The Ninth Tuesday

Summary

The previous day, someone had asked Morrie if he was afraid of being forgotten after he was dead. He feels that since he has been involved with so many people in close ways, that he is not so worried about being forgotten.

Mitch describes how he loves the way Morrie greets him upon his entrance. Mitch admires how Morrie has such a talent as to make each person feel special when they are around him.

Morrie tells Mitch how important it is to stay focused and to only be present with the people who are around you. He thinks that so many people are in a hurry and do not find the time to even engage in a real conversation without thinking of something else.

Notes

Morrie feels that it is important to truly be engaged and devoted when in the presence of others and also during conversation. He says that when he is with someone, he believes in being fully present only with that person. Morrie feels that so many people have not found meaning in their lives, so they rush and run around time after time in search of it. They are in search of more materialistic things which only provide them with less meaning. Morrie emphasizes the importance on skipping small talk and really listening to someone, without trying to gain anything in return. We can infer that since Morrie has given so much of his time and attention toward others, that this is why he has been having so many visitors; they were drawn to him due to all of the attention he had paid to them. Despite his pain and suffering, Morrie continued to listen to others, just as he had always wanted someone to listen to him.

Albom goes into further detail about Morrie's father in this chapter. We learn that the last time Morrie saw his father was while he was claiming his body in a city morgue. His father had been robbed that evening and ran and ran until he suffered from a heart attack.

Morrie's father rarely talked to his children and never hugged them or tucked them into bed at night. Morrie knew that when he raised his own children he would emphasize everything he had wished for as a child: hugging, kissing, talking and plenty of laughter.

Morrie told Mitch that when his final moment had arrived, he wanted to be surrounded by his family and those he loved; he wanted them to know what happened so no one would get a phone call, a telegram or have to claim his body from a basement.

The Tenth Tuesday

Summary

On this tenth Tuesday, Mitch brings his wife to meet Morrie. Mitch had called Morrie earlier in the week to see how he was feeling and he asked to talk to Mitch's wife, Janine. When she got off the phone with Morrie, she told Mitch she was coming on the next trip. They talk and Morrie asks about her career as a professional singer and he asks her to sing something for him. She sang a 1930's song written by Ray Noble. When she finished singing, Mitch noticed tears running down Morrie's face.

Mitch and Morrie then discuss marriage and Morrie shares with him, what he has learned through his many years of marriage.

Notes

Mitch brings his wife, Janine, to meet Morrie on their tenth meeting. They talk about Detroit, the city where she is from and Morrie asks her to sing for him. Mitch is very surprised when she openly starts singing to Morrie. Mitch states that, since Janine is a professional singer, many people often ask her to sing for them and she politely declines. However, when Morrie asks this of her, she starts singing without hesitation. This is another example of how Morrie is able to draw emotion from people. Mitch said that he had never heard his wife sing as well as she had that day; Morrie drew out Janine's best singing while her song drew tears out of Morrie.

Mitch asks Morrie why his generation has so many problems with marriage. Morrie states that he feels it is so important, in today's culture, to find a loving relationship; he feels that people are either too selfish to take part in a real marriage, or rush into marriage and get divorced shortly thereafter. He feels that these people, who rush into marriage, do not know exactly what they want in a partner.

Morrie shares some of what he has learned throughout his forty years of marriage. He feels that there are a few essential rules that are true about love and marriage: respect for the other person, compromise, open conversation and a common set of values. He believes also that the two must believe in the importance of their marriage.