Humans can be such astonishing creatures. Witness Roger Ebert, a human who for most of his life, was known for what he thought of movies. In his heyday the film reviews he and his friend Gene Siskel gave were either a boon or the kiss of death to a movie.The team was popular enough to be satirized, that's how good they were. Ebert was very good and successful at critiquing, but then Life threw a curve ball at him. His best friend Siskel died, then years later he himself developed an especially nasty form of cancer. He ended up losing his weight, his jaw, and then his voice.
The adversity has not stopped him though. He continues to write, but not just reviews, but of life. He has gone from critic to philosopher, and the transformation is breathtaking. Here's his statement on life and death from
Esquire's interview:
I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.
That is a man who knows what life is about.
