Sad days for poets, writers, and historians in Washington, D.C.

A. Friend (not a real name) told me that she and her husband are traveling to Washington, D.C., this week to see the National Museum of African-American History. They want to visit it before the Trump people purge the exhibits and dismantle the building. A. Friend is not a Trump voter, not even a person undergoing what MAGA calls Trump Derangement Syndrome or TDS. She and her husband are just regular folks who visit museums and art galleries and historic sites during their travels. Over the years, she has sent me postcards from sites I never knew existed and I am the richer for it. 

Trump's Nitwits have already purged some of the exhibits from this museum. They have never met a museum they didn't suspect of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion or DIE which is an ironic acronym on its face. MAGA terms it DEI because, well IED was taken (Boom!) and IDE was too close to "Beware the Ides of March" which sounds too Shakespearean which might remind Idiocrats of a college English class they were forced to take in 1997. 

I wish A. Friend and her husband Godspeed and good luck. Make sure to take your REAL ID with you just in case there is an ICE sweep on the National Mall.

More bad news from D.C.: Trump's goons have eliminated the National Endowment for the Arts Literary Program and canned its staff including Director Amy Stolls whom I have worked with. The administration had already rescinded grants to literary magazines and presses whose only crime was admitting to DIE. 

I am going to list them here because I have read some of their books and they might not have existed with the writer's non-profit publisher, often hanging on by a shoestring. Here are the names:   Alice James Books, Aunt Lute Books, BOA Editions, the Center for the Art of Translation, Deep Vellum, Four Way Books, Hub City Writers Project, Open Letter Books, Milkweed Editions, Nightboat Books, Red Hen Press, and Transit Books as well as such literary magazines Electric Literature, McSweeney’s, n+1, the Paris Review, and Zyzzyva.

I have read books from many of these presses. I will mention one. Brian Turner's first book of poetry was published by Alice James Books. Poet, essayist, and professor Turner won the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award for his debut collection, Here, Bullet, the first of many awards and honors received for this collection of poems about his experience as a soldier in the Iraq War. His honors since include a Lannan Literary Fellowship and NEA Literature Fellowship in Poetry, and the Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship. His second collection, shortlisted for the 2010 T.S. Eliot Prize, is Phantom Noise, also published by Alice James Books on New Gloucester, Maine, a teeming metropolis filled with radical outfits such as the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community, Pineland Farms, and the New Gloucester Fair. And one publisher. 

Brian's bio a pretty standard description of a contemporary American poet. But what's that part about the Iraq War? Oh yeah, Turner is a U.S. Army veteran, and was an infantry team leader for a year in the Iraq War beginning November 2003, with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. In 1999 and 2000 he was with the historic 10th Mountain Division, deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

"Here, Bullet" knocked me out. The title poem will tell you more about war's realities than any non-fiction book. Go to the Alice James web site and buy the book. Better yet, buy all of his books and e-books which include individual poems. 

During my time as literature program specialist at the Wyoming Arts Council, I brought Brian to our fall 2012 writing conference in Casper to read from his work and congratulate the writers he had chosen for the WAC's literary fellowships. Later, he joined two other veteran writers on a panel to discuss the role of soldier/poet in "Active Duty, Active Voices," featured Iraq War veterans and writers Brian Turner and Luis Carlos Montalván. The panel was moderated by Casper College professor and military veteran Patrick Amelotte. Montalvan suffered from severe PTSD and wrote the wonderful memoir "Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him." He brought Tuesday with him to Casper that October weekend. I worked with the state's military coordinator to bring other service dogs and their handlers to the conference to demonstrate what they do. 

I wish I could just end this blog with another Liberal's complaint about our current situation. But I have a sad story to tell. In December 2016, the 43-year-old Montalvan was found dead in an El Paso hotel room. He had left his dog Tuesday with a friend. He killed himself and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. Delivering the eulogy was Democratic Sen. Al Franken. Montalvan had persuaded Franken to sponsor legislation expanding the military dog program which passed a different Congress during different times. 

During his time in Casper, Montalvan said his favorite poem growing up conservative Cuban in South Florida was "Invictus." You know the one. It celebrates bravery. William Ernest Hanley wrote it and it's always been a favorite to memorize because it rhymes and is in iambic tetrameter. Montalvan memorized it. It ends this way: "I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul."

Rest in peace, Captain.

"Depression is a beast that no one should have to face alone"

I've written about my own depression on these pages. I've written about my daughter's struggle with depression and borderline personality disorder. I've written about the suicides of veterans and family friends. I've discussed Wyoming's alarming teen suicide rate and the predilection of boys and men in The Cowboy State to turn a weapon on themselves when things go bad.

