Notes on a self improvement project

On Sunday night, Tom and I had a conversation via Words With Friends. Two nights before, we had talked about his daughter and then talked in general. It was a nice conversation that lasted a couple of hours. It felt so good to talk to him. It felt so natural. So right. I'll skip past the part where on Friday, his daughter told me that the ex-wife is moving back in. And how devastating that was to hear. Especially since he didn't say anything about it in our conversation. And I gave him the opening to do so. Fast forward to Sunday and the WWF game. I had a few drinks; apparently he had as well. For awhile, we were just talking smack with each other about the game, and then the conversation shifted to something else entirely. It became something really open. And honest. And intimate. It was a conversation I've wanted to have with a partner for pretty much my entire adult life. And here we were, having that conversation. It was amazing. Tom and I are having this conv...

Two days ago, the actor Robin Williams died of an apparent suicide.  There are reports that he was suffering from depression.  He was only 63. Thankfully, most of the posts I have seen have been sympathetic. I personally haven't seen any posts that are critical of him. However, I know there are posts out there saying that suicide is a cowardly or selfish thing to do, or that he took the "easy" way out. My heart aches for him and his family and friends, especially if any of them have seen or heard anything like that. I understand why people have that opinion and they are entitled to it. I cannot understand, however, why anyone actually says it or posts it. How does that help anyone? Does it help anyone heal? There is nothing, absolutely nothing, "easy" or cowardly about suicide, and it is far from selfish. If nothing else good comes from such a tragic death of a such a beloved public figure, I hope that the perception of what depression is and what suicide...