I grew up in his humor. Which I liked.. From Mork and Mindy days on TV to the big screen oh they were so many, Dead Poets Society, Birdcage, Patch Adams, Awakenings, What Dreams May Come, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jack, Good Will Hunting, Bicentennial Man, Artificial Intelligence, Jakob The Liar, One Hour Photo, Night at The Museum, Old Dogs, Hook, Flubber, Aladdin, Jumanji, Robots. Grade school pa lang pinapanood ko na sya. He made us laughed, me, mama and lola. Years after, I introduced my own daughter to him via Patch Adams. Very recently, Sophie and I watched together on cable, re-run of Bicentennial Man. So what can I say that's a good span of some 35 years or more. Robin Williams is BIG to me. That BIG. BIG BIG. It feels like a generation is passing and approaching closure. I dread this by the day. People of my time ... just like sands in my hands.
How I wished he didn't have to leave us that way. But who am I to judge. Everyone else is a stranger. Even our closest kith or kin. Our own selves even. I would like to marvel on the laughter he brought me as a young child, how he touched me with his sincerity in more serious, complex roles as an artist in my adult years, and "reading" about his kindness, and sweetness and generosity as a private individual. Snippets of my personal tribute to him in my Facebook, i wrote,
One day you will be a memory, let it be a good one. Like a Robin (Williams). That's how I want to remember him, the middle parts, not the ending.
Go in peace our sweet and beautiful Robin. Thank you for sharing your life with us.
***
A Post Mortem
Much have been said about depression and suicide. There were one too many postings in Facebook alone on how magnanimous and miniscule, real and surreal, depression and suicide is, like carrot and stick. As I write this, I feel that it is my responsibility to clear the air, in my own little way. I don't offer a solution, but an after thought.
That kind of depression is a medical condition, thus, it needs medical attention, a qualified medical attention that is. Sadness is not depression. Nor too much sorrow. You make a river out of your tears, create monsters in your heads, chase your own ghosts, get angry with God, get human. They do not equate haphazardly to a depression that can lead to suicide. You are not to say what is depression or not, unless you are a doctor, a psychiatrist at that.
Many times we either under estimate or over think about this matter. Given the gray areas and the thin line, let it be that we base our judgment on qualified information, not emotions; on facts, not poetry.
It is irresponsible for many of us to cast judgment on people who've attempted and successfully taken their own lives when we have not clearly understood the be-all and end-all of what they went/going through, emotionally, mentally and physically.
It is dangerous to families who may have loved ones suffering from this illness called depression, and the advice shouted out in a social network as viral as Facebook, is God. I will not go there, that far and drag spirituality on this issue.
Our loved ones and friends who are SICK with manic depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, what have you, there is genetics involved, there is chemical imbalance, they are SICK, they need proper management --- psychotherapy and medication. Only after we fully understood this condition and its consequences based on qualified information, (not emotions); on facts, (not poetry), then we are able to make informed decisions without prejudice and bigotry. This is the supplication we bring to God's attention.
Lastly, to those who are "well", let us show some dignity by showing some respect to those who suffered from depression, and to those who took their own lives as a result of it.
My piece/peace.
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