Philanthropist and arts patron Mick McMurry of Casper committed suicide this week. He was 69, five years older than me. I saw him most recently at the Governor's Arts Awards Gala in Cheyenne two weeks ago. We knew each other from afar, as people who saw each other occasionally at arts events and other gatherings. In Wyoming (pop. 580,000), many of us are acquainted. It is sad when one of those acquaintances is suffering and we don't know about it and can't do a thing about it.

This story by Tom Morton appeared Friday on the K2 Radio web site with the headline: ‘Depression Is A Beast’: McMurry Family Vows Greater Mental Health Awareness After Mick’s Death:

Mick McMurry’s mental health rapidly declined after back surgery in February, which led to his suicide earlier this week, his daughter and a family spokesman said Friday.  

“This is somebody who’d never been sick and never had taken much medicine, and it had an after-effect of some depression,” George Bryce said at a news conference at the home of Susie and Mick McMurry.  

“Depression manifests itself in many different ways, and can sneak up on you,” Bryce said. “Some people that suffer from depression have a way of hiding it. And we knew that something wasn’t quite right, and we were kind of saying, ‘is that really Mick?,’ and then the next day it was really Mick,” he said.

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“Depression is a beast that no one should have to face alone,” Trudi McMurry Holthouse said. 

Holthouse said her father’s decline was quick after the surgery. Her father would refer to a gathering “black cloud,” yet he hid the symptoms well, she said. 

“He’s so poised about himself and handling people,” Holthouse said. “The way I looked at it was just a change of heart like an enlightening was happening and he was coming to us with deep sorrow and grief,” Holthouse said. 

The family supported him, but that apparently wasn’t enough, she said. 

“It just got to be such a burden, he couldn’t bear it anymore, Holthouse said. “His body had never failed him like this before. He had never not had a clarity of mind, and his heart was just so heavy, but you know, we didn’t know, we didn’t know how heavy it was.” 

Bryce, a trustee with the the McMurry Foundation, said mental health long has been the step-child of the overall health care system and people need to be more aware and aware of what’s happening in others’ lives. 

The McMurry Foundation has supported mental health and depression awareness, but her father’s death will sharply change that because she wouldn’t wish that on anyone, Holthouse said. 

“You can bet there will be some things that we will now be more focused on and take note to help more people. You just never know when someone is as desperate and destitute as that,” she said. “It will be a priority.”

Read more here: Family: Post-Surgery Depression Lead to McMurry's Suicide

Let's all make a vow to improve mental health care in Wyoming. As I write this, my daughter is a patient at Wyoming Behavioral Institute (WBI) in Mick McMurry's home town of Casper. She is at WBI after spending four months at the Wyoming State Hospital and then a week at a group home in Douglas. She's been in and out of treatment centers since she was 14. She's made several suicide attempts. We want to keep her safe. We want her to get the correct treatment for her smorgasbord of mental health impairments. Not too much to ask, right?

In Wyoming, it may be.

Join the "Shatter the Silence" walk Sept. 10 in Cheyenne

Join Stop Suicide Cheyenne, the VA Center, Prevention Management Organization, and Grace for 2 Brothers for the World Suicide Prevention Day Silent Walk on Wednesday September 10th. This event begins at 11:45 a.m. at the Depot Plaza in Cheyenne with keynote speakers to talk about suicide prevention. A silent walk will take place up Capitol Avenue to the Capitol Steps where there will be recognition of those lost to suicide.

The Great D&D Panic of the 1990s

BBC just featured a story about "The Great Dungeons & Dragons Panic of the 1980s."

For our family, it was "The Great Dungeons & Dragons Panic of the 1990s."

Our son Kevin was a big D&D fan. He and his junior high buddies used to crowd around the kitchen table with their chips and Mountain Dew and play D&D into the wee hours. This was also the time of The Great Columbine Panic of 1999, in which parents all along the Front Range were inspecting their teen boys of any predilection for walking into school and murdering a dozen of their classmates. The two scares went hand in hand, joining the usual paranoia that goes along with raising a teen in America.

Later, in the new century, we got to add terrorism and joining the military and drug use and suicide into this heady brew. It's a wonder our boys -- most of them -- made it into adulthood.

In the BBC article, veteran roleplayer Andy Smith sums of the panic this way:

"The view of roleplaying games has changed over time, mostly because the predicted 'streets awash with the blood of innocents as a horde of demonically-possessed roleplayers laid waste to the country' simply never materialised."

"Materialised" with an "s." I love the Brits.

