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  • [Oprah Winfrey] To be a best-seller for over two years...

  • a story has to really connect with people.

  • And Tuesdays With Morrie resonates with everybody.

  • - [Director] Action.! - I think we all relate to Mitch.

  • His life is just, shhhk... going by too quickly.

  • And then he was blessed to stop and find his old teacher Morrie.

  • And even though Morrie was dying, he taught us about living.

  • All oflife is about teaching and learning.

  • When you learn, teach. When you get, give.

  • Life is filled with Morries. We all just need to look around.

  • Come on, you guys!

  • [Cheering]

  • - Excuse me, kids. - **Live, baby, live **

  • - **Now that the day is over ** - Hello, love.

  • - Yeah. - How're ya doin'?

  • - **I got a new sensation ** - See ya, man.

  • Hey, Katie. How are ya, dear?

  • **In perfect moments ** [Continues, Indistinct]

  • [Man Narrating] Among other things, many other things...

  • my old professor loved to eat.

  • There he is! What do you say?

  • **Sleep, baby, sleep **

  • [Narrating Continues] He especially liked tongue.

  • I'd say, "Morrie, that's disgusting. " He'd say, "I'm sorry you think so.

  • I also like cole slaw. Can you handle cole slaw, Mitch?"

  • ****[Continues, Indistinct]

  • - Excuse me. - Near the top of the list of things he loved was dancing.

  • Subtitles downloaded from www.OpenSubtitles.org

  • - [Man Yelling] - He had his own way of dancing.

  • He'd do the lindy toJimi Hendrix.

  • He'djitterbug to... name a band... Nine Inch Nails.

  • - Pardon me. Here you go, boy. - What you got, Professor?

  • Hey, just put it on. You're gonna love it.

  • **I can't top the letter "M" You're not a... ****

  • [Music Changes, Crowd Murmuring]

  • Hey!

  • Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

  • ****[Tango]

  • [Crowd Murmuring, Laughing]

  • [Mitch Narrating] One ofhis favorites was the tango.

  • His own version, of course. Wherever it came from...

  • - Come on, join in! - it wasn't Argentina.

  • Moments like that...

  • he could live in forever.

  • In the summer of 1994, he began to notice a few things:

  • - Professor. - shortness ofbreath...

  • legs giving him a little trouble.

  • But what do you expect at 77?

  • [Engine Starts]

  • [Straining]

  • [Mitch Narrating] The dancing stopped forever in the summer of 1994.

  • - [Students Chattering] - Should we do something?

  • That was when Morrie got his death sentence.

  • Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa. Man, when they fall apart...

  • these guys really fall apart, don't they?

  • This ugly, or is this ugly? I knew it.

  • [Man] Everybody's on the floor. The coaches are out there.

  • Oh, my... Walter, it's Mitch. I gotta change the column.

  • I've got to change the column, Walter!

  • [Mitch Narrating] I knew nothing about what happened to my old professor.

  • I hadn't seen him since graduation day 16 years ago.

  • I promised I'd keep in touch, but I got busy dancing my own dance.

  • It's a zoo... Walter, it's a zoo here. Just hold a space for me, okay?

  • Give me a break! Have I ever missed a deadline?

  • - [All Yelling] - Janine, hi. Did I wake you, honey?

  • - Everything I did I did on deadline. - It's crazy here.

  • - Everything. - I just wanna say I love you and I'm sorry.

  • Coach said no media until he talks to the team.

  • Should've talked to them before the game.

  • Yeah... No, we definitely have to talk, I know. Hang on one second.

  • - [All Yelling] - Baby, I gotta go. I love you. Bye-bye.

  • [Man] No press.!

  • Coach, Coach. Coach, what did you say to the team? Did the word "discipline"come up?

  • - [Laughter] - How about the word "maturity"?

  • [Mitch Narrating] Sports are always in season in this country...

  • and I covered them all...

  • living in planes and hotels with a laptop and a cell phone.

  • I might never have known what happened to Morrie if I wasn't always doing six things at once.

  • Janine, come on. Because I've been in love with you for seven years.

  • Doesn't that... Yeah, but in my book, that is a commitment.

  • Yeah. Do we have to talk about this now?

  • This is the only thing we ever fight about.

  • Yeah, because look at what marriage does to people.

  • I'm not watching it. It's just on.

  • Look at what marriage does. Look at our married friends. Look at our divorced friends.

