Rest in Peace, Mr. Williams

Normally this would be the part where I pretend to kick into a “persona” called the Professor and go through my schtick with a movie review. I’m not going to do that today. I wanted to write a quick little something about one of my favorite actor/comedians of all time who was lost to the world today.

The great Robin Williams was found dead in his home today, from what they believe may have been a suicide. Apparently he has been battling depression for some time now and I guess he finally gave in to it.

While I have my own feelings on suicide, I do not at all want to focus on that. Right now, that doesn’t matter. Right now I want to look at the joy and laughter this man has brought to so many people for such a long time. From his beginning days as Mork from Ork to his great work with Comic Relief to his own stand up career to the many, many movies, this was a man who millions of people loved. I can’t even begin to list the fantastic movies this man made as this would go on forever. Be it a comedy, a drama, what have you, this man gave his everything on screen and more often then not, delivered in full. Even though it was his forte, his skills went well beyond just the comedic. From touching dramas like What Dreams May Come and Patch Adams to thrillers like The Final Cut and One Hour Photo and others like Good Morning, Vietnam and Awakenings, there really wasn’t anything he couldn’t do if he wanted to.

For me personally, there are two that I will watch forever. Dead Poets Society is one of the best movies you will ever see. That movie helped so many people that I know with just a simple phrase, Carpe Diem – sieze the day. It became the motto of more people that we could probably ever comprehend and it was all from his character, Mr. Keating, and his teachings to a room of school kids. But for me personally, it was Good Will Hunting. See, Good Will Hunting was the first movie I ever technically went on a date to see. Sounds silly, I know, but this date was with someone who I loved more than anything in the world at the time and it spoke to both of us. I used to call her “my angel” and I will always remember the scene where Will (Matt Damon) and Sean (Williams) are sitting talking, and Sean delivers this speech:

“If I ask you about women, you’d probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can’t tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You’re a tough kid. And I’d ask you about war, you’d probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, “once more unto the breach dear friends.” But you’ve never been near one. You’ve never held your best friend’s head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help. I’d ask you about love, you’d probably quote me a sonnet. But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn’t know what it’s like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything…”

I remember holding her hand very tightly as that was said, and we both looked at each other, smiling big and sharing a very sweet moment. I can never and will never forget that moment, and Mr. Williams delivered that to me. A moment that can never be replaced.

So with a heavy heart I would like to say both thank you and goodbye to Mr. Williams. You gave me and many others more than we could ever thank you enough for. Rest in peace, sir.

P.S. After I wrote this, I saw a few people posting this and felt it was probably a good idea to share. Everyone gets down on themselves and everyone gets depressed, but taking your life is never the answer for it. If you ever feel that way, or know someone who you think might be, please get help. Somewhere, someone loves you and does not want you to give up. Let them help you.

http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/