Kevin's role-playing friends included a young man who hated school and grew up to be an accomplished truck mechanic, another young man with an active imagination who now spends most of his time in his mother's basement, another who is a computer guy with a very good IT job, another who is in a rock band in Denver and makes some fine home-brewed beer, and at least one girl -- I don't know what she's doing these days. And then it gets difficult. Two of members of this roleplaying crowd are no longer with us. Both dead by suicide in their 20s. One hung himself and one blew his brains out with a gun. I went to both of their funerals and have only been more sad at the funerals of two of my brothers, dead from pneumonia and cancer.

One of these young men was a very talented artist. He had just finished art school in Denver and had returned to Cheyenne. Not sure what happened to make him take the final plunge. He was a mysterious teen. He wore one of those long western coats to school, the same coat worn by the two killers at Columbine. After April 20, 1999, junior high administrators told him to stop wearing the coat to school. He refused. His diminutive German-born mother went toe-to-toe with school officials and got them to back off. Last time I saw here was at her son's funeral. I will always wonder what was going through her head that day.

The other casualty of those years was a skateboarder who couldn't go straight. He was a hardcore druggie and just seemed to be getting his life back on track when his young wife found him hanging in the closet. I remember him as a friendly kid whom I didn't want my son to hang out with. But he did. He later went to drug treatment for a year. He still has some struggles but graduated from community college and lives a thousand miles away with his girlfriend who seems nice on the phone.

So did D&D have anything to do with these later life traumas? I am not sure. Some innocent blood was spilled, but the violence was mostly self-inflicted. My wife Chris and I were concerned with D&D overdose at the time. When we asked Kevin about it, he thought we were being silly. Just wait until he brings kids into this crazy world.

Those roleplaying D&D kids always seemed to have such a raucous good time. A bunch of likable nerds.

Mental health crisis makes the news from coast to coast

Allison Kilkenny wrote in The Nation on Oct. 21 about the rise in suicides and other mental health crises spawned by budget cuts:

Threats of sequestration in 2013 had a significant impact on people’s ability to access mental health services and programs, including children’s mental health services, suicide prevention programs, homeless outreach programs, substance abuse treatment programs, housing and employment assistance, health research, and virtually every type of public mental health support. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) claimed it alone would be cutting $168 million from its 2013 spending, including a reduction of $83.1 million in grants for substance abuse treatment programs.

And here's the news from Chicago:

In Chicago alone, state budget cuts combined with reductions in county and city mental health services led to shutting six of the city’s 12 mental health clinics, Forbes reports.

What's the matter with Kansas:

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment recently released a startling report showing a 30 percent increase in suicides from 2011.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the largest increase in suicides in Kansas occurred among white males, who already were the segment of the population most likely to take their own lives. More than 80 percent of suicides in Kansas last year were men.

And what about Wyoming? Well, a chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has been holding organizational meetings in Cheyenne. Look up NAMI Cheyenne on Facebook. Get more info by e-mailing namicheyenne@gmail.com

Neat staff editorial in the Casper Star-Tribune on Wednesday. It examined the sad story of a young schizophrenic teen, Sally Levin, who was killed by her father in 1937 Cheyenne. It was a suicide pact gone awry. The father shot and killed his daughter to allegedly put her out of her misery, but his self-inflicted wounds were not fatal. Once he recovered, the family moved away to California and the incident was lost to history. Almost.

Suzanne Handler heard about her grandfather's story, investigated and recently published a book on it, “The Secrets They Kept: The True Story of a Mercy Killing That Shocked a Town and Shamed a Family.”

So has has mental health treatment in Wyoming improved over the last 76 years?

Despite the creation of treatment centers in regions of the state and school-based counseling, the need for treatment in Wyoming’s small towns can be largely unmet due to rural health care challenges.

All counties in Wyoming are geographically designated mental health services shortage areas.

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In 2011-12 the Annie E. Casey Foundation identified 22,000 Wyoming children, 18 percent, as “Children ages 2 to 17 with a parent who reports that a doctor has told them their child has autism, developmental delays, depression or anxiety, ADD/ADHD, or behavioral/conduct problems.”

We still have a long way to go.

As the song says, "Let the sunshine in!"

I don't personally know the two presenters at the May 16 library workshop entitled "Letting the Sunshine in." But it's one of six mental health sessions sponsored by the Wyoming Department of Health, Stop Suicide Cheyenne, Grace for 2 Brothers and the Jason Foundation under the header of "From Just Surviving to Thriving!" Great organizations all!

Here's a tip from someone who's struggled with depression for most of his adult life. If you are depressed, don't think it will go away if you just think good thoughts or watch cheery movies. They may help. But real depression is not a passing sadness. Watching "The Sound of Music" 20 times will not banish it to the deepest reaches of your reptilian brain. The flyer for the session, led by Jonna Hilzer-Dickie (M.A., L.P.C.) and Jon Baillie (M.A., P.P.C.) sums it up pretty well:

Depression is a serious biological disease that affects millions of people each year. The encouraging news is that it can often be successfully treated. Learn ways to stop the dark cloud of depression and anxiety and let your sunshine in!

