When I went in her house and told the seamstress the happenings, she totally went to pieces, and was to upset to even discuss anything about the costumes.
I left...of course. My reaction was different than hers. She went into mourning while I was surprised and saddened by the way he died. He was her hero/superstar/her love- so to speak. When Elvis came on to the music scene years before, my high school friends and I were embarrassed by his hip movements. Our parents were also less than pleased with his vulgarity. In spite of all the newness of the wiggling around, we all loved to dance to his music! I shared blog-wise before about several of us riding on the back of a flatbed truck, swooning over our fellow teen- strumming a guitar/shaking his hips, in his best look alike Elvis imitation. Advertising for the Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Spenard. The only grocery store.
At the time of his death I was a grown woman so my reaction was not from a teen fan.
Over the years there have been many public personalities that have died. Politicians or artists in various fields. I remember several of them and the stir it always caused. Also the questioning and perplexities and the whys be it suicide or assassination.
Now Robin Williams. Genius talent. On interviews he always seemed to be on speed-dial. Lighting quick...Shifting and changing in character and conversation without pause.
There are so many people in the world, both public and private, that I would love to get to know and be friends with but that is not a reality. I'm left with what others say or edited material on celebrities...drawing my own conclusions from pared down journalist interviews.
With Robin Williams as with other famous folks, I did not know the man, but I did know his talent, his ability to entertain, his fine-honed skills. I know how he made me feel when I saw his work and I appreciated it.
So often the most talented seem to suffer the most without relief or cure.
We are blessed with the Gospel and we also know that many in our midst are depressed. some deeply so. For some they are able to find help for this affliction through the combination of medical and spiritual assistance.
How does this happen to our minds? How can we be blue/sad/depressed, know it's going on/not want it to stay and yet have no power to just magically rid ourselves of such a heavy burden?
I have friends that battle depression. I have family that to this day battles depression of varying degrees that range right up to manic/depressive. I have dealt with my own fair share, that at times seemed a bit more than what you would call a fair dose! My heart is tender towards sufferers of depression. To this day there are times that unbidden cloud of grey haze blankets my mind and wreaks havoc with my disposition.
Suicide is even more complicated to deal with as far as understanding how that can happen. I don't think anyone understands it. There are readers of this blog that have had family members take their own lives. It can never make sense no matter how many times you discuss it or try and figure it out.
My heart goes out to all sufferers of mental problems--forming a depressive state in a mind that causes an imbalance that is so out of kilter.
When I first became aware of suicide and questioned what this meant in a gospel sense, I wondered if this was considered murder and breaking one of the 10 Commandments...Thou shalt not kill. How merciful the Lord is and how merciful the teachings of His Church through His Prophets/leaders.
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The late Elder Bruce R. McConkie, formerly of the Quorum of the Twelve, expressed what many Church leaders have taught: “Suicide consists in the voluntary and intentional taking of one’s own life, particularly
where the person involved is accountable and has a sound mind. …
Persons subject to great stresses may lose control of themselves and
become mentally clouded to the point that they are no longer accountable
for their acts. Such are not to be condemned for taking their own
lives. It should also be remembered that judgment is the Lord’s;
he knows the thoughts, intents, and abilities of men; and he in his
infinite wisdom will make all things right in due course.” (Mormon Doctrine, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966, p. 771; some italics added.)the above is an excerpt from a talk by Elder Ballard in 1988--
Suicide: Some Things We Know, and Some We Do Not
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Whatever your struggle, my brothers and sisters—mental or emotional or physical or otherwise—do not vote against the preciousness of life by ending it! Trust in God. Hold on in His love. Know that one day the dawn will break brightly and all shadows of mortality will flee. Though we may feel we are “like a broken vessel,” as the Psalmist says, we must remember, that vessel is in the hands of the divine potter. Broken minds can be healed just the way broken bones and broken hearts are healed. While God is at work making those repairs, the rest of us can help by being merciful, nonjudgmental, and kind.
This excerpt is from Elder Hollands 2013 talk -- Like a Broken Vessel
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a year ago I blogged this...
http://acandlestick.blogspot.com/2013/09/2-jars-of-balm-vanishesbanishes-blue.html
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Lord I Would Follow Thee
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