Brian Morris' Blog

Okay, Okay, I’m here … as promised.

Oh, where to begin. This past month and a half (as I am reminded every day in Government class) has been CRAZY.

For starters, ABOAMO. I know, I know. Let me just point out the pink elephant in the room. I said this book was to be done by March 14th - I lied. BUT I did finish the great book they call “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins and it was VERY good. Who knew a book about mass murdering children could be so interesting? I surely did not! For anyone looking for a good read, you should definitely consider reading this.

Since my read of “The Hunger Games”, my literature selections have taken a more serious and frankly saddening assortment of books. First we have, “Desperate Hope” by Candi Pearson-Shleton. This book is about her and her family’s grieving during and after the death of her brother, Rick Pearson (who happened to be a Worship Pastor at MLC). It has been great to learn of the Worship Pastor I never really knew and how he had a great impact on so many. The other book I am currently reading is “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion. This book is about the woman’s grieving after the loss of husband and how her thoughts shaped the year following his death. I have tried three times to finish this book and have yet to do so. I need to. For me.

Many of you, I’m sure (not really), that you are on pens and needles to hear of the book selection that has been chosen for the month of April. Well, wait no longer for I am about to tell you. Are you ready? Do you think you can handle it any longer? Wait for it. Wait for it. Here is comes! Patience is a virtue. Are you ready now? How about now? Ok, here I go. There will be no turning back. The selection for April is The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow. How is that for melodramatic? This selection is for the moth of April 2010.

Here is the Barnes & Nobles synopsis on the book:

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
—Randy Pausch
A lot of professors give talks titled “The Last Lecture.” Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can’t help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn’t have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—”Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”—wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because “time is all you have…and you may find one day that you have less than you think”). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.
In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.
SO, what do you think? I think it is going to be GREAT.

In the mean time, I have fulfilled all public duties and declare this post officially OVER.