First I want to acknowledge that my name is not really Zeke Mason and my son's name is not really Paul. I am using these pen names because of concerns and respect for some family members.

Paul was always known as a shy kid. He loved sports and played baseball until age 15. He played basketball in the last two years of elementary school and as a Freshman in High School. He was a walking encyclopedia of sports statistics. He began playing fantasy sports before the term was invented. He became interested in music and learned to play the guitar. He had a great sense of humor and could keep people laughing for hours with his wit and humorous observations about people. Paul had individual relationships with each of his family members. With me, it was mostly about sports. With his sisters, it was music and sharing of daily experiences. He and his mom shared a great sense of humor and enjoyed each other's company very much.

Paul's great sense of humor was best with close friends or groups he knew well. It took him longer to get to know people but once they became close friends, he lost his shyness. His ambition was to be a sportscaster. He majored in Mass Communication in college. He worked at various jobs in grocery stores, restaurants and hospitals while attending the University.

Paul was struggling to make the grade in college. He lived his first college semester in the dormitory on campus, then moved back home for a term or two. He then moved into a small trailer with a friend. In order to afford a better vehicle to drive, he moved back home so he could make payments on a pickup truck which he loved. When the family got transferred to Roanoke, he chose to stay behind and finish school. He then moved into a duplex apartment with two other roommates.

I originally began this site on July 2, 1997. I posted a personal diary I kept leading up to the suicide of my son, Paul. The page was primarily about suicide prevention and recovery from the loss of a loved one due to suicide. It has been over 16 years since we lost Paul and over 11 years since I began this site. I have decided to remove the diary from the Internet and keep it private.

I posted the diary in hopes it could be used in some type of research which it has to some limited extent. Also, I must admit that writing the page and writing those who have written to me along with reading the experiences of many others has been very therapeutic for me.

Now I want to attempt a new direction. Over the years since Paul's death, I have read many research articles. Some of these seem to me to out in left field, while others seem to be right on. I realize that my experience is only one person's and what seems to not fit his case may very well fit many others. But Paul was my son. And it is his experience and my understanding of it, that I hope to be useful to help others. So, I am going to try to highlight articles that I think hit the nail on the head. This may be quite tedious and I am not sure as I write this how I will proceed.

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The Zeke Mason pages originally began July 2, 1997.
This page created Feb. 4, 2007.
Last updated July. 27, 2008 @ 6:02 A.M.
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