"Letting the Sunshine In" will be held on Thursday, May 16, 5:30-6:30 p.m., in the Laramie County Public Library's Sunflower Room on the third floor. It's free, and you may learn a lot. There are two more sessions. On June 20, local musician and founder of Rock for Life James Ednie will address his own near brush with suicide via words and music. He also will "offer some tools to cope with tough situations." James will provide tips "on how to not only deal with sadness, but how to celebrate it."

It is true. You can celebrate sadness but acknowledging that it's a normal part of life. I speak not only as someone with depression but as a writer who often spends time with the gloomy thoughts of his characters. Maybe that's why I write in the vein of tragicomedy. LIfe often is like that, isn't it? It's one thing when it happens in fiction. Yet another thing when it happens in real life.

The final session, "Save a Life," takes on the serious topic of suicide prevention. As you probably know, Wyoming is home to the second-most completed suicides, and WY teen suicides lead the nation. The Jason Foundations has this alarming stat on its web site: "Each day in our nation, there are an average of over 5,400 attempts by young people grades 7-12." And don't forget our veterans. Last fall at the Equality State Book Festival in Casper, soldier-poet Brian Turner noted that each day the U.S. loses an average of 18 active duty and retired military to suicides. During the course of a three-day weekend, suicides wipe out the entire platoon that he led in Iraq.

The "Save a Life" training session will go from 5:30-8 p.m. as Stop Suicide Cheyenne presents the Jason Foundation's suicide prevention program for parents. 

Marking the tenth anniversary of the Iraq invasion with a photo sampler

These three photos come from The Atlantic magazine's series of photo essays commemorating the tenth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. This is only a sampler of the 150 photos featured in The Atlantic. They each spoke to me in different ways. The above photo was taken on Wednesday, March 13, 2013. It shows a view of Baghdad's Firdos Square at the site of an Associated Press photograph taken by Jerome Delay as the statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down by U.S. forces and Iraqis on April 9, 2003. Ten years ago on live television, U.S. Marines memorably hauled down a Soviet-style statue of Saddam, symbolically ending his rule. Today, that pedestal in central Baghdad stands empty. Bent iron beams sprout from the top, and posters of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in military fatigues are pasted on the sides. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

I work in the arts and have often wondered about the fate of artists and musicians and writers during the war. A student practices playing the oud (above) at the Institute of Musical Studies in Baghdad, on October 21, 2012. The once quiet courtyards of Baghdad's Institute of Musical Studies, located in the busy Sinak area, where violence was rife during the height of Iraq's sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007, are thriving again as the Iraqi capital enjoys a noticeable ebb in violence (for now). Many of Iraq's most talented musicians fled during the rule of Saddam Hussein, fearing persecution for their political views and suffering from a lack of funding and exposure if they refused to glorify the leader in their art. Now, slowly, some musicians are making plans to come back, hoping to revive Iraq's rich musical tradition on home soil. (Reuters/Mohammed Ameen)

I've written a lot about veteran suicides during the past decade (go here and here and here). In the above photo, Matt and Cheryl Ecker hold a photo of their son, Army veteran Michael Ecker, in Champion, Ohio, April 19, 2012. In 2009, Michael committed suicide, shooting himself in front of his father. Veteran suicides remain a serious problem in the U.S. A recent Veteran's Administration study using data from 21 states between 1999 and 2011 suggested that as many as 22 veterans were killing themselves every day. (Reuters/Jason Cohn)

Rodger McDaniel's new book, "Dying for Joe McCarthy's Sins," will debut on April 2

Here's some good news. Rodger McDaniel's biography of Wyoming U.S. Sen. Lester Hunt will be released on Tuesday, April 2. He's holding a reception at the Historic Governor's Mansion in downtown Cheyenne on that evening from 7-9 p.m. This will be your first chance to get a copy. 

Later that week, you may want to drop in on "The Trial of Joe McCarthy, et. al." on Sunday, April 7,at 1 p.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Cheyenne (Lester Hunt's church). The U.S. senators who were involved in the blackmail of Lester Hunt will be prosecuted in a "mock jury trial." Former Governor and U.S. Attorney Dave Freudenthal will prosecute. Retired Supreme Court Justice Michael Golden will be the trial judge. State Public Defender Diane Lozano will be defense counsel. Witnesses playing the roles of Drew Pearson, TA Larson, Red Jacoby and detective Roy Blick will present the evidence. The jury will render a historic verdict, according to Rodger.

