Title: Tuesdays with Morrie
Author: Mitch Albom
Publisher& Year: Anchor Books, 1997
Vocabulary
in lieu of: instead of
pancreatic: relating to or involving the pancreas
(*pancreas: an organ in your body that is situated behind your stomach )
breakneck: it means something happens or travels very fast.
squirm: If you squirm, you are very embarrassed or ashamed.
squint: If you squint at something, you look at it with your eyes partly closed.
faucet :a device that controls the flow of a liquid or gas from a pope or container.
diffuse: make something known over a wide world or to a lot of people.
prop: If you prop an object on or against something, you support it by putting underneath it or by resting it somewhere.
undo: to undo something is that has been done means to reverse its effect.
ruddy: If you describe someone's face as ruddy, you mean that face is a reddish colour.
levitate: If someone or something levitates, they appear to rise and float in the air without any support from other people or objects.
Brief summary and personal reflection on the story
A young man whose name is Mitchell was the student who hated to show his emotion to other people. When he got the college, he met a professor Morrie and became comfortable to him. Morrie called him Mitch and he called Morrie coach. Since then, they spent time together every tuesdays. On tuesdays, this two guys had meals together in the cafeteria-usually the menu was sandwiches. While they are in the cafeteria, they discussed about many things and sometimes Morrie was a counselor for Mitch. 4 years later, Mitch graduated the school. He made the promise to keep touch with Morrie, but he never did over 10 year because his life had been too busy to remember old professor Morrie, who taught him the importance of emotional value. He had been living intense life as a journalist. One day, he listened Morrie's voice through a television and figured out that Morrie had fatal illness, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lou Gehrig that melts his nerves and leaves the body a pile of wax. Since Mitch Knew that, he had visited Morrie's house and took the last class. The subject was The Meaning of Life- the world, feeling sorry for yourself, regrets, death, family, emotions, fear of aging, money, how love goes on, marriage, culture, forgiveness, and the perfect day. During the class, Mitch had been changed step by step. Finally, his body couldn't overcome the illness but his soul was more healthy than any other the healthy young.
Morrie was really positive person even in such a situation- at the end he couldn't do any basic actions without the helps of family, friends, or machine. Most people, including me, might be very depressed when the situation that someone have to wipe their ass. But Morrie was different. He said sometimes he felt sad, but when the sad mood was coming, he just cried for a while and tried to overcome. And he thought he had luck because he could prepare for the death. How could he be so positive in that agony? While I read this book, I could remember one teacher. Even though she doesn't suffer from Lou Gehrig, she is really optimistic and thinks emotional values like love is more important that material ones as Morrie thought. I met her last year and since then, I have tried to think positively like her. She always says 'Everything is going to be alright.' Like Morrie changed Mitch, she changed my way of how to think. In this sense, when the author, Mitch Albom asked 'Have you ever had a teacher like this?' in this book, my answer was 'Yes, I have.' Next month, in September, she will go back to her country, U.S.A. As Mitch sent his coach, I may have to prepare to send my one. I am happpy because luckly, unlike Mitch, I have chance to meet my coach again.
