Alex found the way to a career he enjoyed enough to master and execute unflinchingly for 37 years.

Jeopardy! wasn't air or food or drink or health care. And even if it wasn't education, it would still have been a significant part of generations of lives in North America and beyond.

The format of the "game show" will undoubtedly resonate into the future on television and the Internet, and Trebek was one of its defining hosts. On and off the show, his plain expression and sophisticated vocalizational tone perfectly belied the wit, insight and heartfeltness found in his words.

It's strange to think something someone enjoys so selfishly can benefit so many others, and it's a thought with which I think pondering Alex's example will make me personally more comfortable.