PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

January 24, 2024

CAR DENTS

                When Randy Pausch was asked to give the “Journeys” lecture for Carnegie Mellon, he did not know it would also be his last.  Ten months after giving his presentation in September of 2007, he died at the age of forty-seven as a result of pancreatic cancer.

In his book, The Last Lecture (Hyperion, 2008), Randy tells how he approached the lecture and the last few months of his life.  He finally settled on “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” as the title for his talk.  His book is a celebration of how the hopes and aspirations he had as a child found fulfillment in his life.

For many years Randy was a bachelor playing “Uncle Randy” to his sister’s children, Chris and Laura.  One weekend he stopped to pick up the kids to take them for a ride in his new Volkswagen Cabrio convertible.  Before they got in his sister lectured them about how they should act.  “Wipe your feet before you get in it.  Don’t mess anything up.  Don’t get it dirty.”

While his sister was talking, Randy deliberately turned an open can of soda on the cloth seats in the back seat of his convertible.  Why?  He did not want to set up his niece and nephew for failure.  There was no way they were going to not get his card dirty.  So he let them know it would be “O.K.” with him if they got it messy.  His message paid off the same weekend when Chris got the flu and threw up all over the back seat.

Randy’s spilling of his soda was predicated on his belief that people are more important than any object, even a brand new convertible.  His niece and nephew were more important to him than anything he might own.

On a warm summer morning Randy decided to walk to work at Carnegie Mellon.  His wife, unaware of his decision, backed out of their garage, hitting Randy’s car that should not have been there.  Even though the damage was slight, his wife worried the day about what she had done.

To prepare the way for her news, Jai made sure both cars were in the garage when Randy got home.  She prepared an especially terrific dinner and had soft music playing in the background.  When she finally delivered her news, Randy simply asked what had happened, not showing any signs of anger.  After dinner they had a look at the new dents, deciding not to fix them because they did not interfere with the primary purpose of the two vehicles, providing transportation.  For Randy his relationship with his wife was more important than any dent in a car.

The Book of Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew bible has special meaning for the end of life when one’s health and abilities begin to make a steady decline.  Only one thing continues to have relevance as the end approaches: relationships.  First and foremost, is one’s relationship with God.  Secondly, are relationships with family and friends.  It is these relationships which sustain one as the end approaches.

As Randy Pausch faced the last few months of his life it was his relationships with his wife, his children, his family, his colleagues, his friends and his students that sustained him.  A visible symbol of the importance of these relationships was the dents in his car.  They were a reminder that people are always more important than things.

(This article was originally published February 13, 2011.  Comments may be sent to davidh15503@embarqmail.com.)