View from the Cheap Seats

August 24-30, 2015

Dear Doug

By William O. “Bill” James, Jr.

Even though we had spoken in the phone a couple of times, I did not see you the last 20 years of your life. Over the last few years, we had contact on Facebook and from that perspective things seemed to be going well for you. You can only imagine my surprise when I learned that you had taken your own life.
I look back now and wonder what it was I could have done, if anything, to change the course of your life so you would still be with us today. Even though our contact was limited, in the recent past, I always thought of you as one of the friends I could call upon in a time of need.
Even as I say that, I know that the roads of our lives had long ago gone different directions and while I am sure you would have helped if I called, the distance between us would have probably prevented me from calling.
The thing that really haunts me now is the time so many years ago the young lady renting a room from you and your brother killed herself. I remember specifically sitting with you and our close friends late at night on the square in Fayetteville. We promised that we would always be there for each other and we would never take our own lives because we would always have each other to help make things better or help us through bad times.
I feel responsible for not being the friend that you could come to for help dealing with whatever was happening in your life. For that I am very sorry.
I will use your death as a catalyst to push me to reconnect with those friends from the past as well as making sure that those people in my life today know that I will be there for them.
I hope you have found peace and take comfort in the knowledge that, no matter what pushed you to this decision,  you will not be forgotten and will always be loved. Doug, we will never forget.
Please do anything you can from the other side to make sure others don’t feel trapped into the decision you made. We all need a little help from our friends and that is true for everybody. Especially those of us living way up in the CHEAP SEATS!
Bill James is a criminal defense attorney and co founder of the James Law Firm with offices in Little Rock, Conway, and Fayettevile, Arkansas. He may be contacted at Bill@JamesFirm.com.