brian@sdcc3.UUCP (Brian Kantor) (11/22/84)
The holidays are upon us again, and it is a fact that more people intentionally kill themselves at this time of year than at any other. These suicides are lonely people, men and women who see those around them enjoying the warmth and companionship of families, lovers, and friends. You know people like these. For whatever reason, they are alone, whether it is because they are shy, ugly, too old or too young; or if they have just lost a relative or ended a love relationship. Talk to that person. Invite them to join you for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Or just call them on the phone to ask how they are. Its a simple thing for you to do, and the rewards are great. You could make the difference between a terribly unhappy person and one whose self-respect gives them the confidence to go on living. Remember, as you say to yourself that you can't be bothered, that one of the primary reasons that human society has lasted as long as it has, is because people can communicate, can help one another. If you can't take the time out from your busy life to speak to an unhappy soul, to ask a person to join you in a happy occasion, then your own life has little to recommend itself. In many ways it is true that the only legacy we can leave is the good deeds that we have done for others. The telephone is sitting right over there. Brian Kantor UC San Diego decvax\ brian@ucsd.arpa akgua >--- sdcsvax --- brian ucbvax/ Kantor@Nosc "I, -that am not shap'd for sportive tricks, Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass; I, that am rudely stamp'd, and want love's majesty To strut before a wanton ambling nymph...."