'Watchman' Saves Hundreds from Suicide with Kindness and a Smile

Cliff 'Watchman' Saves Hundreds from Suicide with Kindness and a Smile: They call Don Ritchie 'the watchman.' Each day he sits in his favorite chair at his cliffside home and scans the precipice, trying to discern the intentions of visitors. Approximately 50 people end their lives there each year, leaping from the brink. When somebody seems to be lingering too long at the cliff, he walks out to talk to him.

'You can't just sit there and watch them,' Ritchie said in a recent interview. 'You gotta try and save them. It's pretty simple.' Now 84 years of age and struggling with cancer, Ritchie doesn't have the energy to grab people and pull them back from the brink of death, as he once did. But he says that he will always be there to talk to those who might be thinking of ending their lives. He and his wife invite them in for tea.

The retired salesman now "sells" life. He doesn't pry or preach, but rather smiles and listens. It's a technique that often works, though not always.