Morrie laughed,Louis Vuitton M93759, then shook his head. The morning sun was coming through the window behind him,Louis Vuitton M91676-5, falling on the pink flowers of the hibiscus plant that sat on the sill. The quote was from Ted Turner,Louis Vuitton M93744, the billionaire media mogul,Louis Vuitton M56688, founder of CNN,Louis Vuitton M93702, who had been lamenting his inability to snatch up the CBS network in a corporate megadeal. I had brought the story to Morrie this morning because I wondered if Turner ever found himself in my old professor's position,Louis Vuitton M45639, his breath disappearing,Louis Vuitton M93447, his body turning to stone,Louis Vuitton M93742, his days being crossed off the calendar one by one-would he really be crying over owning a network?

"It's all part of the same problem,Louis Vuitton M40354-1, Mitch,Louis Vuitton M40157," Morrie said. "We put our values in the wrong things. And it leads to very disillusioned lives. I think we should talk about that."

Morrie was focused. There were good days and bad days now. He was having a good day. The night before,Louis Vuitton M41418, he had been entertained by a local a cappella group that had come to the house to perform,Louis Vuitton N41522, and he relayed the story excitedly,Louis Vuitton M60042, as if the Ink Spots themselves had dropped by for a visit. Morrie's love for music was strong even before he got sick,Louis Vuitton M60163, but now it was so intense,Louis Vuitton M41526, it moved him to tears. He would listen to opera sometimes at night,Louis Vuitton M93705, closing his eyes,Louis Vuitton M93737, riding along with the magnificent voices as they dipped and soared.

"You should have heard this group last night,Louis Vuitton N51985, Mitch. Such a sound,Louis Vuitton M93595!"

Morrie had always been taken with simple pleasures,Louis Vuitton M41416, singing,Louis Vuitton M40155-1, laughing,Louis Vuitton M85394, dancing. Now,Louis Vuitton M93710-2, more than ever,Louis Vuitton M63882, material things held little or no significance. When people die,Louis Vuitton M60094, you always hear the expression "You can't take it with you." Morrie seemed to know that a long time ago.

"We've got a form of brainwashing going on in our country,Louis Vuitton M60083," Morrie sighed. "Do you know how they brainwash people? They repeat something over and over. And that's what we do in this country. Owning things is good. More money is good. More property is good. More commercialism is good. More is good. More is good. We repeat it-and have it repeated to us-over and over until nobody bothers to even think otherwise. The average person is so fogged up by all this,Louis Vuitton M58084, he has no perspective on what's really important anymore.

"Wherever I went in my life,Louis Vuitton N41418, I met people wanting to gobble up something new. Gobble up a new car. Gobble up a new piece of property. Gobble up the latest toy. And then they wanted to tell you about it. `Guess what I got? Guess what I got?'

"You know how I always interpreted that? These were people so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes. They were embracing material things and expecting a sort of hug back. But it never works. You can't substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship.

"Money is not a substitute for tenderness,Louis Vuitton M40453, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. I can tell you,Louis Vuitton Speedy Voyage 45, as I'm sitting here dying,Louis Vuitton M60043, when you most need it,Louis Vuitton M91676, neither money nor power will give you the feeling you're looking for,Louis Vuitton M93710-1, no matter how much of them you have."

I glanced around Morrie's study. It was the same today as it had been the first day I arrived. The books held their same places on the shelves. The papers cluttered the same old desk. The outside rooms had not been improved or upgraded. In fact,Louis Vuitton M95846, Morrie really hadn't bought anything new-except medical equipment-in a long,Louis Vuitton M93753, long time,Louis Vuitton M4031J, maybe years. The day he learned that he was terminally ill was the day he lost interest in his purchasing power.

So the TV was the same old model,Louis Vuitton M40143, the car that Charlotte drove was the same old model,Louis Vuitton N51107, the dishes and the silverware and the towels-all the same. And yet the house had changed so drastically. It had filled with love and teaching and communication. It had filled with friendship and family and honesty and tears. It had filled with colleagues and students and meditation teachers and therapists and nurses and a cappella groups. It had become,Louis Vuitton M58009, in a very real way,Louis Vuitton M9870, a wealthy home,Louis Vuitton M53151, even though Morrie's bank account was rapidly depleting.

"There's a big confusion in this country over what we want versus what we need,Louis Vuitton M60017," Morrie said. "You need food,Louis Vuitton M61202, you want a chocolate sundae. You have to be honest with yourself. You don't need the latest sports car,Louis Vuitton M91440, you don't need the biggest house.

"The truth is,Louis Vuitton M61989, you don't get satisfaction from those things. You know what really gives you satisfaction?" What?

"Offering others what you have to give."

You sound like a Boy Scout.

"I don't mean money,Louis Vuitton M91691-3, Mitch. I mean your time. Your concern. Your storytelling. It's not so hard. There's a senior center that opened near here. Dozens of elderly people come there every day. If you're a young man or young woman and you have a skill,Louis Vuitton M92646, you are asked to come and teach it. Say you know computers. You come there and teach them computers. You are very welcome there. And they are very grateful. This is how you start to get respect,Louis Vuitton M60047, by offering something that you have.

"There are plenty of places to do this. You don't need to have a big talent. There are lonely people in hospitals and shelters who only want some companionship. You play cards with a lonely older man and you find new respect for yourself,Louis Vuitton M40144, because you are needed. "Remember what I said about finding a meaningful life? I wrote it down,Louis Vuitton M93740, but now I can recite it: Devote yourself to loving others,Louis Vuitton M42238, devote yourself to your community around you,Louis Vuitton M93755, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.

"You notice,Louis Vuitton M60234," he added,Louis Vuitton M91687, grinning,Louis Vuitton N60027, "there's nothing in there about a salary."