'Warrior' Alex Trebek Offers Comforting Words To Audience

"We are trying to build a gentler, kinder society, and if we all pitch in just a little bit, we are going to get there."

Heartwarming words from Alex Trebek, according to NBC News, at one of his final Jeopardy! tapings. No one knew this would lead into one of the beloved host's final weeks on set, and few actually knew how exhausted the man was as a result of newly returning to his hosting job following surgery. Executive producer Mike Richards said the comments, which were unscripted and came unbidden from Trebek, were surprising.

“He comes out and gives this absolutely amazing speech about the tough times that we’re in and the importance of us as a country, as a community, as humanity, coming together and being there for each other,” Richards said.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20, and we now know at the time that Trebek was a mere 10 days from passing away, but it's not surprising that the beloved host would offer such a positive message in spite of his own struggles. Trebek was well known for his optimistic outlook throughout his pancreatic cancer battle, and while he acknowledged his own mental health challenges while he fought valiantly against the disease, it was not unusual for him to inject humor and his own brand of positivity in his videotaped messages.

It's still difficult to believe that #AlexTrebek is no longer with us and that we can no longer look forward to his calm, encouraging demeanor and dry humor beyond this week of his final episodes. Sure, we have the #Netflix trove of #Jeopardy! episodes dating back to when some categories had dollar values of $250 at their highest and Trebek's mustache was at its finest, but the days of seeing Trebek greeting us from near his hosting podium are done in 2021.

However, the fact that Trebek could muster enough strength to take the Jeopardy! stage and still execute an episode with his usual crisp efficiency and preface it with a message of hope and optimism is classic Trebek and speaks to just how courageous an individual he was. His gift to all of us was to show us something about how to face adversity with a degree of optimism and hope, and particularly in the #COVID era, that's been hard to grab onto. People have gone through financial devastation, personal loss and tragedy, and the pain of being separated from their loved ones. It's little wonder that it's been hard to grab on to something positive when things have been so dark.

Trebek wanted to encourage people to be helpers even when COVID-19 continues to rage around the world. He seemed to want to help remind us all that there was still hope even when things seemed terrible. He said, "We are trying to build a gentler, kinder society, and if we all pitch in just a little bit, we are going to get there."

Is it possible that we will come out of this to see a kinder and gentler world? Mr. Rogers once said that when things seemed bad to always look for the helpers, and maybe Trebek was one of those helpers, albeit unintentionally. Perhaps Trebek's impromptu comments to the audience were his way of reminding all of us that even when things are bleak, there is always faith, and there is always hope.

I don't know necessarily that Trebek planned to offer such a positive message as a way to bolster everyone when things have been tough, but I do know that the world was made better from him having been a part of it.