So I’ve installed Office 2007 on my PC’s and it turns out that it has a feature for blogging. It’s actually kinda nice, so we’ll give it a run. I think the categorization/tags is messed up. The font is different, but I like the Apple-y “Segoe UI” very much. Thank you for your patience.

So, the next chapter in Solomon’s The Noonday Demon has been devoted to breakdowns. Previously, I wasn’t convinced of all the accolades references to this book being a thriller, but I now understood what they meant. I quickly read this chapter. I kept wondering, will he make it? How would the breakdown happen at this point? You’re driven to wonder–like he was–what are the reasons for these breakdowns? Are there discernible precursors? In some cases yes, but the more harrowing answer is, more often, no. There are no necessary causes for his depression. His life was just as difficult and as easy as any other. I remember the adage from my Psych 101 classes: “The same fire that melts the butter, hardens the egg.” The same stimulus has wildly varying effects on each of us and across time as well. Bummer. But, perhaps that teaches us a little more forbearance too. Sometimes (not always), the empirical mind is at a loss to diagnose its problems. But then Solomon also points out that while we may be able to diagnose the problem (his therapist and he had arrived at a diagnosis of depression very early on his treatment), it is entirely a different project to treat the problem.

Speaking of treatment, I’m going to see Pan’s Labyrinth with an old friend tonight. G– is very dear to me but she appears to be in a pretty low place right now. Work, love, and family pretty much sucks for her right now. So, my project is to be cheerful, buy her a movie ticket, and forget a bit. Hopefully, it will bring her a little peace. The book has taught me that the first course is to listen, almost aggressively so, and only offer advice if invited or with some qualification. With some effort, I should be able to manage that.

P.S. I just read that Molly Ivins died. This saddens me more than I anticipated. I guess deep down I thought I would see her speak or something. I’ve seen her in television interviews and I always liked her wit and style. I can’t imagine how much it sucked to have to endure breast cancer as she did. I am invigorated by her adage: “Politics is not a picture on a wall or a television sitcom that you can decide you don’t much care for.” Anthony Zurcher’s tribute includes this vignette:

She was known for hosting unforgettable parties at her Austin home, which would feature rollicking political discussions, and impromptu poetry recitals and satirical songs. At one such event, I noticed her dining table was littered with various awards and distinguished speaker plaques, put to use as trivets for steaming plates of tamales, chili and fajita meat. When I called this to her attention, Molly matter-of-factly replied, “Well, what else am I going to do with ‘em?”

She’s the sort of Southern, old-style, liberal woman I admire. She also seemed fond of the lines from Alice in Wonderland:

Alice laughed: “There’s no use trying,” she said; “one can’t believe impossible things.”

“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the [Red] Queen. “When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

It’s always been a line that I cherish as well.