The Final Word

I’ll let you have the last word—I promise.

I’ve always been a firm believer in last words. I always wanted to have the last word—as if I’d finally feel fulfilled for leaving one more dreaded thought with someone. Some phrase, some word that would latch onto his soul and keep him thinking until he came to the conclusion that I was right and he was, well . . . wrong.

Like the movies. You know, that those conversations that make you feel like you’re sitting right there, listening in. Among the handfuls of popcorn, you’re holding your breath in anticipation of hearing that one word or phrase that makes the entire plot fit together—that movie has made its point.

"You had me from hello."

"I think I would have missed you even if I had never met you at all."

"You can’t handle the truth."

Maybe after having a few last words with people, I realized that having the last word didn’t really get me the same effects that John Connor received after his famous three ("I'll be back")when his pregnant wife gave him that look of I’m-never-going-to-see-you-again-but-please-don’t-leave-even-though-you’re-the-only-hope-of-the-human-race look. Yeah - that look.

So maybe last words are magical only in Hollywood. Or maybe I’m learning that in my experience, saying “you can’t handle the truth” isn’t going to change the mind of a man in love with the wrong girl.

Regardless of whether my last words hold any parch of accuracy or not, trying to change people’s emotions, people’s feelings with words isn’t easy.

After all the word rubbish, maybe you can decipher my point: last words. Yeah, they’re meaningful, especially in the movies. But they go far deeper than a TV screen etched in Hollywood ink. They’re memorable—far more memorable than anything Tom Cruise left with the video cameras on set of A Few Good Men, which happen to be a pretty good movie. Words-- they drive us into action--they influence us, they make us hurt, they help us heal, they teach us about life. They belong to all of us.

And all of us will at one time or another, be given the opportunity of having the last word. Don’t say something you’ll regret, and don’t stoop to say something hardcore when forgiveness is always three words away. Make your words reflect who you are, so that when they’re final, they’ll be remembered not for what they meant, but for whom they were spoken by:

You.