Question: May I serve on the jury?

Montana leads the nation in suicides; Wyoming not far behind

The darker the state, the higher the suicide rate

The Billings Gazette began a series on Sunday exploring Montana's "suicide epidemic." Montana leads the nation in the per capita suicide rate. Last year, 452 people committed suicide in the state. While Montana has been listed in the top five suicide states the past 35 years, Wyoming is not far behind in this dismal statistic. Take a look at the map and you can see that the northern Rockies are in the "dark zone." Doesn't the outline of Montana's western border look like a sad man's face? Read the series at http://www.billingsgazette.com

The real quandary for the depressed: you often are too depressed to take action

Marjorie Morrison is the author of the recently published "The Inside Battle: Our Military Mental Health Crisis" (Military Psychology Press, $8.99 ebook). Yesterday, she wrote a great column for the Huffington Post. Here are some excerpts:

From 2005 to 2010, service members took their own lives at a rate of about one every 36 hours. There are currently more deaths in the military by suicide then killed in combat. Suicides in the US Army increased 80% in 2004 to 2008. 

This is the excerpt that rang true for me:

A service member who seeks help has significant barriers to overcome. Almost all of us can look back at a time when we felt depressed. Typically, it isn't until after you get through it that you realize how distressed you were. It's difficult enough to ask for help, but considerably harder when one feels hopeless.

This is the problem, isn't it? People who suffer from clinical depression often cannot reach out of that big black hole to get help. In other words, we are too depressed to know we are depressed and too depressed to get the help we need. It often takes someone close to us to urge us on. Unfortunately, we may be too depressed to act. We may pretend that we know better. We may pretend that we are fine.

I am not a veteran. I do come from a long line of veterans who suffered from depression and PTSD. I know what depression feels like. I know how hard it is to reach out to get help.

I was first diagnosed with depression in 1990, when I was 40. I have been on and off antidepressants ever since. More than one psychiatrist has told me this: "Stay on antidepressants. You have clinical depression."

Did I listen? Of course not.

Here is the danger. Antidepressants may seek to work effectively over time. If we are seeing clinicians on a regular basis, they may discover this and switch our meds. If we are not seeing clinicians on a regular basis, who's to know? We may just decide to quit taking Prozac or Zoloft or Mertazapine or Effexor or Wellbutrin or any of the other drugs that help to ward off the hopgoblins.

Big mistake.    

We should pause here to entertain objections from those who think that antidepressants are the work of the devil, or a means to mind control. Any Scientologists in the room? I can see why objections may arise. Many of those who commit suicide are taking antidepressants. It's easy to assume that antidepressants lead to suicide.

When I was embarking on my latest antidepressant regimen, I came across an article about a young Iraq veteran who had committed suicide. Tip for the depressed: never read about suicide when in the throes of depression. The photo in the story showed the vet's bedroom. Near his bed were myriad bottles of pills. One read "Mirtazapine." Thing is, I'd been taking the very same drug at the very same dosage for two weeks. Nothing was happening. I was feeling a bit desperate. Was I ready to kill myself? No. But I was depressed as hell. It would be months and months before that med and several others finally combined to give me some relief.

Now that I am no longer depressed, I realize how depressed I really was. And I am amazed that I am front of you right now, that I am typing on this keyboard and entering fairly sensible words on the screen. Amazed.

I was lucky. I had an understanding wife. I had understanding colleagues at work. I have friends. I have health insurance. I am en ex-jock who knew that exercise can be a way to the other side. I am a writer who believes in journaling. I have an extra dose of Irish cussedness in me -- it keeps me going when things look blackest. I have some wisdom endowed by six decades on the planet. I know how to pray.

What if I was 21, just back from a terrible war? Would I know what to do? I've never had to face that. But thousands of others have to face that every day.

Be kind. That's what combat veteran and ex-POW Kurt Vonnegut used to say. Be kind. He knew that little acts of kindness can go a long way. If nothing else, that's something we can all give to one another.

Be kind.

And take your freakin' meds, ya dimwit!

That's me talking to myself. When I'm feeling right. When I'm not, well, I say nothing.

Question for Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso: Why did you vote to block jobs bill for military veterans?

Wyoming Sen./Dr. John Barrasso, running for re-election, voted today to block a jobs bill for military veterans. He was joined in the naysayers' column by Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi. The $1 billion veterans' job bill needed 60 votes to proceed. It was blocked 58-40. All no votes were by Republicans.

Senate Veterans' Affairs Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said the cost of the bill, $1 billion over five years, is offset. She noted that a vote to block the measure is tantamount to saying the nation has done enough for veterans.

