Blog 4

In my first class with Morrie, I go into his office and see tons of books on many different subjects. There aren't many students in the classroom, either. I begin to think to myself that this class might be too small for me to take.. all of the sudden Morrie calls out my full name from the attendance list.
"Mitchell?" I wave my hand so he can see me. "Do you prefer Mitch or Mitchell?"
No teacher has ever asked me this before, I study Morrie for a moment, trying to think of what to say.
Mitch, I tell him. Mitch is what my friends call me.
"Well, Mitch it is then. And, Mitch?"
 Yes?
 "I hope that one day you will think of me as your friend."
And that was the beginning of my first class with Morrie Schwartz.
  I turned my car onto Morrie's street. Morrie's hometown is West Newton, Massachusetts. As I was talking to a TV producer about a project on the phone, I looked at the numbers on the mailbox on the side of the road and came to a complete stop and noticed it was his house. I couldn't believe it. I was about to see Morrie after sixteen years. I suddenly saw a woman and a young man pushing Morrie in a wheelchair. I felt everything around me come to a hault, was this my professor? The Morrie I knew for four years in college? The producer on the other end of the line asks me if I'm still there, and I realize that I was still staring at Morrie. I continued my converstion on the phone and finished up my work.

    Not much longer, Morrie was right in front of me. Smiling at me and hugging me. He had thin white hair, and he smelled sour.
 "My old friend," he whispered, "you've come back at last."
He gave me a long hug. He had never given me this much affection in the long time that I had known him.
We went inside the house and sat at his dining room table. He asked if he could feed me lunch. I said all right. One of his home healthcare workers, Connie, brought in fresh containers of chicken salad, hummus, tabouli, bread and tomatoes.
 He looked at me. "Mitch, you know that I'm dying."
 Yes, I knew.
 "Well, shall I tell you what it's like?"
 To die?
 "Yes," he said.
  I didn't know it until a while later. Our next class had just begun.