Goodnight Sweet Prince

By now every one knows the tragic news that Robin Williams took his own life. It is a tragic ending to a great man's life made worse by the news that he had been fighting severe depression for most of his life.

I absolutely believe that taking one's own life is a cowardly act, but even with this belief I cannot get past the crushing loss that I feel with Robin's death.

Much like the loss I experienced when Andy Griffith died, Robin's death resonates with me not because I love the entertainer that he was, but because he was like a family member to me.

I have shed my tears over his death and still cannot believe that he is actually gone, like this is one of those spam emails about a celebrity dying. The fact of the matter is he is dead and there is not punchline to this story.

Depression is a serious illness that should be taken seriously. One of the reasons his death resonates so strongly with me is that because I have suffered from depression my entire adult life. Depression does not care how successful you are or how much enjoyment you bring to people's lives. It sucks the soul out of you and makes it hard for you to see a silver lining.

You cannot just wake up one morning and decide you are not going to be depressed anymore. You have to work at getting passed it or it will consume you.

None of us knows or will ever know the demons that Robin lived with for these many years. I have lost a good friend to suicide and it is hard to accept any reason that they may have had in doing it. Though I believe it to be cowardice I still mourn regardless and wonder what, if anything could have been done to stop him from doing it.

Though I suffer from depression I have never once contemplated suicide, but I know that does not make me a better person than Robin Williams or anyone else.

Robin Williams, the person, the entertainer, the comedian, the man will always be missed and the hole left by his leaving will never be filled by anyone.

RIP Professor