Michael Crichton: We will miss you

Michael Crichton, MD (1942-2008) died Tuesday, November 4 of cancer at age 66. He was an author, political/ethical activist, screenplay writer, director, producer, husband, and father. His novels have sold in the millions with Jurassic Park being one of the most recognized and his television drama ER has won acclaim across the board.

I remember being around 13 year’s old and reading Jurassic Park. I was a volunteer, aka candy striper, for a hospital where my parents worked. My first assignment was working security. Yeah that’s right. They gave a kid my age a radio and keys to doors I should never open. And yes, you guessed it, my friends and I had fun on many occasions. Maybe too much fun. So I ended up answering the phone in the security office, which was not as glamorous as finding ways to misuse power. Most days were pretty slow, so I began to bring magazines to work to read. Those got boring so I decided I would read a novel. Odd, but it was what I decided to do. So while my family was out shopping at Wal-Mart, I ask my mom to buy me Jurassic Park. The only reason I chose that one was that I was still into dinosaurs at that age and the book had a dinosaur on the cover. (I sometimes still chose books because of their covers. I mean, how can you walk by Seth Godin’s new book, Tribes, and not buy it just because the cover is intriguing?)

That began a long and rewarding reading career of Crichton’s book. I moved from Jurassic Park to a Case of Need then to The Andromeda Strain, and on and on. I couldn’t put him down. By the time books like Timeline came out, I was one of those preorders at Barnes and Noble. I fell in love with the power and dynamics of the written word at a young age because of the power and clarity of Michael Crichton. All of the electives I took in college were writing and literature classes. I have had multiple teachers at different colleges tell me that I have a gift for writing, and I always think back to the great opportunity I had at age 13, when I bought my first novel. What if it wouldn’t have grabbed my attention? I honestly believe I would be a different person. I owe Crichton for that.

So that is why I morn. We will never again have the opportunity to read a new Michael Crichton novel, but there are many that he has inspired (including myself) that will rise up to the challenge to produce dynamic literature for the next generation. Maybe it won’t be in the Sci-Fi area or politically or environmental charged or maybe not even fiction, but it will still carry a quality and clarity that made Crichton one of the most recognized writers in the world.

Today is a good day to think about who has helped inspire you, or has moved you, or has mentored you and let them know you appreciate them. Maybe you haven’t even stopped to think about such things. Today, not tomorrow, is a good day to do that…