Professional Documents
Culture Documents
- [Director] Action.!
- I think we all relate to Mitch.
[Cheering]
- Yeah.
- How're ya doin'?
Hey, Katie.
How are ya, dear?
[Man Narrating]
Among other things, many other things...
There he is!
What do you say?
**Sleep, baby, sleep **
[Narrating Continues]
He especially liked tongue.
****[Continues, Indistinct]
- Excuse me.
- Near the top of the list
of things he loved was dancing.
- [Man Yelling]
- He had his own way of dancing.
He'djitterbug to...
name a band... Nine Inch Nails.
[Music Changes,
Crowd Murmuring]
Hey!
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
****[Tango]
[Crowd Murmuring,
Laughing]
[Mitch Narrating]
One ofhis favorites was the tango.
- Professor.
- shortness ofbreath...
[Engine Starts]
[Straining]
- [Students Chattering]
- Should we do something?
- [All Yelling]
- Janine, hi. Did I wake you, honey?
- Everything.
- I just wanna say
I love you and I'm sorry.
- [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"?
- [Laughing]
- [Ted Koppel On TV]
Just who is Morrie Schwartz?
And why,
by the end of the night...
[Announcer On TV]
This is ABC News Nightline.
- One second.
- Reporting from Washington, Ted Koppel.
[Ted Koppel]
Tonight, Morrie... Lessons on Living.
better known
as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Morrie Schwartz is
a retired sociology professor...
Or maybe my dying
can be of value...
[Morrie Laughing]
- Congratulations.
- On what? The column? It was all right.
- I mean congratulations
on your sweet little TV deal.
- Thank you.
[Sighs]
All right. Um...
I'll, uh...
I'll come by work, I guess.
I love you.
****[Women Harmonizing]
- [Men Laughing]
- What's up, you guys?
- F-sharp.
- [Striking Note]
- Hey.
- Hey.
[Chuckles]
I love you.
[Crowd Cheering]
All of a sudden
he stands up and says...
"What's wrong
with being number two?"
Great. Sorry.
- [TVSportscaster, Indistinct]
- [Sighs] Anyway...
- [Crowd Cheering]
- Mitch, think...
[Mitch Narrating]
I lived on the phone,
made dozens of calls a day.
I was afraid
of seeing him now.
- Here's my buddy!
- Hey!
- I promise.
- [Mitch Narrating]
I failed that promise.
- [Phone Ringing]
- I also had a thing about failure.
- Hey.
- Well, you were right. I can't work.
- [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.
- 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.
[Laughing]
Let's eat.
[Laughing, Sniffing]
Come on.
Make yourself comfortable.
- Okay.
- Looks great.
[Slurping]
- [Clears Throat]
- [Phone Ringing]
I thought so.
- Hmm.
- We all trooped in
with our notebooks ready...
We started panicking.
"Why isn't the guy saying anything?"
Right.
[Chuckles]
Um... sure.
- [Bell Rings]
- [Morrie] Connie, uh...
[Clears Throat]
Living unhappily,
that's another matter.
See ya in a minute.
Okay.
- [Sighs]
- Are you happy in Detroit?
Football, basketball,
baseball, hockey, you name it.
[Chuckles]
I... I can't complain.
Uh-huh. What
happened to the music?
- Uh, no.
- Haven't found anybody
to share your heart with, huh?
- Janine.
- Janine? That's a very beautiful name.
No.
[Chuckles]
Uh-huh.
[Laughs]
- Yeah?
- You know anything about this
disease that I've got here?
[Straining]
My legs... went first.
and eventually
it'll get the whole body.
- You're lucky?
- Yeah.
- About dying?
- Not about dying! About living!
- [Morrie Grunting]
- [Connie] I got you.
- I'll bet.
- Why don't you keep it?
- Yeah.
- [Connie] Easy. Easy. Okay.
[Whispering]
One, two, three, four, five...
[Panting]
[Mitch Narrating]
I promised.
[Engine Starts,
Phone Rings]
- [Phone Beeps]
- Hello?
and where do we go
to find the answers?
choose to pursue
his higher education?
[All Cheering]
I been real careful lookin' over
all my scholarship offers...
- [Cheering]
- [Indistinct]
[All Cheering]
[Laughing]
[Shawn On Tape]
I mean, I mean... -
If we lived together,
you'd be home, but...
- [Phone Ringing]
- Janine, please don't go. Janine, wait.
[Tape, Indistinct]
- [Phones Ringing]
- It's just not a good time, Mitch.
- We got play-offs,
we got tennis, spring training.
- I know.
- Walter...
- Do you people work here?
I want you on the road, Mitch.
Oh, Janine.
The marriage thing again.
I could recommend
a hell of a counselor.
We got divorced anyway.
- Okay.
- No, no, no. Come on.
No ground rules.
