Out of the Darkness
Editor:
On January 14, 2011 our lives were changed forever when our 14 1/2 year old son inexplicably ended his life. One minute he was working out with the Samohi baseball team and the next he ran from practice, crossed Pico, and jumped from the 10th floor of the hotel that looms over the high school. There is no evidence that he was bullied or mistreated. He had no history of depression or substance abuse. He was an excellent student, a happy and friendly boy, he had wonderful friends and had been selected for the high school baseball team. He had been struggling a little with the transition to high school but it did not seem to us to be much more than normal teenaged angst. There was no one in his life who saw this coming-not his teachers, his coaches, his friends, teammates, therapist, not even his family. It has been a nightmare for us each and every day. Both my husband and I still wait for him to come out of his room every morning, sleepy and rumpled, ready for another day.
We have been trying to find ways to remember him, to tell his story, to help others, to save some other parents from having to live this hell. We do outreach with the staff from Teen Line and on Oct. 25 I am working as a volunteer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's annual Out of the Darkness Walk that will start and end on the 3rd Street Promenade. When our son died we were overwhelmed by the support we received from the many overlapping communities in Santa Monica-the parents from SAMOHI, the police and fire departments, the school administrators and teachers, our synagogue and other houses of worship in the city, Santa Monica Little League (where our son played from the age of 5) and so many others. I am hoping that members of these many groups will come and join our efforts to raise money to support AFSP's work to end suicide. Please go to their website AFSP.ORG and sign up for the walk or donate to support their work.
Ellie Schneir
Santa Monica
Poor protest
Editor:
A building contractor (Superior Wall Systems - Richard Hudson president) from Orange County who has some sort of labor dispute with the school district has decided to hire extras to protest at Edison Elementary accusing the district of racial bias. These hired protesters with their signs have reached the threshold under the criminal statute for having intimidated and annoyed the children there who expressed to their parents their fears. I call upon the SMPD to enforce this statute by what ever means at the cities disposal to assure these children are neither hindered nor put in fear as they attend this school as a matter of their routine. Mr. Hudson has determined to use the low road and demagoguery by race baiting in this example and the good folk of Santa Monica will have no sympathy for such tactics praying upon children and their families. This company can avail themselves of redress through the court if they choose or demonstrate at the school board or city hall, but not where children learn and play regardless of race creed color or religion as this despicable company alleges.
Stewart Resmer
Santa Monica
Vote YES on HB 4307 and HB 4038
Editor:
It is simply my human right to consume dairy in its natural raw state as it is found in nature.
Those who fight raw dairy are as contaminated in their hearts as the dirt and fungus you find in pasteurized dairy ... surely it will come back to you. It's about karma and consciousness.
Carina Gous
Santa Monica
