How It All Goes Down
The Audiovisual, Part Three
- Nightline comes for a third visit. It will also be their last visit; Morrie is very weak.
- He's managed to melt the newscaster's heart, and Koppel now refers to him as a friend.
- This final interview takes place in Morrie's study because he's confined to his chair; the entire crew crams in between bookcases.
- They discuss fear of death, which Morrie says isn't as much of a problem for him as it was before. He says that unlike others who live with ALS and are hooked up to all sorts of artificial stuff, he'll prefer to accept death when his time comes.
- This is mainly because communication is so important to Morrie. If he can't communicate using either his hands or his words, he's just not himself anymore.
- Although he's still himself now, Morrie is noticeably tired and it's clear that his days are numbered.
- As the interview comes to an end Koppel asks him if he'd like to say one final thing to all the people who've been watching him for the last few months.
- Morrie sums up his famous words of advice: "Be compassionate and take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be so much better a place" (22.19).
- After all his suffering, his message isn't about living it up or making each day count—it's about loving others. The emphasis is on other people, rather than the self.
- The camera keeps filming even though the interview is over. Koppel is pretty much teary-eyed and says his goodbye, praising Morrie for the wonderful person that he is. Morrie responds by saying that he's trying to strike a deal with "Him" (22.28) to see if he's earned angel status.
- Mitch concludes this chapter by saying, as we may have noticed, that this is the first time Morrie ever talks about God.