[Mitch Narrating]
I left Janine with promises.
[Mitch Narrating]
I remembered my promise to Morrie...
Gee, how-
how did we miss that?
Our self-worth
isn't being validated.
Books, TVshows,
hundred-dollar-an-hour experts...
[Mitch Narrating]
What did Morrie think of that?
He wasn't in
the self-help business.
- Go on in.
- **A cup, a cup, a cup **
****[Man Scatting]
**Boarrrrrrr ****
That's terrific.
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.
or die."
We must...
or die.
- Thank you.
- [All Sobbing]
[Quiet Chattering]
Thank you.
I'll see you soon.
**Another day **
- [Laughing]
- [Bike Bell Rings]
Oh, yeah.
Beautiful day like this...
[Laughter, Murmuring]
Oh, push me
down there, huh?
[Morrie]
Mitch, stop here.
- Yeah.
- No wonder they went out ofbusiness.
****[Tango]
Fantasy is useful.
You can learn from it.
Oh, good...
Oh, you bet. God, I...
and so bitter.
[Sighs]
And I cry and I...
rage.
I mourn.
[Laughs]
- Hey.
- Hi.
Hi there.
You ready for a beatin'?
****[Opera Continues]
[Sighs]
I hope you'll come again.
- What a turnout.!
- [Laughing]
- [Morrie] Charlotte.
- Coming, dear.
****[Opera Continues]
[Morrie]
Every time Aldo works me over...
[Laughs]
You like massage?
to be held,
cuddled by your mother...
comforted.
We never seem
to get enough of that.
- Have a, uh...
- Yeah. You okay?
- Hmm?
- To spare people's feelings.
- [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]
- Uh...
- "I don't know, Coach."
- [Laughing]
- Uh... maybe.
Come here.
I'll show you.
[Laughs]
Oh, Mitch.
[Announcer]
That's a nice first serve by Sergio...
[Mitch, Reading]
"Love. What is love, anyway?
- [All Laughing]
- You didn't see the ball!
Oh-ho, yes!
[Indistinct Shouting]
- [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.
- [Laughing Continues]
- [Phone Ringing]
[Sighs]
Hello?
Yeah, so have I.
- [Raucous Laughter]
- What?
This is so hard,
but I can't wait anymore.
[Crying]
But I need more than that.
- Okay.
- [Reporter] Oh, my God.!
Can we please just not
do this on the phone?
- Janine.
- I can't be with you anymore.
I'm sorry.
[All Shouting]
- Hey, Sergio!
- [Shouting Continues]
[Mitch Grunting]
- [Tires Screeching]
- What the hell am I doing?
[Chattering]
[Gasping, Wheezing]
[Groaning]
Is that Mitch?
Must be Tuesday.
It's Mitch.
How ya doin', Coach?
some hummus.
- Ahhh.
- I got pita bread, nice and warm.
- Yeah, good.
- I got apple cobbler.
Huh. Tongue!
- Ugh.
- You remembered.
- What is that?
- Well, if you're gonna keep giving me...
[Sighs]
That's a pretty big machine, huh.
- Okay.
- All right.
Now do you want to hear
a real tragedy?
He was more
of a brother, really.
Testing, testing.
[Clears Throat]
Yeah, he was 42
when he died. Cancer.
[Turns On Recorder,
Clears Throat]
- Stickball.
- Stickball?
- [Children Chattering]
- A broom handle and a rubber ball
was all you needed.
[Sobbing]
[Reading In Yiddish]
So you grew up
with your father?
He never showed
what he really felt.
[Sighs]
He remarried
about a year later.
[Speaking Russian]
[Yiddish]
- ** [Singing In Yiddish]
- I finally began to get
the love that I'd been missing.
** [Singing Continues]
[Morrie]
He did something...
God, I found
very, very hard to forgive.
Not letting
ourselves be loved...
[Gasping]
[Gasping Continues]
[Bell Ringing]
- [Groaning]
- That's it. Okay, breathe.
Good. Good.
Okay. You're okay.
[Morrie Sighing]
[Pager Beeping]
[Sighs]
[Phone Rings]
I just need
a little bit of time...
Fine!
[Toilet Flushing]
[Connie]
Here we go.
Connie. Connie,
show me how to do that?
- Mm-hmm.
- Okay. Come on over here.
- Okay.
- You got him.
[Groans, Sighs]
[Morrie Mutters]
- Hmm?
- One sec. One sec.
Okay, go ahead.
- [Muttering]
- And time whooshing past...
- Hi.
- Hi.
**After **
- That is amazing.
- Uh, he's made me think
about a lot of things.
- [People Laughing]
- And, uh...
- I'm dead.
- Yeah, right, Shawn.
You're 18, in perfect health.
[Mitch]
Unless somebody teaches us to.
[Morrie]
We all need teachers, Mitch.
