Sad Story, Good Movie, & a Giveaway

I rarely get serious on here with you; other than being serious about good deals. But some things need to be discussed, said, & written.

A friend of my mom's has a tough job in a couple of days. She has to bury her 20-year old son. That's a job that no parent should have.

You see, Matt decided that life wasn't worth living. And I was shocked to learn that like a quarter of teens have also had this thought. And that scares me. It scares me as a teacher & it scares me as a mom.

I remember growing up & learning that a neighbor -- the older brother of a classmate -- had shot himself. He was a teen & the same age as my sister. I remember when she got home from the funeral home & the look on her face.

It's just confusing.

And how last year, one of my fourth grade students, had to deal with the suicide of his 15-yr old sister.

Confusing & sad.

And dang it, no one (let alone a 10 yr old) should have to deal with that. But sadder, no one should have to feel like their life isn't worth it. That things would be better to just end life.

There are sad, uncanny, & scary parallels to the ending of that friend's son's life Thursday night. At the same time that this sweet 20-year old ended his life, I watched a thought-provoking movie about the same thing. And the same suicide. My heart breaks thinking about these kids & what their thoughts are when they decide to do this. And their hurts & their loneliness.

I was priviliged to see the new movie, LOGAN, Thursday night. A special premiere. It was filmed here... in our area. You may even recognize the high school, the cafe, the neighborhood. You may recognize some of the faces. If you don't recognize someone you might know from the STL, maybe you'll recognize Twilight Eclipse star Booboo Stewart.

Reason enough to go see this film is that alone. And the fact that TEENS co-wrote/co-produced this movie! How cool is this: a former student of Tightwad Daddy's is one of those teens (& even plays a character in the movie!).

Now, before you go thinking that because of those things, this movie will be cheesy... or not worth watching: you're wrong. Sitting in the premiere, I watched & heard people laughing at the funny parts & being captivated by the rest.

It will only be shown at Ronnies Cine. For only a week (9/10-16). So, you can't dawdle. After that, it will be avilable on DVD.

Now, I get to give one of YOU a movie poster, jam-packed with autographs from stars of the movie.

Just leave a comment with your name. That easy. I will choose a winner at random on FRIDAY, the day the movie is open to the public at Ronnie's.