When I was a student at the University of Michigan, there was an annual tradition called the “Last Chance Lecture.” One of the professors was invited to speak to students as if it was his or her last chance. The auditorium was always packed.
The lecture I still remember was given by Professor Thomas Garbaty, the brilliant man who taught my Chaucer class. “There are two kinds of chances,” he said, leaning over the podium. “Those that come more than once and those that will never come again. I want you to think about that when you have to choose.”
“A job offer might seem promising,” he said, “or a marriage offer, but if you say no, there will be others. Probably even better ones. Some chances come again.”
Then he described being a young child in Nazi Germany. A Jewish child.
“Things became very dangerous for Jews,” he said. “Sometimes a family would have to ask a friend or neighbor to hide them overnight. If the answer was no, the chance to help might not come again.”
“I am here now,” Professor Garbaty said, “because when my father had to ask, someone took a chance and said yes.”