"A vote to support this point of order says that despite the fact that we have paid for this bill, despite the fact that one in four young veterans are out of work, despite the fact that veterans suicides are outpacing combat deaths, and despite the fact that more and more veterans are coming home, we are not going to invest in these challenges," Murray said.

The nation owes veterans "more than just a pat on the back for their service," she continued. "We owe them more than bumper stickers and platitudes. We owe them more than procedural roadblocks that will impede our ability to provide help now and into the future. We owe them action."

Murray continued: "We owe them real investments that will help get them back to work. And that's what this bill does."

I'm voting for Democrat Tim Chesnut in the Wyoming U.S. Senate race. Maybe he will vote for benefits for our military veterans. On Sunday, Sept. 23, Tim will host a barbecue and fund-raiser from noon until 3 p.m. at the picnic shelter in Holliday Park in Cheyenne. Get more info by calling Barbara Guilford at 307-634-0309 or Michael Crump at 307-631-9569.

During a long weekend, veteran suicides wipe out an entire platoon

This is not right.

From an AP wire service story:

So far this year the number of suicides in the military has surged beyond expectations, given that the pace of combat deployments has begun to slow. The Defense Department closely tracks suicides throughout the military but releases its figures only once a year. The Associated Press in June obtained an internal Defense Department document that revealed that there had been 154 suicides in the first 155 days of the year, though June 3. That marked the fastest pace of active-duty military suicides in the nation's decade of war.

This is not right.

This past weekend at the Equality State Book Festival in Casper, Wyo., we heard from a panel of veterans who also are writers. Brian Turner served seven years in the U.S. Army, with deployments in Bosnia-Herzegovinia (1999-2000) and Iraq (2003-2004). Luis Carlos Montalvan served 17 years in the U.S. Army, with a deployment in Iraq that earned him a Purple Heart and a lifelong limp and a case of TBI -- Traumatic Brain Injury. Patrick Amelotte was a U.S. Marine Corps Reservist who was deployed during Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1991. They all spoke during a panel entitled "Active Duty, Active Voices."

One of the most haunting quotes came from Brian Turner. He noted that 18 veterans or active duty troops commit suicide daily. That includes veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as all of the other conflicts the U.S. has been engaged in during my lifetime: Korea, Vietnam, Cold War, Vietnam (including Cambodia and Laos), Grenada, Central America, Desert Shield/Desert Storm (Iraq and Kuwait), Bosnia, Somalia, and other hotspots too numerous to mention. It seems odd to include The Good War in these stats but, yes, there are aging WWII vets who sometimes choose the gun or rope over the long march into the darkness caused by cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.

Eighteen per day. At least one of those suicides is by a member if our active duty forces. You know, some 19-year-old kid who used to live next door to you and joined the Army to pay for college or a trade school or to gain citizenship.

Here's how Brian put it:

"There are 18 suicides today, 18 tomorrow and 18 on Sunday when I fly back out. By the time I get back to Orlando, my platoon is gone."

Every three days, we lose a platoon to suicide.

This is not right.

So what are you going to do about it?

I leave you with a Brian Turner poem on the subject (from Here, Bullet). Brian read this poem at the book festival:

Eulogy

It happens on a Monday, at 11:20 A.M.,
as tower guards eat sandwiches
and seagulls drift by on the Tigris River.
Prisoners tilt their heads to the west
though burlap sacks and duct tape blind them.
The sound reverberates down concertina coils
the way piano wire thrums when given slack.
And it happens like this, on a blue day of sun,
when Private Miller pulls the trigger
to take brass and fire into his mouth:
the sound lifts the birds up off the water,
a mongoose pauses under the orange trees,
and nothing can stop it now, no matter what
blur of motion surrounds him, no matter what voices
crackle over the radio in static confusion,
because if only for this moment the earth is stilled,
and Private Miller has found what low hush there is
down in the eucalyptus shade, there by the river.

PFC B. Miller
(1980-March 22, 2004)

"He had arrived at a cliff, with an abyss before him and a fire behind him"

Meredith Melnick writes in Time Magazine Online today about World Suicide Prevention Day, which will take place on Monday, Sept. 10 (tomorrow):

Every day 3,000 people end their own lives, and for every person who dies, there are 20 more people who unsuccessfully attempt a suicide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In the United States alone, that amounts to one death by suicide every 16 minutes, says the National Council for Suicide Prevention (NCSP).

It’s a bit tricky to figure out how to honor World Suicide Prevention Day and so the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the WHO have collaborated on a list of activities for organizations to consider as a way to help support the cause. But what about individuals?

