My latest whim: To be a puppeteer.

The most excruciating experience. Can be watching someone else die. Someone that could be saved. But has no desire to be saved. Because he/she has lost the desire to live. Due to a blend of anxiety, grief, depression. One tries to pull them out of their funk. To inspire them. To rebound. And to fall in love again. I'm told. That it's best to show empathy, kindness, understanding. All the usual therapeutic motions. And to allow the sufferer to bottom out. To the point. That they finally recognize. That they really want to live. And get well again. Some do. Some don't. Too often, it's up to them. Unless, of course, an observer to all this becomes a puppeteer. A puller of puppet strings. Come to think of it. That's what I want to be. A puppeteer. And a teller of stories with happy endings. Then life no longer need be full of excruciating and sad experiences. --Jim Broede