tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post4701218869390614480..comments2024-03-18T21:09:10.627-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/19/24: Don't kill yourself before hitting the RitzNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-65448772455867853282017-09-21T21:44:39.060-05:002017-09-21T21:44:39.060-05:00I was all over the place with this one. Tried to s...I was all over the place with this one. Tried to see the humor in it but was kinda freaked out. Remember, mentally disturbed and all that. <br /><br />Were I to consider suicide, a much easier and less dramatic procedure would prevail, such as a nice long sleep after overdosing, or a nice long sleep in the garage with the car running. No way would I throw myself in front of a train, well, except perhaps in tribute to Ana Karenina.SandyKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-44830283294630518362017-09-21T19:48:53.412-05:002017-09-21T19:48:53.412-05:00If one were to go through with it, paying the bill...If one were to go through with it, paying the bill is not a problem.auld bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05738276939260500986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-53676486200388059332017-09-21T16:37:59.910-05:002017-09-21T16:37:59.910-05:00When I lived in London, my commute on the Undergro...When I lived in London, my commute on the Underground was sometimes interrupted by an announcement that there would be delays due to "a person under a train." There was no media coverage of such incidents, so we didn't find out if it was suicide or someone simply carelessly failing to "mind the gap" or "stay behind the yellow line." In any event it was not a popular means for doing oneself in there, as it isn't here. The Brits prefer to hang themselves, and firearms are seldom used, in contrast to the U.S. where 50 percent of suicides, the 10th greatest cause of death, are with guns.<br /><br />Interpreting suicide statistics is difficult. Emile Durkheim, whose 1898 monograph "Le Suicide" is credited with being the first systematic study of a social phenomenon, cited statistics from Germany seeming to indicate that Catholics committed suicide less than Protestants, but later researchers noted that authorities in Catholic communities are less inclined to conclude their demised citizens to have committed what is, in the eyes of the church, a sin.<br /><br />Neil's 2001 piece is indeed funny and makes points we can all agree with, but I'm inclined to think he would be a bit less judgmental about the Metracides if he wrote it today. Having known some people who suffer from clinical depression, I'm inclined to think the idea of jumping in front of a train is more often an impulsive than a calculated act.<br /><br />Tom Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09641357239788323783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-36206883816874196632017-09-21T11:47:41.584-05:002017-09-21T11:47:41.584-05:00I remember a TV show that said a lot of people che...I remember a TV show that said a lot of people check in to the Dorchester Hotel in London to kill themselves. It even said the employees had a funny name for them, but I can't remember it.Clark St.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09634234069783123180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-63518575581762115802017-09-21T11:14:51.644-05:002017-09-21T11:14:51.644-05:00..."it sure seems like the Milwaukee North &a......"it sure seems like the Milwaukee North & West Lines get more Metracides, as some wit calls them, than the rest of Metra combined." - interesting because I always thought the BNSF Aurora Line must have the most. It's so bad on the BNSF that I just assumed it couldn't be even worse somewhere else. We didn't have two already this week but had one last week.J. Pabsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11566801024154623288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-30916642709815672032017-09-21T09:16:02.221-05:002017-09-21T09:16:02.221-05:00A friend of mine was going to jump on the El track...A friend of mine was going to jump on the El tracks in Evanston but called me first. He obviously didn't really want to do it; he told me exactly where he was and waited patiently until I called the cops (after some dithering) and they came and whisked him off to the hospital.<br /><br />He did end up taking his life a few weeks later, hanging himself in the basement of his apartment building. I don't know who found him, but at least he didn't inconvenience a lot of train riders.Bitter Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04645909858616987997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-14468348204623030022017-09-21T08:00:00.757-05:002017-09-21T08:00:00.757-05:00Not all could afford the Ritz.Not all could afford the Ritz.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-27156455612308428132017-09-21T07:55:51.313-05:002017-09-21T07:55:51.313-05:00Selfish of them when they do that.Selfish of them when they do that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-82516937756634792312017-09-21T07:53:39.160-05:002017-09-21T07:53:39.160-05:00You'd think they'd just take a big bottle ...You'd think they'd just take a big bottle of sleeping pills. Less messy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-60982661537027782002017-09-21T07:43:43.498-05:002017-09-21T07:43:43.498-05:00This article happened before Phil Pagano, the CEO ...This article happened before Phil Pagano, the CEO of Metra, committed suicide by train. Subtlety apparently wasn't his strong suit. <br /><br />An acquaintance of mine chose this path to the Void. He was deeply troubled, clinically depressed. It is worth mentioning that no one kills themselves for the hell of it. Clinical depression can make suicide look like a sensible solution to an unsolvable and ever present problem - the concerns of others are not considered. <br /><br />The article is funny as hell, but for those who have dabbled in crippling depression, it might be problematic. Your preliminary warning was a wise way to begin the piece.Dennis Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03936110563379328219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-6540118226159504852017-09-21T06:50:58.771-05:002017-09-21T06:50:58.771-05:00happy new year Neilhappy new year NeilFMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06829632906445535928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-48839376527608421222017-09-21T03:12:52.905-05:002017-09-21T03:12:52.905-05:00I've written this before, but it's now ove...I've written this before, but it's now over 7 years since I saw an old man just drop to his knees & stretch out over the tracks at Edgebrook.<br />Now all I had were about 3 weeks of nightmares & a continuing fear that some asshole is going to do it, every time I'm waiting for a Metra train. But the woman standing a couple of feet away from me was flat out screaming like a banshee & was shaken up incredibly bad & went away in tears. <br />Now maybe I was a bit used to it, as I also had seen what happens when someone hangs themselves & it ain't pretty.<br />But I still don't know why it takes 2 hours for Metra to get moving again, because in NYC, it takes maybe 15 minutes.<br />The only person I really feel sorry for is the train's engineer, who has to witness this, sometimes several times in a career & know there's nothing that can be done to stop the train in time.<br />Plus without checking out the stats, it sure seems like the Milwaukee North & West Lines get more Metracides, as some wit calls them, than the rest of Metra combined.Clark St.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09634234069783123180noreply@blogger.com