  • Look, I'll be back in Detroit tomorrow. We'll talk about this then, okay?

  • Yeah, well, I'll make time.

  • - [Laughing] - [Ted Koppel On TV] Just who is Morrie Schwartz?

  • And why, by the end of the night...

  • are so many of you going to care about him?

  • Janine, hang on one second.

  • [Announcer On TV] This is ABC News Nightline.

  • - One second. - Reporting from Washington, Ted Koppel.

  • [Ted Koppel] Tonight, Morrie... Lessons on Living.

  • Morrie is going to die.

  • He suffers from a disease called ALS...

  • better known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

  • Morrie Schwartz is a retired sociology professor...

  • from Brandeis University who is dying of ALS.

  • Morrie does not have long to live.

  • I'm on the last great journey here, one we all gotta take.

  • Maybe I can teach people what to pack for the trip.

  • - [Click, Dial Tone] - Janine? Hello?

  • Or maybe my dying can be of value...

  • something we can all learn from, like a... a human textbook.

  • I've been a teacher all my life. You think I'm gonna quit now?

  • [Morrie Laughing]

  • [Woman On Phone] Detroit Free Press. How may I direct your call?

  • [Woman #2 On Phone] Thank you for calling the Detroit Free Press.

  • I'm just getting to work. Let me call you back, okay? Very good. How are you?

  • - Mitch, tomorrow's page. - Oh, excellent.

  • - Congratulations. - On what? The column? It was all right.

  • A little rushed. Oh, it's official, huh? Baseball strike is over.

  • Yeah, which means I need you in Florida for spring training.

  • You thought it was rushed? It read terrific.

  • - I mean congratulations on your sweet little TV deal. - Thank you.

  • - Walter, local TV, one show a week. - Books and the radio show...

  • - Take 20 words out. - My column comes first, Walter.

  • - How many hours you got in your day? - What difference does it make?

  • - You're spreading yourself a little thin. - As long as I deliver.

  • You think you can find time to write a piece for the strike ending tomorrow?

  • - [Answering Machine] Hi, this is Janine. - It's a personal call.

  • - Say hello toJanine for me. - Please leave a message. [Machine Beeps]

  • Hello. Hello, it's me. Will you pick up, please?

  • [Sighs] Janine? Janine, you have to talk to me sometime.

  • Will you pick up the phone, please?

  • [Sighs] All right. Um...

  • I'll, uh... I'll come by work, I guess.

  • I love you.

  • ****[Women Harmonizing]

  • Great column today, man. So, we finally got baseball back, or what?

  • I think the fans should go on strike.

  • - [Men Laughing] - What's up, you guys?

  • Oh, hold it for a second. Something's not right here.

  • Take a break for a second, ladies. Mitch, make yourself useful. Give me an F-sharp.

  • - F-sharp. - [Striking Note]

  • - Hey. - Hey.

  • I've been trying to call. Are you, uh, ever gonna talk to me again?

  • I was talking to you last night... you and the TV...

  • and then I sort of got the idea that you didn't want to talk.

  • I got some bad news last night. A guy I used to know...

  • A teacher of mine back in college is sick. He's gonna die.

  • Oh, Mitch, I'm sorry. Were you very close to him?

  • I used to be, yeah.

  • Uh, okay, y'all, let's try this.

  • [Sighs] We both gotta work on our phone manners.

  • [Chuckles]

  • I love you.

  • I love you too.

  • [Man] Okay, let's just pick this up, ladies.

  • [TV Sportscaster, Indistinct]

  • It's not just Morrie. I haven't kept in touch with anybody from college.

  • The reunions, the mail... Who's got time for that stuff?

  • Well, I wish I had a teacher like that.

  • No, he was more than just a teacher. He was... what... like a force.

  • [Crowd Cheering]

  • At this basketball game once, we were all chanting...

  • "We're number one! We're number one," right?

  • So I see Morrie a couple rows down, he's eyeing us, he's giving us all this look.

  • All of a sudden he stands up and says...

  • "What's wrong with being number two?"

  • He actually wanted to discuss that right in the middle of the game.

  • - Thank you. - Thank you.

  • Made a really big difference in my life, and I never even thanked him.

  • Well, you talk about him as if he were already dead. You could still go see him.

  • He's in Boston. When am I gonna find time to go to Boston?

