Today is a sad day. Jack Kevorkian, aka Doctor Death, has died. You’re probably wondering why you should care.

Dr. Kevorkian was an advocate for assisted suicide and helped over 100 people take their own lives. It’s worth noting that these people had to go through a very rigorous screening process and had to prove that they were terminally ill. He was eventually charged with 1st degree murder and was convicted of 2nd degree murder after giving an ALS patient a lethal injection. Previously, Kevorkian had assisted with the set up of a “mercy” machine that allowed the patients to administer the lethal injection themselves. Due to the progression of the ALS in this particular patient, Kevorkian administered the injection himself after the patient consented numerous times.

Some of you have known me for a while and are probably very familiar with my stance on assisted suicide. For those of you who don’t know me as well, Jack Kevorkian is almost an idol to me. I’m not about to go help a ton of people kill themselves, but I’m glad there are people who are willing to not only take a stand, but *act*. Before you get all uppity about the fact that I’m okay with assisted suicide, hear me out.

Many people think that personal suffering should be endured to prevent the suffering of your friends and family. Frankly, I think it’s selfish to want or even expect your friends and family to suffer like that. Yes, people who commit suicide aren’t the only victims in these cases.Yes, suicide is a permanent solution to a potentially temporary problem (but probably not in this case). If you can find a way to make people who are suicidally depressed see these things and jump off the runaway train that is depression, you deserve a medal. It’s a stupid argument to make to someone who can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. I won’t even get into the religious aspect of this since it’s really not a belief system that I acknowledge.

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I’ve told a number of people that I’ve been working on a book for a while. Usually people ask me what it’s about, and I’m forced to tell them very few details about it. This usually brings up some comment about how I should solidify my story in my head before putting it on paper and a few “helpful” tips are given to me to help me get started. But the real reason that I offer little information about my story is because there would be no need to write it if I went around telling people what it was about.

I believe one of the joys of writing includes keeping your story a secret until you’re ready to share it with the world. It takes time to hone your writing skills and polish the work that you’ve created, and many people opt to share their work before putting some time into essentially rewriting it in a better way. By the time they get around to sharing their finished work, I’m over it. Been there, read that.

Personally, I want to write a book that’s so amazing that you don’t want to put it down. At the end of the book, I want you to be sad that it ended. I want there to be the right amount of suspense and action and I want you to get absorbed into the world that I created. These goals are impossible if I tell you what happens before I finish the book. In my opinion, anyone who writes is a writer, whether it’s for work, fun, school, or any combination thereof. You wouldn’t show your boss something that wasn’t finished yet, would you? Would you hand in a paper that was only partially completed? Didn’t think so. Why would you tell someone your story when you’re not ready to tell it properly?

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This is a new segment I’m starting because I, at the ripe old age of 22, find myself getting angry with people who are younger than me. I’m much too young to be waving a cane at youngsters, so I figure a blog post here and there keeps up with my generation’s stereotype of being the computer generation while also allowing me to ramble on like an old coot.

Today’s rambling is about middle school skanks. You parade around in your short shorts and tube tops like you’re going to work the corner after you get out of social studies class. The reality is, the boys you’re going to attract while dressed like this are the type that your parents warned you about when you were younger.

I was heading into work today when I saw a group of “America’s future leaders” standing on the corner of the development waiting for a bus (“bus”). Some of them stood there with that sassy pose that middle school girls do when they think they’re hot, and I had to chuckle a little. Why would you go through all of the effort to make yourself look “hot” and then wear a backpack? Seriously, do you honestly think that your backpack is the right accessory for your ensemble? But wait, that’s not even the worst part. Since it was muddy outside, they were wearing tennis shoes and holding their high heels. Oh honey, those jumps are FRESH.

What parents allow their children to do this? Parents: smack your kids. The long term benefits of an open palmed slap across the mouth after a bout of sass far outweigh the short term problems (i.e. CPS).

Get off my lawn.

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