I would never wish cancer on anyone and now that I see what it has done to Roger Ebert it is just devastating. Over the past few years my respect for the famed critic has grown by leaps and bounds as I began to learn more and more about movie reporting as well as now that I have seen what kind of a trooper he really is. His will has been no more exemplified than today as he announced on his site that he will indeed be attending his very own Ninth Annual Ebertfest opening Wednesday night at the University of Illinois at Urbana.
Unfortunately he won’t be speaking at the festival, but only because he can’t as he awaits another surgery. He explains his situation saying, “…cancer of the salivary gland spread to my right lower jaw. A segment of the mandible was removed. Two operations to replace the missing segment were unsuccessful, both leading to unanticipated bleeding.”
He has resulted to writing notes to communicate and he goes on to say that he will be attending the festival despite people telling him he really shouldn’t because the “paparazzi will take unflattering pictures, people will be unkind, etc.” To this he simply says, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. As a journalist I can take it as well as dish it out.”
Ebert also gives one great note at the end saying, “We spend too much time hiding illness. There is an assumption that I must always look the same. I hope to look better than I look now. But I’m not going to miss my Festival.”
There is much more to the article and it is well worth the read as a great example of human perseverance from a man that many people should respect and admire. I wish Ebert all the best. To check out the full article CLICK HERE.