  • Well, make time, if he meant that much to you.

  • You're on the road half your life. Why can't you make time for one trip to Boston?

  • - Why are you getting upset? - Why do you have such a problem making time in your life...

  • - Hey, you're that guy Mitch Albom, right? - Yeah. Hey...

  • - Hey, man, I read your column every day. - Thank you.

  • - I've got an idea for a column. - Guys, I'm in the middle here.

  • - Gotcha. Hey, we'll talk later? - I get ideas all the time.

  • Great. Sorry.

  • - [TVSportscaster, Indistinct] - [Sighs] Anyway...

  • the truth is, it's too late.

  • All these years I haven't sent the guy a postcard. How am I gonna face him now?

  • - [Crowd Cheering] - Mitch, think...

  • Hey, think of him. Think about how much it would mean to him.

  • At least call him.

  • In hockey last night, with the play-off berth at stake and visions of the golden cup...

  • [Mitch Narrating] I lived on the phone, made dozens of calls a day.

  • Why couldn't I make one to a dying man?

  • The simple answer was guilt, but it was more than that.

  • I was afraid of seeing him now.

  • I had a thing about death.

  • - Here's my buddy! - Hey!

  • Hey. You're one of the special ones, Mitch.

  • You're gonna keep in touch, you gotta promise me.

  • - I promise. - [Mitch Narrating] I failed that promise.

  • - [Phone Ringing] - I also had a thing about failure.

  • - [Janine On Phone] Hello? - Hey, it's me.

  • - Hey. - Well, you were right. I can't work.

  • I can't even think here. I gotta do something. About Morrie, I mean.

  • - Are you gonna go see him? - Yeah, it's one trip to Boston.

  • - Quick little visit, say I'm sorry and say good-bye. - [Sportscaster, Indistinct]

  • Well, roll back the tape. Let me hear the playback again.

  • - [Sportscaster Continues] - Okay. Mm-hmm.

  • - [Tires Skidding] - Oh, damn it!

  • - What? - No, no, no. I just spilled some coffee.

  • Go-Go ahead. Let me hear the playback.

  • Yeah, I'm listening. That sounds fine. Just go with that.

  • - What? Take three? - Yes. Is there a lot more?

  • - Seven takes. - You know what? We're gonna have to do this, uh, later.

  • Sorry. Dropped my keys.

  • It's Mitch. Mitch Albom?

  • I called. I-I spoke to your wife.

  • I don't get a hug after 16 years?

  • [Laughing]

  • My ol' buddy, you came to see me at last.

  • Let's eat.

  • [Laughing, Sniffing]

  • Well, I see you still like to eat as much as ever.

  • Oh, boy, dig in, huh? Help yourself.

  • Come on. Make yourself comfortable.

  • - Okay. - Looks great.

  • [Slurping]

  • - [Clears Throat] - [Phone Ringing]

  • Well, you look great. Really.

  • - Really. The same. - Morrie? Excuse me. Can you talk?

  • No. Get a name if you could, Connie, 'cause I'm with my buddy now, huh?

  • I spend half the day on the telephone.

  • Now that I'm dying, people are taking more of an interest in me.

  • Ah, big celebrity now. How's that feel being a big TV star?

  • I mean, you know, you were always interesting, but, uh...

  • I thought so.

  • This-This one class... Do you remember this, Morrie?

  • Um, you didn't say anything. You remember that? You just stared at us.

  • - Hmm. - We all trooped in with our notebooks ready...

  • waiting for you to start casting pearls, and nothing.

  • Five minutes go by. Ten minutes.

  • We started panicking. "Why isn't the guy saying anything?"

  • Finally, after like... I think it was 20 minutes of that...

  • and we really can't take it anymore, you say, very quietly...

  • - "What's happening here?" - Exactly right. "What's happening here?"

  • That's exactly what you said. You were making a point about silence.

  • What is it about silence that makes people uneasy, huh?

  • Right.

  • Why do people only feel comfortable when they're filling the air with words?

  • Hmm?

  • [Chuckles]

  • Should I tell you what it's like? Dying?

  • That's another subject that makes people uncomfortable.

  • We'll get to it later. You know, right now I gotta go to the commode.

  • Are you up to, uh, giving me a hand?

  • Um... sure.

  • Well, now wait a minute. I better get Connie. It takes an expert.

