No One Goes There; It's Too Crowded

Suicides are up where I live, but nobody knows why:

After a few years of declining suicides, 108 people committed suicide in El Paso County in 2007, compared with 64 the year before. And even more people will die of suicide in 2008, if this year’s pace continues.

The El Paso County Coroner’s Office ruled 68 deaths as suicide through Aug. 31, with at least 19 more cases preliminarily ruled suicide through Thursday, said Deputy Coroner Chris Herndon. That puts the county on pace for about 117 suicides this year – the highest number since 120 people killed themselves in 2004, when the Colorado Springs metro area had the highest suicide rate of any large city in the country outside of Las Vegas.

“How can we continue to say Colorado Springs ranks high as a great place to live and is a great place to raise a family when the suicide rate is off the charts?” said Janet Karnes, director of the Suicide Prevention Partnership of the Pikes Peak Region.

As usual, I have a theory.

Not too many people saw the 1988 movie “White Mischief,” about decadent British colonials in Kenya during the dark days of World War II. One character, played by Sarah Miles, was still awake for a breathtaking dawn. Her last words were, “Oh God, not another fucking beautiful day.” And then she pulled the trigger.

Stay away from Colorado. It’s too pretty here.