George Meegan (2025.12.28)

“Today is a special day because every day is a special day.”

This is a phrase often spoken by George Meegan, the British adventurer who passed away last year—a line that has stayed with me ever since.

He was the man who walked, entirely on foot, from Ushuaia at the southern tip of South America to Prudhoe Bay in northern Alaska. A journey of 30,608 kilometers (19,019 miles). It took him 2,426 days, from January 26, 1977, to September 18, 1983.
His achievement is still officially recognized by Guinness World Records today.

When I was a pharmacy student at Gifu Pharmaceutical University in 1992, I was fortunate enough to have him as a part-time English instructor.

I must admit, I no longer remember much of what was taught in his classes.

But one lesson from his class has stayed vividly in my memory:
“As you grow older, there will be more and more things you can no longer do.
That’s why you should do what you can—while you still can.”

And that opening line. He would sometimes begin a class by saying, “Today is a special day…”
Naturally, the students would look up, wondering what important announcement was coming next.
But then he would calmly add, “Because every day is a special day.”
The anticlimax made some people smile awkwardly. But for me, the words struck me deeply.
Indeed, a special day is not limited to holidays or anniversaries. Today—this very day—will never come back again.

There is another memory I will never forget.

I had taken part in an intercollegiate English speech contest organized by the ESS club I belonged to.
My speech title was “Letters” — it was about how I liked writing them. It was a simple and rather ordinary theme, and I didn’t win any prizes. Instead, more insightful speeches from other universities were awarded. George Meegan was one of the judges, and I heard him read out their names.

A few days after the contest had ended, however, George came up to me and said,
“Your delivery was very expressive and engaging. I think that kind of ability would be valuable in the television industry. I’d like to introduce you to someone in the industry.”
He truly meant it and even tried to make it happen, but he was very busy, and in the end, it never worked out. And honestly, even if it had, I don’t think I was ready to step into that world back then.
Still, his words meant a great deal to me. He saw something in me that I myself had not yet noticed. Those words stayed with me and quietly gave me confidence.

During my four years at the university, I had many precious experiences. Each of them has become part of who I am today. And meeting George Meegan was certainly one of those.

I learned that he had passed away from aspiration pneumonia in January 2024. He was only 71—still young, I thought.

Life is unpredictable. And that is precisely why his words feel so real now.

“Do what you can, while you can.”

I don’t know how far I’ll be able to go from here. But at least, I want to live each day with his words in my heart.

Not searching later for a reason why today was special, but believing from the beginning that it already is.

“Today is a special day because every day is a special day.”

Thank you so much, George Meegan.