  • - [Bell Rings] - [Morrie] Connie, uh...

  • [Clears Throat]

  • You know, dying is just one thing to be sad about.

  • Living unhappily, that's another matter.

  • See ya in a minute.

  • Okay.

  • - [Sighs] - Are you happy in Detroit?

  • Yeah. Best town to be in for a sportswriter.

  • Football, basketball, baseball, hockey, you name it.

  • Are you giving to your community?

  • I-I... They're nuts for sports.

  • You know, that's what I give 'em every day in my column.

  • Are you at peace with yourself?

  • [Chuckles] I... I can't complain.

  • Uh-huh. What happened to the music?

  • Wasn't that your passion, to be a great pianist?

  • Yeah. Yeah, I gave it a shot, then I grew up.

  • You grew up, huh?

  • Married with kids?

  • - Uh, no. - Haven't found anybody to share your heart with, huh?

  • No. Yes, I have. Definitely.

  • Oh. Not enough to get married?

  • Uh, no. Well, y-yes. I mean, you know, someday.

  • But, uh, just when we're both ready.

  • When you're both ready? Has she got a name?

  • - Janine. - Janine? That's a very beautiful name.

  • SoJanine shares this "when we're both ready" thing with you?

  • No. [Chuckles]

  • Uh-huh. [Laughs]

  • I can see, Mitch, that we're gonna have a great deal to talk about.

  • - What are you writing? - One more question.

  • - Yeah? - You know anything about this disease that I've got here?

  • This Lou Gehrig's disease?

  • It melts ya like a candle, you know?

  • In my case, from the bottom up.

  • [Straining] My legs... went first.

  • Hands will be next...

  • and eventually it'll get the whole body.

  • But you know what I dread?

  • Someday soon somebody's gonna have to wipe my ass for me.

  • But... I'm a lucky man.

  • - You're lucky? - Yeah.

  • I've still got time to learn...

  • time to say good-bye to the people I love...

  • and time to teach my final course.

  • - About dying? - Not about dying! About living!

  • When you know how to die...

  • you know how to live.

  • No, no, no, no, no. Well, you can't do that, can you?

  • - Let me hear it again. - [Toilet Flushing]

  • - [Morrie Grunting] - [Connie] I got you.

  • Dave, you know what? I-I can't do this right now. I'm really sorry.

  • Yeah, I'm leaving for the airport in five minutes. Can I call you from the car?

  • Yeah, just give me five minutes, okay? Thanks a lot, man.

  • - [Phone Beeps Off] - [Morrie] Those were my dancing days.

  • - Did you ever see me dance? - No.

  • I saw you do a lot of things, but, uh, never dance.

  • That's too bad, because they tell me it was something to see.

  • - I'll bet. - Why don't you keep it?

  • - Oh, no. Are you sure? - Yeah.

  • You remember that nickname you used to give me?

  • - Okay, here we go. - Coach. I called you Coach.

  • - Yeah. - [Connie] Easy. Easy. Okay.

  • Somehow I could never call you Professor Schwartz.

  • Well, I liked being called Coach.

  • Maybe I should've gotten a whistle. [Chuckles]

  • - What's the matter? You gotta go? - Yeah.

  • - Well, you'll be back. - Well, I don't know, Coach.

  • Uh, Detroit is 700 miles, you know? It's a bit of a time problem.

  • Well, uh, let me show you something about time.

  • [Takes Deep Breath]

  • [Whispering] One, two, three, four, five...

  • six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.

  • [Panting]

  • Went to 16 last week.

  • A kid like you... I bet you go to 100.

  • You know, it's a good thing to count your breaths now and then.

  • Keeps you from putting things off. Come here.

  • I'm still your coach. You promise me...

  • that you'll come back to see your old coach, huh?

  • [Mitch Narrating] I promised.

  • I tried not to think about the last time I promised.

  • [Engine Starts, Phone Rings]

  • - [Phone Beeps] - Hello?

  • - [Man On Phone, Indistinct] - Yeah. No, I have time now. Let's hear it.

  • [Mitch] What are the truly important questions in life...

  • and where do we go to find the answers?

  • There are many paths on which to seek the truth. Me, I go to press conferences.

  • Today in his humble high school stadium...

  • I will know the answer to the question of questions:

  • What college will two-time all-state quarterback Shawn Daley...

  • choose to pursue his higher education?

  • And maybe play a little football.

