Hello reader!
I call myself a loquacious listener because I both talk a lot and I try to listen. I didn't always talk a lot and I didn't always listen but now I find that they are enjoyable occupations and when the time arises I will do both, though not usually at the same time as that could be very confusing and quite exhausting.
This blog will be more about my listening than my talking, as talk can be dreadfully boring and what would be the good of that!
I do most of my listening during a four hour period, once a week, at a suicide crisis hot-line which is one of hundreds dotted around the country. Our mission is to listen to anyone, anywhere, anytime, whatever their situation or condition. We try to comfort the bereaved, console the unhappy, listen to the angry and encourage the recovering. All sorts of people call our lines. Many are poor, many are lonely and some have been struggling for a very long time. Almost all are heroic and proud for they have seen their hell and have fought it for a long time. They deserve our support.
In the days that follow I shall introduce you to some of the people I speak to on the lines. Names, of course, will be changed and no reference to geographical location will be made. Excepting such incriminating details, it will all be the truth and through it, I hope you may learn something.
