pausch turned in journal on prime time

Tuned In Journal: Pausch on 'Prime Time' - Pittsburgh Post Gazette
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Search post-gazette NOW: Text Size: A| A| APost-gazette NOW sectionNOWNEWSNEIGHBORHOODSSPORTSBUSINESSLIVINGA & EMULTIMEDIAOPINIONCarsJobsReal EstateClassifieds EmailEmailPrintPrintTuned In Journal: Pausch on 'Prime Time'Thursday, April 10, 2008Thursday, April 10, 2008By Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Photo courtesy Randy PauschRandy Pausch, a 47 year-old professor at Carnegie Mellon University has terminal cancer, but inspires others with his lecture on living life to the fullest.

Yesterday on "Good Morning America," anchor Diane Sawyer said Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch lectured her on not portraying him as "Saint Randy" in last night's "Primetime," "The Last Lecture: A Love Story for Your Life."

But that's easier said than done when you're dealing with Pausch, who is dying of pancreatic cancer with little evidence of bitterness or anger.

At the end of their first interview, Pausch jokingly scolds Sawyer for not asking who he thinks should play him in a movie based on his life. Then he answers his own question.

"It can't be done," Pausch said. "No Hollywood actress is pretty enough to play my wife."

Sawyer traveled to CMU in October to interview the 47-year-old Pausch, to watch him playing football with Pittsburgh Steelers players (he caught all of Hines Ward's passes) and to chat with Pausch's wife, Jai. Why did it take four months for the interview to air? Probably so it could promote Pausch's new book, published this week by Hyperion, which, like ABC, is part of the Disney empire.

Cross-promotional indulgences aside, you'd have to be truly hard-hearted to dislike ABC's hour last night. It was heart-warming without getting too maudlin, but for anyone who's followed Pausch's story, there probably wasn't a whole lot that was new in this "Primetime" special.

But it did offer viewers a glimpse into Pausch's home life. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jai is almost as brave and eloquent as her husband, noting that the mantra "not helpful" helps her turn away from the temptation to wallow in sadness and fear of the future.

"I felt like I had to get through the day without crying," Jai said of the early days after her husband's dire diagnosis. "I had to be able to watch him playing with the kids and not cry."

Jai explained that the couple don't plan to tell their children -- Dylan, 6; Logan, 3; Chloe, 18 months -- until Randy is sick in bed so that the words, "Your daddy is sick," match what they see.

Sawyer also introduced viewers to people who watched Pausch's "Last Lecture" on YouTube and were inspired. Eeyores decided to turn over a new leaf and become Pausch-approved Tiggers. High school students perform Pausch's speech for forensics tournaments.

The hour concluded with Sawyer's most recent interview with Pausch six days ago. Pausch had been hospitalized and acknowledged the value of the support he's received from strangers, even at least one person who was consideirng suicide and changed his mind because of Pausch's lecture.

Jene Duffer is a prolific author who specializes on alternative views on a variety of topics.