tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post4550663331974253818..comments2024-03-28T06:22:38.753-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/28/24: Yellow plastic flowers.Neil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-78637266925422622532016-09-11T02:15:21.306-05:002016-09-11T02:15:21.306-05:00I actually saw a suicide by Metra six & a half...I actually saw a suicide by Metra six & a half years ago. I still can tell you the exact details of it, without missing anything. It sears into your brain!<br />I'm furious with that old man, who may have ruined the engineer's life, as he had no chance to stop the train in time. I have no Idea what happened to the engineer, but I hope he's OK!<br />I'm angry at the weeks of nightmares I had & angry because of the thousands that had their evening rides home delayed for hours because this jerk chose a way to kill himself that affected thousands!<br />A year or so after that, I was waiting for a train, heard a single blast from the horn & could see the train stopped about a mile away. Minutes later there were sirens for the fire department. Yet another Metracide!<br />When I now wait for a Metra train, I always expect someone to jump in front.Clark St.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09634234069783123180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-55939876070313070342016-09-10T11:09:39.791-05:002016-09-10T11:09:39.791-05:00I'm not, myself, into damnation, but some lame...I'm not, myself, into damnation, but some lamentation for those left behind can't go amiss. I've known two suicides personally. Both unfathomable to friends and family, both leaving a trail of sadness and ineluctable sensations of guilt.<br /><br />The conclusion of Neil's thoughful elegy for an anonymous victim of life brings to mind one of the last century's great poems about what we all have to look forward to.<br /><br /> "I work all day, and get half drunk at night. <br /> Waking at four to soundless dark, I stare.<br /> In time the curtain edges will grow light.<br /> Till then I see what's always there:<br /> Unresting death, a whole day nearer now.<br /> Etc. etc." Philip Larkin "Aubade"<br /><br />Tom Evans<br /> Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09641357239788323783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-64976687953180685522016-09-10T10:05:41.660-05:002016-09-10T10:05:41.660-05:00Suicide has not become respectable, but certainly ...Suicide has not become respectable, but certainly priests no longer "maim" the funeral services with the excuse that a Christian burial for a suicide "profanes the dead." Very frequently, someone or some thing other than the person who took her own life is blamed: bullies, mothers, military or school harshness, family tradition, depression, drugs. Whereas, in the not so distant past, a suicide was shameful for everyone associated with the "victim" and there was a conscious effort to eliminate that person from family history. To some, I suppose, it's still an unforgivable sin even though priests are willing to invent last millisecond repentance to assuage family pain. To me, it's still a major sin, not for destroying oneself, but for making such a mess for others.<br /><br />john tatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.com