I wanted to jump through the screen and stop him and scream, "How could you? Why our town? Why here? You're so young! And I know you belong to SOMEBODY! How could you do that to them?!" I half feel sad and half angry! A sort of personal violation, because not only am I deeply attached to this town, I'm also attached to THAT bridge! He jumped where Jesse and I said our vows on the day of our wedding. He splashed into the River of my childhood memories, and those of my children. He washed ashore on the beach where thousands upon thousands celebrate a moments worth of freedom. How could he desecrate these sacred things for us?
...but then...I thought again.
Although I never met him, I've heard much about him. Dasa, my brother-in-law and in spirit, took the same plunge from a bridge in Portland, Or. Did any of these thoughts cross his mind? He wasn't in his right mind at all, so probably yes but the need to do it far outweighed the effects it would have on those around him. Those like his family who would never see him or hear him again...and those in his family he would never meet. Or even the woman who came to work that day, to glance out her office window and discover his lifeless body dangling from the bridge. What came into HER mind? Was she consoled, too?
Today, I feel like that woman...if ONLY I had been there 1 hour earlier, maybe I could have stopped him? Really, who knows why? I can honestly say, in my experience, that it was a mere thread that kept me from taking that same leap....those two little threads have kept me sane most my life: my children.
Dasa didn't have children, and I'm assuming this John Doe didn't, either.
So now what? Do I move on with my plans for the day? Or do I sit here and wallow in the sadness that surrounds me? Is it in their honor that I move on or is a disgrace? There's really no manual on how to deal with this kind of thing, not only in how to move on but also in honor of the dead. I'd rather not move on with my day as though nothing happened, but I also can't stop life from happening. Somewhere, a mother or father or brother or sister is getting a call that their loved one is dead, and I'm sitting here wondering how to go about the rest of my day because of it.
This evening, my family and I will be on the bridge to bid him a proper farewell. This cleansing of the bridge will help me to move beyond this tragedy, but also will help him move onto where he wants to be. He obviously did it for a reason, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he made the right choice.
Oh Valerie, I am unspeakably sorry.
ReplyDeleteThis is extremely well written, and very sad news. I would think it to be traumatizing to see.... I am just imagining you having to watch that video footage. It hurts me just imagining it. Poor sad troubled young man! I will think of him tonight with love, hoping whatever is left of his spirit finds peace.
ReplyDeleteIntentionally ending your own life means that you feel - at least at the time - that there is no hope for your future. It's a level of desperation that most of us don't know.
ReplyDeleteThe saddest part is that the feeling of hopelessness rarely lasts. A week, a month, a year can pass and everything is different. Stand on one side of a situation and it looks dark...stand on the other and it looks light.
But at the moment of a decision to not see another day, not see the sun, the rain, the birds flying overhead...to choose to leave this stunning gift of life..all the beauty of life is neither visible nor felt. The weight of depression is heavier than any hint of hope.
Personal sadness blinds a heart to the pain he is about to inflict on so many others...from strangers - like you - to the people who knew this young man as a baby full of love and life and hope for the future. All those years invested in this young man come to an end because of his desperation.
Perhaps he was mentally ill and saw no way out. It could have been more than temporary depression or feelings of hopelessness. If he was truly mentally ill then he could not wish a better life or make changes in his life so that he could feel hope the way others can.
Perhaps over time some of his story will come forth. Perhaps there are lessons for others that are good that can come from this young man's death. He was very brave to take these determined steps to end his life. Most people would never be able to do that no matter how depressed they are. And thank goodness for any hesitation that fear creates.
Life is a miraculous gift. It's in a constant state of flux...growth...change. Nothing ever stays the same for any length of time. Change is what life is all about! Yes, sometimes it changes for the worse - but most of the time it changes for the better. You have to stick around to see how the story comes out.
So over time we'll learn this man's story because his actions will inspire questions that will want answers. “For every action there is a reaction.” Perhaps one of the reactions will be other desperate people taking another look at life and seeing that if this young man had waited just a little longer, his situation would have changed, and he'd be alive today - and they will choose to stay alive just long enough to see how their lives change over time. We can hope.
Beautiful, Vesta. I agree. My Dad told me last night that this young man gave me the gift of sight, to see just how precious life is. I still wish I could just reach over and grab him, hug him and tell him it's going to be ok.
ReplyDeleteLike you Valerie, Lew and I reinstated our wedding vows on our tenth anniversary on our bridge. Connor rode his first unassisted trike and saw his first firework bloom overhead through those ancient(by California standards) green girders. I have spent many long heart heavy moments contemplating the churning flow beneath my feet and hearing my mom say, "Like a river this too shall pass". To have been there just to...I don't even know...say I get you man or I care enough to stop you...I walk the bridge nearly daily...a few hours earlier maybe would have made a difference...
ReplyDeleteI find, like most, my life to be riddled with maybes and what ifs but I guess it is the right now that ripples out and on. Today, sadness spreads from his connection with our sacred space but even sadness is a gift I embrace as a reminder of precious life and the eventual next.
Thanks for this...
I get so angry about suicide--perhaps it's a poor response. I've been there myself--to the brink--and survived. LIke an ex-smoker, maybe, I can't help but think smoking is really stupid and selfish. The waste of suicide maddens me, and I refuse to understand why it has to happen. I refuse the sadness, though I weep at the loss.
ReplyDeleteBut that's just me being stubborn and refusing to make anything meaningful out of such an act--even if it hurts me. Probably silly. I should get over it someday.
But you. You're feeling this all the way through. You are brave and lovely. Thank you again for writing your thoughts.