Among other things, many other things, my old professor loved to eat.

What do you say? He especially liked tongue. I'd say Morrie, that's disgusting. He'd say,

I'm sorry you think so. I also like coleslaw. Can you handle coleslaw, Mitch?

Near the top of the list of things he loved was dancing.

He had his own way of dancing. He'd do the Lindy to Jimi Hendrix, jitterbug to name a band, nine inch nails. Just put it on. You're going to love it.

One of his favorites was the tango. His own version, of course. Wherever it came from, it wasn't Argentina.

Moments like that, he could live in forever.

In the summer of 1994, he began to notice a few things. Shortness of breath, legs giving him a little trouble. But what do you expect at 77?

That was when Morrie got his death sentence.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Man, when they fall apart, these guys really fall apart, don't they?

As ugly as it's ugly. I knew it. Walter, it's Mitch. I got to change the column. I've got to change the column, Walter. I knew nothing about what happened to my old professor. I hadn't seen him since graduation day 16 years ago. I promised I'd keep in touch, but I got busy dancing my own dance. Walter, it's a zoo here. Just hold the space for me, okay? Give me a break. Have I ever missed a deadline? Janine, hi. Did I wake you, honey? Everything I did, I did on deadline. I'm such crazy here. Everything. I just want to say I love you and I'm sorry. You should have talked to me before the game. Yeah, no, we definitely have to talk. I know. One second. I got to go.

I love you. Bye-bye. Coach, what did you say to the team? Did the word discipline come up?

How about the word maturity? Sports are always in season in this country and I covered them all.

Living in planes and hotels with a laptop and a cell phone. I might never have known what had happened to Maury if I wasn't always doing six things at once. Janine, come on. Because I've been in love with you for seven years, doesn't that? Yeah, but in my book that is a commitment. Yeah.

Do we have to talk about this now? This is the only thing we ever fight about.

Yeah, because look at what marriage does to people. I'm not watching it. It's just on.

Look at what marriage does to people. Look at our married friends. Look at our divorce friends.

Well, look, I'll be back in Detroit tomorrow. We'll talk about this then, okay?

Yeah, well, I'll make time. Just who is Maury Schwartz and why by the end of the night are so many of you going to care about him? Janine, hang on one second.

This is ABC News Night Live. One second. Reporting from Washington,

Ted Koppel. Tonight, Maury. Lessons on living. Maury is going to die. He suffers from a disease called ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Maury Schwartz is a retired sociology professor from Brandeis University who is dying of ALS. Maury does not have long to live.

I'm on the last great journey here. One we all got to take. Maybe I can teach people what to pack for the trip. Janine? Hello? Now, maybe my dying can be a value. Something we can all learn from. Like a human textbook. I've been a teacher all my life. You think I'm going to quit now?

I'm just getting to work. Let me call you back, okay? Very good. Mitch, tomorrow's page.

Oh, excellent. Congratulations. I want the column? It's all right. A little rushed.

It's official, huh? Baseball strike is over. Yeah, which means I need you in Florida for spring training. I thought it was rushed. It read terrific. No, I mean congratulations on your sweet little TV deal. Walter, local TV. Books and the radio show and whatever else you got going. Take 20 words. My column comes first. How many hours you got in your day? What difference does it make? All I'm saying is that you're spreading yourself a little thin.

You think you can find a little time to write a piece for the baseball strike ending tomorrow?

It's a personal call. Say hello to Janine for me. Hello? Hello, it's me. Will you pick up, please?

Janine? Janine, you have to talk to me sometime. Will you pick up the phone, please? All right, I'll come by work, I guess. I love you.

Great column today, man. So we finally got baseball back or what? I think the fans should go on strike. Hold on a second. Something's not right here. Take a break for a second, ladies.

Mitch, make yourself useful, man. Give me an F-shot. Hey. Hey. I've been trying to call. Are you ever going to talk to me again? I was talking to you last night, you and the TV, and then I sort of got the idea that you didn't want to talk. I got some bad news last night.

A guy I used to know, a teacher of mine back in college is sick. He's going to die. Mitch,

I'm sorry. Were you very close to him? I used to be, yeah. Okay, y'all, let's try this.

We both got to work on our phone matters. I love you. I love you too.

Okay, let's just pick this up, ladies.