  • All you guys been coverin' my career...

  • know that I have a dream, which is to play in the NFL.

  • [All Cheering]

  • I been real careful lookin' over all my scholarship offers...

  • to choose the best one to make my dream come true.

  • Shawn, what are you planning on getting your degree in?

  • Well, I'm only gonna be there two years, then I'll go pro.

  • - [Cheering] - [Indistinct]

  • I mean, I mean, of course I'm gonna study hard...

  • and improve my education, see what happens.

  • And the truth shall set you free, or make you a first-round draft choice.

  • The college I've chose to go to is...

  • The moment of truth is here, folks. On every lip is one prayer:

  • " Please, God, let it be us."

  • [All Cheering]

  • [Laughing]

  • [Shawn On Tape] I mean, I mean... -

  • - Sounds like another good one. - Hmm? I'm hungry too.

  • Two minutes to deadline. We'll go to dinner. Two minutes.

  • Can you believe a major press conference for a high school jock?

  • Wonder what Morrie would think of that.

  • I know what he'd think. What kind of message does that send...

  • to kids who actually crack a book, study their butts off and get scholarships?

  • And who's gonna hold a press conference for them?

  • - Mitch, I'm going to my place tonight. - Wherever you wanna eat.

  • Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where you goin'?

  • It's okay. Keep working. I'm just tired. I'm gonna go.

  • What are you talkin' about? We're goin' to dinner like we always do. What's the matter?

  • Nothing. I have a session tomorrow. I just want to go home.

  • If we lived together, you'd be home, but...

  • Two minutes to deadline, okay? You have a career. You understand deadlines.

  • I'm a backup singer. That's not a career, it's a job.

  • You could have a great career if you really wanted it.

  • - I don't know what I want. - You're too good to be singing backup.

  • Mitch, that's not what I'm talking about.

  • I can't just keep going on like this, you know, waiting for you to fit me in. I-I...

  • I gotta just think about what I want. And so do you.

  • Sorry. I did not mean to get into this now. I'm gonna call you later.

  • - [Phone Ringing] - Janine, please don't go. Janine, wait.

  • - Can... Obviously, we need to talk. - [Pager Beeping]

  • Obviously, we will talk. I just need one minute, okay?

  • Please. I love you. It's coming in one minute. One minute!

  • God. Please, just give me a second. Please.

  • [Tapping Keyboard, Sighs]

  • [Tape, Indistinct]

  • - [Phones Ringing] - It's just not a good time, Mitch.

  • - Any other time, I'd say okay, take a few days off, relax. - No, you wouldn't.

  • - We got play-offs, we got tennis, spring training. - I know.

  • You wanna take some time, why don't you cut back from one of your other jobs?

  • - Walter... - Do you people work here? I want you on the road, Mitch.

  • Walter, I need to be here. It's personal, okay?

  • Oh, Janine. The marriage thing again.

  • I could recommend a hell of a counselor. We got divorced anyway.

  • - Walter, can I just... - Look, Mitch, I need you. Detroit needs you.

  • I'm sorry about your problems, but you know what? The world doesn't stop.

  • - Okay. - No, no, no. Come on. No ground rules.

  • [Mitch Narrating] I left Janine with promises.

  • We'd talk. We'd get help as soon as I got back.

  • - Meanwhile, Walter was right. The world didn't stop. - I'll see you Friday.

  • Guys, have you got time for a couple questions?

  • Guys... Sam, what happened in the fourth quarter?

  • Danny, was your knee bothering you?

  • [Mitch Narrating] I remembered my promise to Morrie...

  • but when would I find time to keep it?

  • The strike wasn't about money. It was never about money.

  • Gee, how- how did we miss that?

  • It was about our worth as human beings.

  • Our self-worth isn't being validated.

  • But you're not a player. You wouldn't understand.

  • [Bat Hits Ball]

  • [Mitch Narrating] America had become a bazaar of self-help.

  • Books, TVshows, hundred-dollar-an-hour experts...

  • all of them with answers to the big important questions.

  • This is the final call for Boston, Arista Air flight 211 now boarding, Gate 103.

  • [Mitch Narrating] What did Morrie think of that?

  • He wasn't in the self-help business.

  • He was standing on the tracks with death's locomotive whistling toward him.

  • His mind had become a lightning rod for ideas.

  • He saw things with incredible clarity. I wanted that clarity.

