Cloud Cover ~ Overcoming Depression and Suicide
It was an early autumn morning. A vicious chill bit my knuckles through my gloves as I drove my trusty Toyota to our hiking troupe’s meeting place. We gathered together in the parking lot, jostling poles and back-packs as we huddled together for warmth. We all took turns peering up at the ominous black bellies of the low-hanging clouds. “Should we still go?” my friend asked. “Looks like nasty weather.” Our troupe leader has been hiking these mountains for five decades. She knows their faces, their moods. She surveyed the sky with a knowing eye and said, “We’ll head up. Ten bucks says these clouds melt away at 7,000 feet." So we piled into the four-wheelers and drove up into the misty mountains. The gray shroud left teary streaks on our windows. I watched them crawl along in trembling, horizontal lines down the glass. All at once, about 6,800 feet above sea level, the welcoming arms of golden sunbeams reached...