Recently I had a fight with one of my very closest friends. It was a public fight that took place on Twitter for all the world to see. I argued with her and I argued with other friends, I even argued with strangers. But some strangers supported me and many people I knew took my side, others contacted me privately and told me their point of view. It was a very public fight about a very public story – that of Greg Hutchings who took his daughter’s life before taking his own.

I cannot condone such a hideous act and never would but that does not mean I can’t have compassion for a man who is at such a desperate place that he takes his child’s life and then his own.

There was so much anger expended against this man because… well for one he killed his daughter I guess, but I think they felt anger because they assumed it was an act of revenge or malice. The man had no history of mental illness, he wasn’t being treated for psychosis or depression or bipolar disorder.
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There is no sport that my husband won’t watch on TV. Rugby, golf, cricket, skiing, NFL, even darts (which I contest is not actually a sport) he is there, eyes glued. Tennis, swimming, athletics, snooker (again not really a sport) he watches with rapt attention. I on the other hand rather love to fall asleep to sport on TV so basically we are very well suited couple.

It’s a nightly routine : Mr Pencil channel surfs for a while grumbling away that there is nothing good on TV and as soon as he settles on a channel and starts watching a ball being flung around a field or people testing the limits of their endurance I fall asleep.

But last night was different. Last night Mr Pencil didn’t let me sleep because he suddenly turned into one of those crotchety old men that like to write into newspapers with a fountain pen and complain to the world in general that they are unhappy.
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Philip Seymour Hoffman died at age 46. The same age I will be in 4 months time.

The fact that he is dead is tragic. The cause of his death even more so.  While I cannot speculate on his life and how he lived it I do know that nobody chooses to be an addict. No one picks up their first drink or their first drug with the intention of becoming an alcoholic or an addict.

Just because you are rich and you have all the trappings of that wealth it doesn’t preclude you from being human, from being scared or anxious, from feeling pain or emotion.  Just because you are famous it doesn’t mean you don’t have self doubt and think too much or care too deeply, just because you have minders and entourages it doesn’t mean you don’t get lonely or feel isolated.

Just because you have children it does not mean you are not human. Just because you use drugs does not mean you are a junkie.

With their sale of sildenafil tablets versatile team of volunteers, Kaar technologies Pvt Ltd India is able to partake in multiple social activities. Medicinal Cause- At times, sexual weakness could be discount online viagra the result of some sort of trauma or injury that didn’t heal properly. It has certain tadalafil cheap periods of meowing without apparent reasons. Erectile dysfunction is a most common problem these days and around one in 10 men suffer from erectile dysfunction. canadian cialis pharmacy An addiction is not the same as “living it up”, it’s not about taking drugs to have a good time. It’s an illness and Philip Seymour Hoffman was not just an actor. He was a human.

(With thanks to Zoey Martin at The Shake where I was first rocked by this video)

Rest in Peace Philip Seymour Hoffman and may your family find strength at this horrifically dark time.