  • I thought I had it once.

  • Who I was, what I wanted. What had happened to me?

  • [Woman] This is the last call for Boston, Arista flight...

  • Excuse me. Excuse me. I'm sorry. Excuse me.

  • ****[Male Quartet Singing]

  • **I love thejava jive and it loves me **

  • ** Coffee and tea and thejivin'and me **

  • **A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup **

  • * It's hot, look out *

  • **I lovejava sweet and... **

  • You almost missed the funeral. No, it was Morrie's idea.

  • A living funeral. He said he didn't want to wait till he was dead...

  • for people to say nice things about him.

  • - Go on in. - **A cup, a cup, a cup **

  • ****[Man Scatting]

  • * I love coffee and tea *

  • **I love thejava jive and it loves me **

  • ** Coffee and tea and thejivin'and me **

  • **A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup **

  • **Boarrrrrrr ****

  • That's terrific.

  • Now listen, you've all said such beautiful things.

  • Believe it or not, now I want to talk.

  • - Oh. [Laughs] - All I have is a voice.

  • - We know, Dad. We know. - That's-That's not me.

  • That's from W.H. Auden, my favorite poet.

  • - We know that too, Dad. - Oh, okay.

  • "All I have is a voice...

  • "to undo the folded lie...

  • "the lie of authority...

  • "whose buildings grope the sky.

  • " No one exists alone.

  • " Hunger allows no choice to the citizen or police.

  • "We must love one another...

  • or die."

  • We must...

  • Iove one another...

  • or die.

  • - Thank you. - [All Sobbing]

  • [Quiet Chattering]

  • Thank you. I'll see you soon.

  • - It was lovely, Morrie. - Good-bye. Be well.

  • - [Woman] Thank you. - I know I should've called.

  • I'm stealin' time from my boss here.

  • You missed my funeral. Never mind. You'll catch the next one.

  • **Another day **

  • - **After I've called on you to speak ** - Thank you.

  • **And you would say ** [Continues, Indistinct]

  • - You're not sayin' much today. - What's wrong with silence?

  • - [Laughing] - [Bike Bell Rings]

  • You know what I miss? Springtime on campus, huh?

  • - That was always the best time. - Yeah, for you professors, maybe.

  • To us lowly students, spring meant one thing... cramming for finals.

  • Oh, yeah. Beautiful day like this...

  • and we made you spend it buried in a book.

  • Throw down your books! You have nothing to lose but your grades.

  • [Laughter, Murmuring]

  • - Coach, you ever wish you were young again? - Nah.

  • I've been young. I know how miserable it can be, being young.

  • Oh, push me down there, huh?

  • Aging isn't just decay, you know? It's growth.

  • So how come nobody ever says, "Gee, I wish I were old"?

  • Because this culture worships youth. Me, I do not buy it.

  • I've had my time to be 22. This is my time to be 78.

  • So, you were never afraid of getting old?

  • Oh, the fear of aging... You know what that reflects, Mitch?

  • - Lives that haven't found meaning. - [Students Chattering]

  • - The light changed. - Oh.

  • [Morrie] Mitch, stop here.

  • - This is where I used to dance. - " Dance Free"?

  • - Yeah. - No wonder they went out ofbusiness.

  • Not that kind of free, Mitch.

  • I used to think if I couldn't dance, I couldn't live.

  • ****[Tango]

  • [Morrie] Sometimes I see myself dancing, and I think...

  • "Wow.! Oh, boy.! I don't have ALS after all.

  • "It's-It's a big mistake.

  • It's all part of a lovely fantasy. "

  • Butjust for a minute.

  • Fantasy is useful. You can learn from it.

  • But, uh... this...

  • this is what's real, and I accept it.

  • But is it really that easy? I mean, don't you ever feel sorry for yourself?

  • Oh, good... Oh, you bet. God, I...

  • Usually, in the morning... you know, before everybody gets up...

  • I get so... angry...

  • and so bitter.

  • I just... What the hell did I ever do to deserve this?

  • Where's the fairness? What...

  • [Sighs] And I cry and I...

  • rage.

  • I mourn.

  • And then I detach.

  • It's over. That's it.

  • All over. No more.

  • I just look back on how I've been feeling, and I say...

  • "Well, that's self-pity, and that's enough of that for today."

  • - Just like that you stop? - Yeah.

