
and worship not the garish sun. "
[Mitch] When I'm dead, you talk. I'll listen.
It wasn't that hard to hear his voice.
It was Tuesday.
Have you ever had a special teacher?
One who taught you things you may not understand, but who never gives up?
Who knows the really tough lessons take a lifetime to learn?
The last class of my old professor's life took place once a week on Tuesdays.
The subject was the meaning of life.
The teaching goes on.