Wow: Roger Ebert's "Nil by Mouth" Journal Entry

If you haven't, you should check out Roger Ebert's journal. Specifically, you should read "Nil by Mouth," which shares what it's like to no longer be able to eat, drink, or speak. (Let's be honest: if I had to give those things up, that's the order I'd do it in.)

Ebert is incredibly honest about his limitations, and appears to be at peace with something that I cannot even begin to imagine. As a relative youngster, I don't know a lot about Ebert past the idea of how many "thumbs up" a movie might receive from him, but I'm filled from head to toe with respect for this man.

Take a minute, when you have a chance, to read his discussion of the food memories that have begun to come back to him as he endures these changes. One especially beautiful moment comes when his brother in-law points out to him that perhaps God has given him back these potent memories in order to compensate for the loss of such basic abilities.

As Ebert points out, it's not just eating that we do when we sit down for dinner. It's talking for talking's sake. At dinner, with friends and family, we are usually not trying to sell or buy anything. We might teach, we might learn, but what we are doing is interacting. You can't put a price on that.