The NCSP launched a “Take 5 to Save Lives” campaign that summarizes how we can all help prevent suicide — simple steps like learning the signs of suicidal behavior, raising awareness by telling other people about the World Suicide Prevention Day, and asking for help if you are concerned about your own thoughts and behavior.

Some suggested activities include holding a press conference, writing an article for your local paper, distributing information about depression, posting the WSPD banner on your blog or web site, lobbying politicians about mental health issues and other activities. Seems to me that "spreading the word" is one of the most helpful things anyone can do, since the stigma surrounding depression and suicide seems to be the strongest barrier to prevention.

Cheyenne author Edith Cook wrote movingly in the Sept. 5 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle about her brother's and niece's suicides. The Sunday Denver Post carried a front-page story about the aftermath of the December 2011 suicide of one of the city's foremost philanthropists, Noel Cunningham. He hung himself in his basement. His wife, Tammy, found his body when she arrived home from work that evening:

"It was really difficult, because all I could see for the next couple weeks was Noel, and the way I found him."

Suicide is especially difficult on those loved ones left behind, especially if it arrives as a ghastly surprise, as it did with Mrs. Cunningham. While she tried to get her husband to open up about his inner pain, he never did.

The most moving and poetic quote from the Post article came from an unexpected place -- former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter's eulogy at the 62-year-old Cunningham's memorial service. He said that Cunningham's manic level of service to his community and to international hunger relief had a "dark brother:"

"Call it depression, or despondency, or despair, but it is real, and it has to be dealt with in this eulogy."

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"Like many of us in this life," Noel had arrived at a cliff, with an abyss before him and a fire behind him, Ritter said.

"He did not see us, he could not see us, on the other side of the fire, pleading with him, telling him we love him, telling him that we will do anything, anything in the world for him, if he would just let us help him put out the fire, and bring him back from the cliff," Ritter said.

The final powerful lesson that Noel gave us all, Ritter said, "is that self-care matters too, even for the selfless."

Not bad for a politician known more for fiscal austerity than metaphor.

How many people in Wyoming are at this cliff today? Too many. Teens and aging white males are especially vulnerable, or so say the statistics. Wyoming's rapidly greying population has many of the latter group, and they tend to kill themselves in dramatically Western ways -- by gun and by rope.

So spread the word: "You don't have to face the abyss and the fire alone. I am your friend. I can help."

Early intervention and prevention crucial for children's mental health

Here are some points to ponder about children’s mental health. As a parent of children with mental health challenges, and as an adult who's dealt with recurring bouts of depression, I ponder these things often and not only during the upcoming week devoted to education and awareness. Governor Matt Mead will sign a proclamation on Wednesday, May 9, 10 a.m., designating May 6-12 as Mental Health Awareness Week. The following stats come from the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. 

• One in five young people have one or more mental, emotional, or behavioral challenges.  One in ten youth have challenges that are severe enough to impair how they function at home, school, or in the community.
• One-half of all lifetime cases of psychological challenges begin by age 14, and three-quarters begin by age 24.  In addition, 80% of people who experience multiple issues with mental health and substance abuse report onset before the age of 20.
• Suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescents and young adults. Children experiencing symptoms of psychological challenges, particularly depression, are at a higher risk for suicide.  An estimated 90% of children who commit suicide have a diagnosable mental illness.
• Despite high rates of mental illness in children, 4 out of 5 children ages 6 to 17 who have experience symptoms do not receive any help.  The majority of those who do not receive needed mental health services are minority children.  For example, 88% of Latino children have unmet mental health needs.  In addition, Latino children are less likely than others to be identified by a primary care physician as having a mental disorder.
• Unmet mental health needs may complicate daily activities and education for youth.  Almost 25% of adolescents who required mental health assistance reported having problems at school.  Over 50% of students who experience psychological challenges, ages 14 and older, drop out of high school—the highest dropout rate of any disability group.
• Early detection and intervention strategies for mental health issues improve children’s resilience and ability to succeed in life.  According to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health, preschoolers at high risk for mental health problems showed less oppositional behavior, less aggressive behavior, and were less likely to require special education services 3 years after enrolling in a comprehensive, school-based mental health program.

What can you do?

Create awareness surrounding positive mental health practices and supports.  Work to reduce stigma!

Contact your local, state and federal legislators to request funding for early intervention and prevention programs. 

Encourage culturally and linguistically competent supports and services.

UPLIFT has a terrific list of resources for Wyoming families at http://www.upliftwy.org/resources.html. I am on the UPLIFT board and admit to a certain bias. But it is a terrific list.

"Good Night, Ryan:" Yet another Iraq veteran dies by his own hand

The film that accompanies Nicholas D. Kristof's New York Times story makes me incredibly sad -- and pisses me off. Why isn't more being done to take care of these young people that we send to war?

