March 30 - With A Little Help From My Friends

First of all, I want to thank everybody who read the piece from yesterday. It was a difficult decision to publish it - but I really felt like it was the right thing to do. I was very happy to see that it wasn't read as a sympathy piece, because it wasn't meant that way. But the one part that was left out yesterday was the one that explained even more how I have been able to fight depression for as long as I have. Yes, I have had great therapists along the way (and shitty ones, as I alluded to yesterday), but what I have had that has been even better is friends and family. I had friends who didn't run away when I told them about my struggles back in '94, and I have been blessed with a fantastic family who all have been very supportive throughout.

I am not going to pretend that we don't know where I would have been today if it hadn't been for family and friends - so I just want to make sure I take the time to thank you. I am not going to make the award-speech mistake of naming people, because I would without a doubt leave someone out, and that sin of omission is one I don't want to commit at this point. But the one thing I do want to say is that there are a good number of you who might not realize how important you have been in keeping me going. You would be the ones who didn't know, but who spent time with me, be it in shorter or longer increments.

And those of you who knew and stood by me: Thank you. I am certain I at times sounded self-indulgent, and I am certain some of you would have wanted nothing more than for me to shut up already. But I still feel the love from those moments. The care. The unconditionality of your love and friendships. If I didn't seem grateful, I am sorry, because I truly was - and I still am.

Hillary Clinton is often credited with the phrase "It takes a village" - but in looking it up, it appears to be from a proverb from the Igbo and Yoruba peoples: "It takes a whole village to raise a child." While I wasn't a child when most of my struggles occurred, I am very happy that I have been blessed with the kind of village I have had. So I thank you all with the song of the day. This is one of those very rare occasion where I actually like a cover version of a Beatles song better than the original. In 1969, at Woodstock, unsuspecting Americans were exposed to the spastic talents of Joe Cocker, and this clip from the movie showcases the powerhouse he was on Ringo Starr's showcase With A Little Help From My Friends.