Leslie Cheung's last joke

And I thought it was an April Fool's Day joke when they said he leaped into the next world. Such a talented actor and singer, I guess no one really knows why he decided to quit life. No matter how hard life is, one should never give up.

Have you ever known anyone who committed suicide? I guess I have. It was someone I knew from the church choir many, many years ago. It came as a surprise to me when I heard about her demise. What I can remember about her is how active she was during one of our church choir committee meetings. I guess growing up in New Zealand and studying in an international school (?) made her a more expressive and vocal person than the rest of us. I can faintly recall another brief encounter with her. Nothing that hinted to me the fate that awaited her.

I remember thinking to myself then - damn, why didn't I recognize any signs of her troubled life. Then I thought the least I could do now was to dedicate a song to her - 'In His Time' and hope that she would be watched over.

Well, that was many, many years ago already.

So what should I say here? I guess family members and friends can help those who are in need of help. Probably they just need a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on or some friendship.

Personally, I have met a friend who had gone through 'hell' in life and was fighting hard to survive. I guess I did help her in some ways. In the process, I also saw how fragile human lives are, how resilient humans can be and how we can touch peoples' lives by the simple gesture of a friendship - laced with sincerity.

It goes without saying that there are certain 'dangers' when you attempt to help people who are already vulnerable. You have to be very clear about yourself and what you are doing. For instance, your relationship with the person you are trying to help can evolve into something else. I know - you have seen those frightening stuff in movie plots but thankfully, I did not experience such dramatic finale. True, eventually she confessed certain feelings, err, let's say, about the situation and that was it. Maybe I was naive (and still am) but I think I did a good thing for someone.

April Fool's Day is meant to be a day for funny jokes. Something like Kenny Sia's joke about quitting his blog for good is good humor. Yes, all we need is some measure of good humor in a world that is too serious. So don't let anyone ruin it for us.