Very good analogy, starrsville! As I've said before, I feel as strongly about that as you do. I'm not going to go into all of my reasons on what is supposed to be a happy thread. But I will say that my mother went through 20 years of hell (and took those of us who loved her there and back many times) before she was finally diagnosed as manic-depressive and put on lithium.

Ditto here CAPH. My favorite great-aunt's life would have been completely different if lithium had been available to her decades before. I am watching the damage that was passed down to her granddaughter - who barely knew her. A family destroyed. A son sent away because the mother could not cope. Her life. Her husband's. Her son. The damage is evident in the granddaughter's life. As a child I was oblivious to all that - I just knew I was thrilled when she was around when I came for visits. She was in a mental hospital the rest of the time.

All that could have been different. History - and lives- could have been rewritten. All thanks to a medicine that equalized the chemical imbalances.

Surely no one would recommend someone opt not to take such meds.

Surely not.

Seems so obvious, doesn't it? It's hard to imagine how anyone could argue otherwise.

Oh CAPH and Starrsville, even in this enlightened age it seems as though mental problems are not taken as serious as physical problems. Tom Cruise is a weirdo IMO.

And, with due respect to all of you who did drool over him, I never did "get" what was so fabulous about Tom. Not my kind of guy, lol. I hardly ever watch Oprah but for some reason I did turn on her show the afternoon that Tom "jumped" on the coach. Pathetic!

I pray that anyone who has mental problems will get a proper medical evaluation and consequently medication or whatever they need so that they can hopefully live a good life.

Now back to STW, pretty pottery you say OWJ? Fantastic!!

Tom Cruise is a big giant ASS that has done nothing but surround himself with yes men and after 20 or so years of that is unable to function as a productive member of society.

Note to Tom; find someone who will tell you the truth.

Glad to see you guys can carry on without me, lol.

Well, as you now know I'm baaaack!

Here's the link to my trip report.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34842240

seetheworld- welcome back, and thanks for the trip report!

Eh- loveitaly, I never really understood the cruise craze either- well, the closest I came was Top Gun:)

But then again, my sister (big tom fan at one time) never really understood why I liked Harrison Ford....<ooooh, shiny>

On a side note- it's truly amzing what some of these threads can mutate into.