  • That's all the time I give it. Start thinking about the day ahead, you know?

  • The people that are gonna come to see me...

  • the stories that I'm gonna hear and all the stuff I'm gonna learn.

  • - Like from you, Mitch. - From me?

  • There's a place that I've got to go now, Mitch.

  • I hope you can handle it.

  • [Laughs]

  • Yeah, I think the chocolate almond was the best of all, but they don't carry it.

  • How you doin', Morrie? You ready for a good beatin'?

  • - Hey. - Hi.

  • Hi there. You ready for a beatin'?

  • ****[Tape: Woman Singing Opera]

  • - You oughta get a zipper. - [Connie] I know.

  • If I ever learn how to sew.

  • ****[Opera Continues]

  • - Oh, hey, Mrs. Schwartz. - Oh, please.

  • Call me Charlotte, Mitch. Did he ever stop talking?

  • [Chuckles] No. I was afraid I was gonna tire him out.

  • Oh, he never gets tired if he's got friends to talk to.

  • I'm so glad you came back. You were one of his favorites.

  • - You going back to work? - Just for a couple of hours.

  • [Sighs] I hope you'll come again.

  • [Morrie] Charlotte, wasn't that a great funeral today, huh?

  • - What a turnout.! - [Laughing]

  • How does he do it? How does he stay so cheerful all the time?

  • Well, sometimes the nights are difficult for him. They really are.

  • - [Morrie] Charlotte. - Coming, dear.

  • ****[Opera Continues]

  • [Morrie] Every time Aldo works me over...

  • I feel like he's given me an extra couple of days.

  • [Laughs] You like massage?

  • - Uh, not really, no. - No?

  • Oh, boy, I revel in it.

  • You know what's funny? Some people just don't like to be touched.

  • I always found that rather odd.

  • When we're babies, we live to be touched...

  • to be held, cuddled by your mother...

  • comforted.

  • We never seem to get enough of that.

  • We need it so badly. I... [Crying]

  • - Have a, uh... - Yeah. You okay?

  • Yeah. I cry a lot. Maybe you noticed.

  • - Do you cry, Mitch? - Uh...

  • All this makes you uncomfortable, doesn't it? I... The crying and touching.

  • I see you look away. [Sniffs]

  • I guess I'm just not really a touchy-feely guy.

  • - Yeah, it scares you. - Doesn't scare me.

  • Yes, it scares you. All this does.

  • Everything we're talking about... death, dying.

  • There is a reason why people don't talk about these things.

  • - Hmm? - To spare people's feelings.

  • To spare people's feel... I never have understood that.

  • How can you spare someone's feelings by denying them?

  • - [Grunts] - What, you got a plane?

  • No. You're not the only one who has to use the commode sometimes, you know?

  • Oh.

  • [Birds Chirping]

  • Mmm. Days like this, you used to hold classes outside.

  • Uh, today is Tuesday. Tuesdays I used to hold office hours.

  • Oh, right, tutorials, when you'd rip apart my papers.

  • - [Chuckles] And we'd talk. - And we'd talk.

  • You were the first grown-up who ever talked to me who wasn't a relative.

  • And we're still talking.

  • Only maybe you think what I'm talking about doesn't apply to you now.

  • You know who I forgot to ask you about?

  • - Your girlfriend with the beautiful name. Uh, Janine, yeah. - Janine.

  • - Now, am I ever gonna meet her? - Oh, I don't know, Coach.

  • - Uh... - "I don't know, Coach."

  • - [Laughing] - Uh... maybe.

  • Maybe. You still don't know how to say good-bye, do you, still?

  • Come here. I'll show you.

  • [Laughs] Oh, Mitch.

  • I'm gonna get to you one of these days, boy.

  • - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

  • [Mitch] Bye-bye.

  • What, did you forget something?

  • When can I come back?

  • Office hours are Tuesdays. We're Tuesday people, Mitch.

  • [Door Closes, Engine Starts]

  • [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 ofhis 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 thejet stream outside my window.

  • And notjust 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, noJanine, 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 toJanine. 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 meetJanine. - 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]

  • - [Slurping] - [Clears Throat] Morrie...

  • - Huh? - TellJanine 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 ofheaven 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 oflife.

  • The teaching goes on.

  • Best watched using Open Subtitles MKV Player

[Oprah Winfrey] To be a best-seller for over two years...

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