an itinerant observer

Prologue : The bathwater, initially clear blue, gradually takes on a pinkish hue. Like rose water … or fresh henna, that’s come off of tattooed hands and feet immersed in a bath tub. The water overflows onto the pristine white tiled floor, making it blush. Mesmerized by the changing colors, my mind unsuccessfully tries not to focus on the source of that color. Blood. That oozes out of deep slits in both forearms of a beautiful young girl. Hannah sobs quietly and sighs deeply – but refrains from screaming despite pain from incised sinew, nerves, arteries and veins. [Random thought: they say arteries and veins don’t have pain receptors … ] Hannah’s muffled groans eventually die down; so does her body as her life takes flight. And thus Hannah Baker dies at age 17. She takes her own life and she does so in an extreme manner. ****************************************************** “What if Hannah’s parents had discovered her in the bathroom a tad bit earlier? What if 911 ha...

Robin Williams is no more. I came across his death in a footnote in a local newspaper, a few days back. Considering the manner he decided to end his life, I was shocked although not entirely surprised. Robin Williams was an ‘intense’ actor to say the least. If you scratch the surface, actors, who perform comedies on screen, betray more of real life dramas and tragedies. I think they utilize humor as a strong defense mechanism, and they throw themselves into work (either one project or several) perhaps to keep “demons at bay”, as suggested by a recent article from the NY Times with the very suggestive title “Busy working, Robin Williams fought demons”. That concept in itself is intriguing because I believe we all have demons that we tackle on a daily basis in our professional and personal lives. I wonder if celebrities or actors have a harder time dealing with those demons than us regular folks…   Other than the statistics from the U.S. about white men being much more l...