To be here is fantastic. You were not informed that this lecture series was formerly known as The Last Lecture. What would you teach if you had one final lesson to impart before passing away? Damn, I finally got the venue right, and now they’ve changed the name. My father always instructed me to introduce them when there is an elephant in the room, just in case somebody strolled in and doesn’t know the background. You can see from my CAT scans that my liver has about 10 tumors, and the doctors have told me that I have three to six months of good health left. You can calculate the math since it was a month ago. The top doctors in the world work for me.
That is what it is, then. We just need to decide how we’re going to react to it since we can’t change it. Only how we play the hand can influence the cards given to us. Sorry to let you down if I don’t seem as down or gloomy as I should be. And I can tell you that I’m not lying. It’s not as if I’m unaware of what’s happening. My wife, three children, and I recently relocated. We made the decision to purchase a beautiful home in Chesapeake, Virginia, which is close to Norfolk since it will be a better location for the family in the future. Another factor is that my health right now is great. The fact that I am in terrific shape is arguably the best example of cognitive dissonance you will ever witness. I actually look better than most of you. Therefore, if anyone wants to cry or feel sorry for me, they can come down and do a few of those before feeling sorry for me.