THERE’S a window into a tragedy within the American military: For every soldier killed on the battlefield this year, about 25 veterans are dying by their own hands.  

An American soldier dies every day and a half, on average, in Iraq or Afghanistan. Veterans kill themselves at a rate of one every 80 minutes. More than 6,500 veteran suicides are logged every year — more than the total number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq combined since those wars began.

Anti-bullying program on the agenda at tonight's LCSD1 school board meeting

Laramie County School District No. 1 put out a press release on April 3 about its new arrangement with Wyoming non-profit UPLIFT to serve as ombudsman for its anti-bullying program. Not everyone is town is happy with the news. I happen to know that UPLIFT already has a great track record working with families whose children have "emotional, behavioral, learning, developmental or physical disorders." The topic will be discussed tonight at the school board meeting in the Storey Gym. It's also awards night for district students, followed by a bit of official business. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. I am attending as a parent whose children (now in college) have benefitted from UPLIFT's expertise. Here's info from the press release:

Officials at Laramie County School District 1 have announced plans to continue offering bullying ombudsman assistance for families in the community as part of the district’s overall package of services offered to address bullying and provide for safe schools.  

The ombudsman advocacy service will be provided through UPLIFT, a family support network dedicated to the hope, health, and well-being of Wyoming children and families. This service will complement the existing prevention programs and problem-solving efforts of the district. 

“An ombudsman is available to advocate and support kids and families during instances when people believe their concerns have not been addressed through standard processes,” said Dr. Mark Stock, LCSD1 superintendent of schools.

UPLIFT"s phone number in Cheyenne is 778-8686.

Suicide risk factors explored by National Institute of Mental Health

Suicide, especially teen suicide, is a scourge in Wyoming. Instead of casting blame, better to get more and better information from the National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health

What causes someone to commit suicide? In a sense, it is an unanswerable question. Professionals who study the risk factors associated with suicide say that its causes are complex and slippery, difficult to pinpoint. Still, there are a set of risk factors agreed upon by the National Institute of Mental Health and others that tell us some of the things that can cause suicide rates to increase. Click here to view full article.

Update (and new graphic) for "Defy the Hate" photo shoot Feb. 14 at LCCC in Cheyenne

You are invited!

Once again, Wyoming teen suicide in the news

Once again, Wyoming teen suicide is in the news. This time, it's the death of 13-year-old Alex Frye of Cheyenne. His death on New Year's Day is getting plenty of attention in the local media -- and elsewhere. There is much talk about the alleged cause -- bullying at school. The school district seems to be doing its part of bringing up the topic and providing counselors for students and teachers at Alex's school, Carey Junior High. According to last night's Channel 5 newscast, the Cheyenne Police Department is adding a position to address suicide prevention. There's a fine local organization, Grace for 2 Brothers which offers “suicide prevention through awareness and education.”

Still, the beat goes on. Wyoming has among the highest teen suicide stats in the nation. Some of that is due to isolation and rough weather and lack of opportunity. Some of that is due to bullying, although it's unclear how much. It is clear that bullies beget bullies, and until this is addressed, bullying will continue to lead to both the mental and physical scarring of vulnerable youth.

Some of Wyoming’s cluelessness about suicide can be blamed on Wyoming's "cowboy up" mentality, which can be summed up this way: "Cowboy up!" Be tough. Shake it off. Get back on that horse. None of which helps much when it comes to assisting someone in pain.

I refer you to Tom Morton's excellent Casper Star-Tribune column from Oct. 26. He focused on the lethal nature of suicide by gun. Guns are very popular in Wyoming, and a popular (and very final) way to commit suicide. He noted that U.S. suicide stats -- 39th in the world -- are not particularly alarming. But, "if Wyoming's rate of 20.0 suicides per 100,000 population was compared to the worldwide rates, Wyoming would rank about 10th." Read more here. 

This comes from a 2010 article in the WTE:

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among Wyoming youth, said Keith Hotle, a suicide prevention team leader with the Wyoming Department of Health. Only car crashes kill more teens. 

If a new disease was the second-leading cause of death for youth, that would be front page news all over the state," he said. 

But it isn't. Those headlines arrive only with each new suicide by a Wyoming youth. And they appear with great regularity, much to our shame.

Rest in peace, Alex Frye. We will remember you.

WTE Online: CRMC offers psychiatric service through computer

This is a great idea for a rural state (Wyoming) which has high risk factors for suicide, domestic violence and substance abuse -- and one that serves its 580,000 residents with just 30 psychiatrists (one per 19,333 people), most located in cities: CRMC offers psychiatric service through computer -- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Online