On My Soapbox

I got a the latest issue of People magazine in the mail yesterday, and I have to say, a couple of the stories are just downright depressing.  The cover story was about Baby Lisa, the ten month old that disappeared from her home while her mother was passed out drunk in the bedroom.   Baby Lisa’s father was supposed to be home from work around 10pm, but had to stay late and didn’t get home until around 3am, at which point he discovered the front door unlocked, a window open with the screen pushed in, and Baby Lisa gone.  The article stated that he couldn’t call home to tell  Baby Lisa’s mother that he would be late because they had not paid their phone bill and had restricted service.  It pains me that someone with small kids in the house would choose to buy wine before paying their phone bill.   It also saddens me that someone who is supposed to be taking care of three young kids drinks to the point of passing out.   Baby Lisa’s mother believes that she forgot to close the window because she was drunk.  I would imagine that she didn’t hear anyone breaking in for the same reason.

Another article describes the suicide of Bernie Madoff’s son, Mark, two years after turning his father in to the authorities.  Mark made an unsuccessful suicide attempt in 2009, spent a week in the hospital, and came home still struggling with the situation.  In  December 2010, Mark’s wife, Stephanie,  took their daughter to Disney World for her birthday leaving Mark home alone with their young son.  When the Wall Street Journal published an article saying that Mark and his brother were being investigated in connection with their father’s crimes,  Mark texted Stephanie and told her how upset he was, and that he needed her help.  She replied that she couldn’t deal with it and that she was going to shut her phone off.  He texted her three more times, the first message asking again for help, for her to send someone to care for their son.  Mark hanged himself that night in the living room of their home, while his little boy slept. 

 

Stephanie has written a book about it, and the People article shows her all smiley and talking about the future.  While I love to read and will happily read pretty much anything, I’m have no desire to read this book.  I’m sad that Mark’s wife chose to ignore his cry for help, turning her phone off so she could enjoy her time in Florida.  So many times, depressed and suicidal people fail to ask for help.  Mark did, and his plea was rejected.  How do you forgive yourself for that?  I’m sorry for his children, who will grow up without their father, and I’m sorry for Mark’s wife, though I feel angry at her, too.  She could have at least called someone to check on him, a family member, a friend, the police.  She chose to ignore him.  She failed him, plain and simple.  And by failing Mark, she also failed her children. 

I'm sure there's a lot that those articles don't say, and I know it's wrong for me to judge these people or anyone else. I can't help it, though. Reading these, I got angry.  Now I'm just sad.  We're supposed to look out for each other.  I wish both of these women would have remembered that.