Roger Ebert can’t remember the last thing he ate. He can't remember the last thing he drank, either, or the last thing he said. Of course, those things existed; those lasts happened. They just didn't happen with enough warning for him to have bothered committing them to memory — it wasn't as though he sat down, knowingly, to his last supper or last cup of coffee or to whisper a last word into Chaz's ear. The doctors told him they were going to give him back his ability to eat, drink, and talk. But the doctors were wrong, weren't they? On some morning or afternoon or evening, sometime in 2006, Ebert took his last bite and sip, and he spoke his last word.
It's a fawning piece on Ebert and I don't have any objection to that. But like a good fawning piece, the article overlooks Ebert's mean and hateful streak that comes through in his personal columns and tweets. Odd since the article deals in depth about how Ebert now communicates after his unfortunate health situation.
No matter. It's the latest on Ebert and may shed some light on his current state of mind. I don't hold with those who think he's changed because of his health battles; I believe he's always been this way and that it's now only coming out because he has so many other ways to communicate.
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I do feel sympathy for Ebert. It's a shame that his brilliant mind held so much hatred for those with whom he disagreed.
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