My diary - November 2-4, 1972
- Susan Fisch Good
- Aug 8
- 2 min read
November 2, 1972 Thurs.
Dear Flowers:
Spanish test not to hard & history test was hard!!! The history test for tomorrow was canceled HURRAH!!! Read newspapers (I finally got caught up) I got a B+ on P.E. test. A Mr. Brown from New York was over. Dad left on the same plane with him. BAH! Watched T.V. Esmerada esta chivisima. Did part of science. Got to study for math. Wish me luck.
BYE!!!
Note: “Esta chivísima” translates to “It's so cool.” Esmeralda is the Venezuelan soap opera I was watching. The plot revolved around switching babies at birth. A poor family raises Esmeralda, while the wealthy family believes their baby is dead.
November 3, 1972 Fri..
Dear Flowers:
I was really depressed in school today. I got an 88 in Science Hurrah! Math test straight from the book. I stayed after for the game. 10th graders won HURRAH 9 to 2. I‘m worried about my friend. He’s always talking about suicide! I hope he doesn’t try it. Talked to Pat. Read on “Willow Hill.” Watched T.V. Wrote Missy a letter & sent her my picture. Going to read a bit.
BYE!
Note: I removed the name of my friend who talked about suicide to protect his identity. Fortunately, that person is alive and well today. Suicide is a real problem that hasn’t gone away. Nowadays, we have hotlines; we didn’t then. The suicide and crisis prevention line is available by call or text at 988. If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please get in touch with https://988lifeline.org
For over ten years, as a teacher, I took the Jason Foundation course on suicide prevention. As a kid, I did everything wrong. I should have told a trusted teacher or adult, but I didn’t know what to do other than talk and try to dissuade them myself.
November 4, 1972 Sat.
Dear Flowers:
Sat all day! Kidding. Miss Daddy!!! I was in a lazy, lazy mood today. I finished Willow Hill Last night. Today I read “Toy Sword.” Good. I’m now reading “April Girl” Got to go Becky is kicking me out of her bed. I sleep with Mom.
BYE!!
Note:
I love my sense of humor, joking with my diary as if it were real. I did miss my Dad a lot when he traveled. I got a lot of reading done, so I wasn’t exactly lazy.
Becky and I shared a bedroom with two twin beds connected to my parents’ room. Every night before going to bed, I wrote in my diary. I'm not sure why I was writing in her bed instead of my own, but she let me know it was time for me to go.
Toy Sword is a novel by Elizabeth Cadell about a young, successful, but dull man engaged to a titled fiancée. When he visits his inherited property in Portugal, he meets another woman, and his life is turned upside down.
Busy times, balanced schoolwork with recreation and fun, your kind heart showed in these entries and defeated the green monster😊 I wonder- did your house have an outdoor garden area? Both houses I stayed in while I was living in Guatemala and El Salvador had small outdoor areas. Actually the one in Guatemala was open air between the dining and kitchen. So pretty to be surrounded by large bushes. In El Salvador there was a grassy area and I liked to go there to read, do crafting, play with their cat🙂 Did you have a place in your house where you preferred to read?
As you alluded to, I suspect that back then, especially in "developing" countries, there was little formal training for health care workers, let alone educators, on how to deal with students who expressed suicidal thoughts, so it's anyone's guess how much benefit would have resulted had you told a teacher about your friend. I'm guessing that one element of counselling is to simply have the time and patience to listen to their concerns, and as such, you probably helped more than you realized, by just being a friend and listening.
At 14, listening doesn't necessarily come naturally....we're usually focused on ourselves, and are too quick to "advise" others how to handle theirs. Learning to listen is a virtue.
I thing…