Welcome to my manic/depressive world

Are you misunderstood too?

There are only a select few who understand how I can love pulling all-nighters, yet kick myself in the morning, grunting that "I’ll never do that again!"

I’m a very polar person. I guess Gemini is an appropriate sign for me.

The hard part has always been manage this on/off personality in social settings. There are days when I’m "Mr. Enthusiasm," and others when I’m "Mr. You’re Invading My Space Man." Someone who’s luckily seen me always "perky", can be blown away when I’m grumpy and sullen.

But that’s who I am. Heck, if it weren’t for us "emotional roller coaster" types, you "always at my best" types wouldn’t look nearly as good. You should thank us. Maybe with a holiday? Thank The Mean People Day. That doesn’t sound too bad.

I guess I decided to let you in on one of my dark personal challenges (my mood swings) because they surfaced quite a lot during the development and production of this Domestic Violence issue. You see, this is a topic I am very sensitive to, primarily due to my itsy-bitsy temper. Yes, it’s true, and most of my staff have seen me beat up a misbehaving inanimate object, let’s say like a video cassette that just won’t go back into it’s sleeve, or perhaps a giant pile of junk that’s been teetering on the edge of my desk for too many weeks. But I have never lashed out at a person in a fit of rage... ever. Where it becomes frightening to me, where I have sleepless nights, where I get physically sick, is at the point when I realize that people with tempers just like mine abuse the ones they love... sometimes to death. I can’t understand it, but I can feel it, and it’s painful.

It’s not a lighthearted topic for me, at all. And that made it all the more important to be covered in my paper. Luckily, I actually do get to make some decisions, and bringing this issue to light was one I completely supported.

I must tell you some inside information though. First, the battered woman on the cover doesn’t actually exist. Wonderful what computers can do today. Second, the feature story is fictitious. I’m telling you here, and nowhere else, because I’ve decided that this is a topic worthy of a little shock value. If someone closes the paper believing the story is true... in reality, they’re correct. Although the feature itself is fiction, the scenario is chillingly true. Many of the elements were taken from the stories of real-life events; contributions from domestic abuse victims right here in Central Pennsylvania.

What did we hope to accomplish by publishing an issue on domestic violence? Well, for starters, we wanted everyone to realize that beating your wife or children to death isn’t reserved just for the residents of big fancy cities. In February a 14-month old was killed as the result of a "domestic dispute", right in your backyard. If you hear people fighting, call the police. So what if you’ve made that 911 call a dozen times. It may be the 100th call that saves someone’s life. Familiarity is neither comforting or an excuse, it’s usually a mask for tolerance.

If one person realizes the situation is hopeless, either for themselves or for someone they know is hurting, and they take action as a result of our efforts, then we have succeeded. It is our sincere hope that this issue will bring more attention to the fear so many women live with every day of their lives … lives that are more often than not, in dire jeopardy of being lost.

I apologize for such a truly melancholy letter this week, but again, this is a topic that weighs heavy on my shoulders.

I hope you take the time to read this issue closely, and tuck it away.

P.S. Please remember, no matter how bad things get, there is always help. Always. No problem is so big that it can’t be shared, and the first step is simply to speak up.