Tired...

So last night was wacky, of course, but as always, it ends. And I'm down to a mere FOURTEEN in-house calls left. In the entirety of my career. Oh, man, that's...dude!

So I left this morning, went to Starbucks, went to the gym, went to the grocery store. Came home and hung out with the pooches - Little Maxine is over, since Sparrow's on call. We took a nice nap, we watched some TV.

And so I find myself watching this stupid Lifetime movie with Jennie Garth that I've seen a couple of times before. And then, before long, I find myself watching another Lifetime movie - they're kind of like potato chips, really. But this one...you know, every now and then, they do a pretty good job.

I mean, it was a Lifetime movie. And I'm post-call, and more emotionally labile these days in general. But shortly into the movie, I found myself just enraged - not at the crappy ridiculousness of the movie, like usual, but because people actually used to think this way. And then more so, because they still do. Because I still know these people.

It's that whole thing about how if one man isn't free, none of us are.

So it's the story of this kid, Bobby Griffith, who comes out to his Religious Right parents, sometime in the late 80s, I think. They become convinced that he can be changed, "healed". His mother takes him to a psychiatrist (one of the lower moments in our profession was the number of shrinks who thought they could "cure" homosexuality. Wasn't entirely their fault, it was a listed disorder in the early versions of the DSM... ::cringe::). She beats him over the head with religious propaganda. And ultimately, they drive him to suicide.

By the end of the movie, I was just sobbing outright. Because it's a true story (sadly, it's a story that's all too true, all too often), and the really amazing piece of it is, it ends up becoming the story of his mother, Mary Griffith, who ended up becoming a gay rights activist, running a chapter of PFLAG, and working with gay youth and their families. It really is a heart-wrenching and amazing story, and I encourage you to find it (you know they'll be airing it for years, but I'm pretty sure it will also be downloadable on iTunes, etc), and watch it, even if you don't usually watch Lifetime movies (ahem). I'm thinking of reading the book the movie's based on - you know, in all of the spare reading time I have. If it's any good, I'll let you know (but I wouldn't hold your breath on the time frame...).

Alright, go forth and watch. Be mad. Be outraged. Be moved.

Meanwhile, I'm going to go be sleepy...