RonPrice

RonPrice
2012-05-20 00:45:36 (UTC)

Mr JONES and ME

I saw the 1993 movie Mr Jones at some time during the years when I was retiring from: (i) FT, PT and volunteer-work, 1999 to 2005, and (ii) from extensive involvement in Baha’i community life.(1) I had had a working life of 40 years and been involved in the earliest years of community-building for Baha’is in Canada and Australia. I don’t remember now exactly when I first saw Mr Jones, but I watched the last half of the same movie last night.(2)

In the movie Jones was, like myself, first diagnosed with manic-depressive illness in his late adolescence. He had several hospitalizations over more than 20 years; in my case it was over more than a dozen years: 1968 to 1980. Jones talked about his serious suicide attempt at college; I have had suicidal ideation or the death-wish, as it is also and sometimes called, for more than half a century from 1963 to 2013.

Watching this movie made me reflect on my own experience and the result is this prose-poem.-Ron Price with thanks to (1)The Universal House of Justice, April 1996; and (2) Mr Jones, 7TWO TV, 10:40-1:00 a.m., 23 & 24 March 2012.

Richard Gere is a lovely fellow;
Lena Olin is even more lovely.(1)
But bipolar disorder is not-so-
lovely & needs to be watched
all of one’s life. After Gere
& Olin form the bond that ends
the two hour movie, I wonder
what happened to him in his
middle age, late adulthood &
old age…Did he come to full
compliance with meds? Did he?

Did he have more talk therapy,
or did his battle continue with
a win-win as one likes to think.

(1) these were the leading actors in the film.

Ron Price
24/3/'12 to 31/12/'12.




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