S I N G E R
DAVE PITTMAN
Crazy Brave B E C O M E S
IN CHRIST by Laura Neutzling
school year feeling different and alone was too much for him to go through again. When his parents left the house to run an errand, nine-year-old Dave found a piece of paper and scribbled a note in pencil: Mom and Dad, I love you. I'm gonna miss you. He drew a frowny face with tears rolling down its cheeks. He went to his parents’ room and remembers locking the door behind him. “I put the note face up. I got my father’s gun, and was about two seconds away from pulling the trigger when I heard Mom and Dad open the front door. They proceeded down the hallway and knocked on the bedroom door. In the meantime, I’m scurrying around to get things back together. I turned the note face down. When I let them in, they asked me, ‘Dave, what were you doing in here with the door locked?’ “I was silent, but my mom saw the note fall to the floor. She read it and just lost it. I lost it too, because all those feelings from the year before came up, things I hadn’t been open about. We all had a moment there, in the middle of their bedroom floor. We just cried and prayed together.” Dave’s parents decided to get counseling for their son and to homeschool him for his fifth grade year. As
Editor’s note: this piece discusses suicide and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please contact The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255), or message the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Both programs provide free, confidential support 24/7. PICTURE A NINE-YEAR-OLD, and most likely you’ll think of a carefree child who enjoys riding bikes, watching cartoons, and playing outside with friends. You imagine a young person with their whole life stretched ahead of them. But the story of Dave Pittman’s ninth year defies most imaginations. Diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome as a child, the singer and former American Idol finalist knew that being different wasn’t something his peers would cheer him on for. He endured relentless bullying and taunting at school for the uncontrollable tics and vocal sounds caused by Tourette’s. Sitting at the kitchen table one summer, Dave’s parents began casually talking about how the school year was just around the corner. The boy felt the cold chill of fear creep through his body. Facing another 18
