A monster is off of my back

The bane of my existence is gone. Joe Magno is dead. He died on Monday of an apparent heart attack after a court appearance that, from all accounts, did not go the way he wanted it to. The Boston Globe published this article in today's edition.

I have written about my struggles with this in a previous post. While I don't have the anxieties about this experience anymore that I used to have, I still have to work at talking about it, writing about it, or even thinking about it. Writing the original posting was very difficult for me. Working on this is no different. I've also posted my thoughts and opinions in Ken Savage's blog at different times as well. The support has been tremendous, and I have made many friends there as well as re-connected with old ones. I publicly want to thank them all here. I don't want to embarass them by mentioning their names, but I know they know who they are. I especially want to thank Ken for making the blog available to us all; you have performed a service greater than you realize, I think, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

There are three media people I want to thank, as well: Melissa Beecher from the Boston Globe, and Debbi Rodman and Sharman Sachetti from Fox 25 in Boston. Their thoughtful coverage of this whole situation is deeply appreciated, at least by me.

Most of all, I want to thank my family, especially my wife and children, my mother, and my brother and sisters. They have been extremely supportive of me, and they've done their share of worrying about my mental health and my welfare. I can assure them that I am okay.

Am I sorry that he's dead? Truthfully, no, I am not sorry. After over 30 years of pain, anxiety, and anguish, his death gives me one less thing I have to dwell on. I am happy, in fact, that his departure from this life means he won't hurt anyone else. I am also hopeful that the large number of others who have been victimized by this individual will be able to start their own process of healing.