[Coughs]
In a way, because of my father.
- Your father?
- Yeah. It's...
- Is this him?
- Yeah. Yeah.
He didn't. He tried
to get me started in his trade.
[Workers Shouting
In Foreign Language]
- [Laughing]
- 'Course, they thought
I was just a crybaby...
- [Slurping]
- [Young Morrie] Washington?
Uh-huh.
Maybe my wisdom
isn't what you need.
[Coughs]
[Morrie On Tape]
We think we don't deserve love.
Said it right.
Love is the only rational act.
[Phone Ringing]
- [Beeps]
- Mitch. Walter. Call me, please.
****[Resumes]
[Woman On P.A.]
Please consult a ticket representative...
[Clicks Heels]
If this is a no,
why didn't you just call me?
- Uh-huh.
- You can just put it right up there.
are finally
gonna meet each other.
[Wheelchair Clattering]
[Connie]
All right. Here we go.
All right
[Laughs]
- [Kissing]
- What'd ya bring today?
- Oh!
- Oh, uh, I brought something
else with me today, Coach.
Morrie...
- this is Janine.
- Yeah, Janine.
Thank you.
[Both Laughing]
[Slurping]
[Slurping]
- [Slurping]
- [Clears Throat] Morrie...
- Huh?
- TellJanine the story you
told me... about the ocean?
Okay.
No. I got ya.
- [Morrie Gasping]
- [Oxygen Tank Hissing]
[Steady Breathing]
- Okay.
- Okay?
Thank you.
- Backup?
- Uh-huh.
Exc... Me?
- Sure.
- Bye.
- Hey.
- Oh, hi.
[Sighs]
So, is it...
It's really bad?
****[Janine Singing]
** That's everything **
** The very thought of you **
**And I forget to do **
[Chuckles]
That's all?
No.
[Chuckles]
So many times
I've heard you sing.
Um...
[Scoffs]
But you gave it back to me.
- Okay.
- Mmm.
[Sobbing]
[Sighs]
[Thunderclap]
- [Coughing]
- Boy, maybe I shouldn't
stay today, huh?
"Where's Mitch?
It's Tuesday. "
****[Continues]
- Hiya, Coach.
- Hiya, buddy.
[Chuckles]
How ya doin'?
- Oh?
- They go off and have
a latte somewhere.
I passed a landmark.
- I'm there.
- You're not gonna expect
me to do that, are you?
Why not?
You might be good at it.
- Go.
- I'm dependent on others...
for just about
everything, you know...
eating, urinating,
blowing my nose.
- [Groans]
- What's the matter?
We must love
one another or die.
- Oh.
- I do that a lot these days.
I don't know.
Well, I guess
I just don't understand it.
We must love
one another or die!
Pride, vanity,
hardness of heart.
I saw my father...
under a tree...
He was reading
his paper, as usual.
Some muggers
pulled a gun on him.
He threw his wallet down and ran.
Why was he
so scared that night?
I looked at my father.
I didn't even cry.
[Sighs]
God, that poor man...
[Labored Breathing]
of my family, my friends.
At peace.
as much as what
loves us, you know?
****[Opera]
****[Continues]
- [Grunts]
- Okay.
****[Continues]
sometimes a bed's
just for sleepin', okay?
[Groans]
[Groaning]
- Hello.
- Hey, buddy. It's Walter.
Finally got ya on the phone.
Um, anyway,
I'll make this short.
- Good.
- [Groans]
[Groans]
[Aldo]
Okay, it has to be hard.
- [Morrie Grunting]
- That's it. Little bit harder.
[Together]
Six, seven, eight, nine...
Hey, Shawn.
Hope you're right, man.
- [Mitch]
I was glad to be writing again...
- [Chuckling]
I got one.
We made the best of it.
We called Morrie.
He cried, of course...
[Clears Throat]
So, I'm typing up the thesis.
So I had a thought.
It was kind of weird.
- Wait-Wait, I don't think
the tape is rolling.
- Oh.
- Uh-huh.
- Uh, if somebody could
wave a magic wand...
Twenty-four hours?
with trees,
so we could watch the birds.
Oh, boy.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
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.
Well, I don't
have to mention them.
Hold.
[Sniffles]
I'm sorry.
Look at me.
[Sighs]
- Love you.
- [Shudders] I love you too, Coach.
[Sniffling]
- Yeah.
- I'm gonna bring, Janine
with me, okay, next Tuesday.
- Yeah.
- [Weeping]
[Mitch Weeping]
- [Phone Ringing]
- We got the call that afternoon.
Hello? Oh.
****[Continues]
Just the way he wanted it.
[Rabbi Continues]
- [Rabbi] Amen.
- Of course, there was poetry.
[Mitch]
When I'm dead, you talk. I'll listen.
It was Tuesday.