10 February 2011

Moments of Silence

Please pardon the silence here at WoW. My youngest son's 16-year old best friend committed suicide Monday after school. We believe he was clinically depressed, even though Sunday night he was eating pizza and drinking chocolate milk and cheering on the Steelers here at Casa Wisdom with all the verve of teendom. All our energies are being channeled into helping young Wesdom and his extraordinarily tight and beautiful group of friends cope with this.

Healing is happening, but it is slow.

5 comments:

BDR said...

Holyfuck. All best to you and yours.

Randal Graves said...

That's awful. Hope everyone gets through this.

Jim H. said...

Thanks, guys. I'll get back to you soon.

Frances Madeson said...

Pure pain. So truly sorry.

My cousin Freddie did himself in as a young man because he was exquisitely sensitive and homosexual (made to feel chronic shame on that score) and couldn't live the macho lie. I wonder if it was something like that, Jim? Cheering the football game as a near last public act.

I came out of the pool yesterday and there was a district wrestling meet in the gym, hundreds of teenaged boys embracing and rolling around on mats. Like puppies, they were so beautiful.

Last evening at a barn dance at the Cowboy Church ("Where Jesus Reins") somebody (someone who should know better) made a flip joke as part of the auction patter, a tossoff about brokeback mountain. How many of those little verbal grenades get lobbed in earshot on any given day?

It may remain a mystery always, but as you say, pizza and chocolate milk and cheering with verve are not symptoms of clinical depression. Mostly I just wanted you to know that with all my heart, I've been thinking of you and the terrible loss of another beautiful boy.

I don't know how one heals such a thing, but if anyone can, it's you.

Anonymous said...

Oh hell.

There isn't much in this world sadder than someone acting on the feeling of not wanting to live in it.

Every time I hear of a person doing this, I want to stop time, rewind, and visit that person, help him/her connect with the vital urge.

I'm sorry that I'm over two weeks later than your post originally was made. Peace and strength to you and all who knew the young man.