help us stop this killer

When I was six years old I stood on my grandmother’s front porch. It was a plain concrete porch, with simple iron rails on the sides. The porch stands about five feet off the ground. Next to it is a thorny bush, which flowers into a wine colored red every spring. This was the most uneventful place for a six year old to waste his time, until uncle Ernie came into the picture.
“Hey Nick, How’s it going?” Ernie asked. It made little difference to me what he said; I could tell by his voice inflection he was about to destroy any boredom I was experiencing. Rather than answer him with words, I stuck out my pointer finger from my fist, with my thumb in the air. I lowered my thumb with a six year old gun sound, much the same noise as a rocket ship taking off. Upon being struck with the imaginary bullet Ernie clutched his heart. He was thrown by the bullets force over the iron rail and onto the thorny bush. I was amazed that someone who I saw as an adult would engage in such silliness. He laid there motionless in make-believe death for at least three minutes. My stomach was sore from laughter by the time I could get my mother to come witness her brother’s antics.
Last summer Ernie decided to sit on some rail road tracks in front of a train to end his long suffering. Although he was a bright shining light to all of us in his family, He lived with a very personal torture. Surrounded by family and friends he suffered alone. Demons of depression had sunk their claws deep into Ernie. Ernie is survived by his two young sons and a large family will always just want him back.
My mother (Grandma Danger) has been intensely training for months now for the Out of Darkness Walk in an effort to raise awareness about this silent cruel killer. My pride in her swells as I hear her reports on her training. I have enjoyed riding bicycles with her as part of her cross-training. It is bitterly ironic when we bike past those loud trains, yet ma seems to use it as a motivator. I encourage all of you to search your pockets for a donation that may help champion this cause.I humbly thank you. Danger