In All Things

Be grateful.  It's the only totally
reliable get rich-quick scheme.

                             Ben Stein


 The Get-Along-Gang travels a lot and
 witnesses a variety of things. 
 While I am trained to be aware of my surroundings,
 I am, after all, a small disabled female.
 I am not observant of the contents of vehicles,
 unless they are occupied by people.

 Mr. Lee, however, is aware and very observant.

 In  a Vegas parking garage,
 he called me over to the car below.
At first, I observed colors of white,
ivory, ecru, and beige. My first
murmurer was of a vintage wedding gown,
it was Vegas after all.

Mr. Lee prodded, look again.
Looking more closely, my heart fell with
knowledge of mental illness.  The passenger front seat
was full to the brim with tissues, napkins and power towels.
Some obviously used and others were new,
with the exception of the driver's seat the car was full of
trash.

There is help:
NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Health,
Suicide Awareness Month.

While visiting in Arizona this weekend,
we had the pleasure of breaking bread with friends.
My friend Patty, works as an instructional
aid at one of the local school.
She works with primarily non-native speaking
low income children.  Children with few resources
often lacking the attention required to feel
valued.  More importantly, lacking the parental guidance
and strong hand necessary in developing a healthy
contributing adult.

What chance to these children have when someone
with all the prevelage like Robin Williams chooses
to end his life.  One of Patty's 11 year old students recently
confided he wanted to die.  Frighting but common in
our modern world.

Say a little pray for those less fortuate, those struggling with
mental illness today.