A Sad One, for Poor Amy

When I think of the saddest songs ever, the ones that make me ache in the chest because they call up the utter hopelessness, that trapped lonely youth, this is the first one on the list. Every time I hear it, which is rarely for years on end, but then it pops up on the radio or in a store, it still hits like a hammer. It means a lot to me personally, so I'm sharing it because...well, I don't know, perhaps something just struck me funny.

Today it's dedicated to a sad human joke, Amy Whinehouse. Yeah, I know she was ridiculous. But, she died at 27 and the world just watched her do it. That is what I can't understand. That we all don't seem to get the fact that some people, people around us or on the TV, need help sometimes --they're just people too. It makes me furious that we all knew she was some kind of freaked out alcoholic drug addicted anorexic kid -and we all pointed and laughed while we watched her crash and burn. I mean is that what humanity has sunk to, at this point? We hole up in our suburban homes and watch the blurred lines of the nightlight TV, and no body takes this girl by that snarl she called hair and locks her up until she can get straight? I suppose not.

By the same token, would I have done it, had I been there? Interesting question. Perhaps. I'd like to think that I would, but who knows. It's just sad. Like all that crap happening in Norway. When I read an article about it they said the suspect was alittle extreme, but didn't seem dangerous blah, blah, blah. Really? So, his friends aren't going to start coming out of the woodwork to say things like, "There was this one time he did mention...yada, yada, yada." Because I am sick and tired of that shit. As friends and family we have a responsibility to watch our people damn it. To simply know that -if a family member is a drug abuser we should keep an eye on them, perhaps make them go to rehab (sorry, Amy) or that if our friend is extreme in his views he does not have access to firearms and fertilizer (or if he gets more than is needed for his yard we help him dispose of the excess rather than have it show up in a bomb that killed people). I mean really, isn't that simple common sense?

I guess what I am really advocating is that 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'. If I thought someone I knew was about to go off the deep end -I would step in, I would do something even if it seemed like the wrong thing at the time. People are simply people. We go crazy sometimes, we need help and are afraid to ask sometimes, it is just the way we work. So, watch, and watch closely -be understanding and helpful and compassionate -and if strength is needed then muster strength and act. Be a good person and help other people to be good people too. I know, easier said than done, right, but I believe in you people. Alright, I'll climb down from my soapbox. I don't usually post this kind of rhetoric, but today I just felt very compelled. Because someone should be saying this--reason dictates that it be said.