R.I.P. Andrew Koenig

Andrew Koenig, best known for playing "Boner" on 'Growing Pains,' had been missing since February 14th after taking a trip to Vancouver and missing his return flight home. He parents knew that he was depressed and had not been acting like himself lately and flew out to Vancouver to search for him themselves. Unfortunately, the police located his lifeless body in the park and announced that there were no signs of foul play and that "Boner" had taken his own life. This is so sad to me because suicide is not such a rare event these days; In 1997, suicide was the 8th leading cause of death in the U.S.1 Specifically, 10.6 out of every 100,000 persons died by suicide. The total number of suicides was approximately 31,000, or 1.3 percent of all deaths. Approximately 500,000 people received emergency room treatment as a result of attempted suicide in 1996. And this statistics continue to grow. It makes me think about how many people are hurting right around me. If you don't play close enough attention you may walk away from someone who really needs your help. Makes you think about who you ran into today and how you treated them.