Whatever Happened To The Good Old Fashioned "Crazies" ?
@peaceful (3294)
United States
April 5, 2007 11:35am CST
I was encouraged to post this story here by a good friend. Though it is good naturedly humourous, it is meant to evoke thoughtfulness about some of the human beings we share this Planet with... I've edited my story as much as possible but there is still some mature content... and it will be tagged as such...
In my town there once was a large facility that was used to treat people with mental health issues.
Then some heartless bureaucratic mule-head, used some kinda legal black magic, and had the place closed. Apparently, the land the facility was sitting on was more valuable as a development site (for luxury apartment buildings)- than it was a haven and treatment center for the mentally challenged...
This action resulted in hundreds of sick and delusional patients being tossed out on the street with no other place to go...
Downtown on any given day you could run into some of these people...
Some of them were extremely colorful and so very funny, that they developed "groupies", people who loved their ramblings so much that they would seek them out, say a at city park and sit around to wait for an entertaining performance-( some of the groupies would give them cash donations)
One of my favorites was the guy who cussed out the mailbox on the corner at least once a day, every day, seven days a week.
He would just walk up to the mailbox, open the lid and swear loudly!
He always had a different target and a different set of invectives for the government, his ex-wife, the aliens,city hall ("the g**damn ugliest g**damn building in the the whole (bleeping) world! (Bleep) the architect in the A**!"), the cops, and anybody else who crossed his path.
The mailbox itself was across the street from a concert hall and he developed "groupies" among the well-heeled crowd that attended the shows there.
The visual of that guy cussing out the mailbox and the men and women in their tuxes and gowns loving his performance still brings a smile to my face.
This guy was around until 5 years ago. I wish him well and hope he has survived these mean streets.
There also was the "Your're on your way to HELL!!!" Lady, wild haired and bug-eyed - she stood in the subway so that her shouting voice could be amplified by the walls and the "cavern" effect. One particular morning as she was screaming "You're on your way to hell!"- "You MUST be born again!" one of the office bunnies walking by said "Scr*w you,lady! "I'm on my way to work!" This was a mistake 'cuz the screaming lady stopped and looked at her narrowly and hissed..."There's no fancy jobs in Hell!"..."and no Ultra Slim Fast, either!" ( Ouch!) I nearly wet myself laughing!
Also very funny was the "1970's Steelers Fan" who could loudly and accurately do the play-by-play of their Super Bowl win over the Rams- Using slurs and insults instead of player's names- he also performed the body motions that went along with each football play he described. Wonderously Lunatic Method acting!
Then there was the "Duck Lady", who was completely lucid, until she simply started to quack. This used to catch people off guard, because she appeared to be well dressed and well behaved. I absolutely howled one day when I saw her giving a report to an unsuspecting young policeman about a trash fire in a nearby alleyway- he was writing down her report on a form and as soon as he was done, she turned and walked away, quacking like a crazed Mallard- the cop simply ripped the report out of his notepad and shaking his head sadly, tore it up...
Those were the days when people actually did care about these people and missed them and became concerned when they weren't around for a few days.
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I think the real "crazies" are the ones with the jobs, offices and paychecks. These people who make such short-sighted and poor decisions about the lives of others, should be watched closely, very closely.
PS: I would be amiss if I didn't include "Vodka straight, no chaser!" Man. This guy had only one leg but as compensation he had developed the ability to magically produce a bottle of vodka, seemingly out of thin air! (Damn, how does he do that?) Anyway, although being crazy on the street is not a crime- public drinking and drunkeness is and the cops were always going after him.
The day that I saw this one-legged guy (with crutches) trying to out-run the cops will remain with me forever! :)
Do you folks in the Mylot community have any sentimental stories about these wonderful people?
6 people like this
4 responses
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
5 Apr 07
That was absolutely a great story!!! Thanks for sharing!
I have always had a soft spot for anyone that seems behave out of our range of being labeled "The Norm". I find it amazing and often see them and wonder what goes through their head.
I once worked in an office with a older gentleman that had Turrets Syndrome.
None of us knew that he had TS when he started and I thought he was just quiet and reserved because he was in a new place.
But soon within his first day, we started to hear a cat meowing. It was a Monday and it had rained all weekend, so when we entered the office and the power had been out, the office seemed to smell like cat pee. So when we started to hear a cat crying, we thought a cat must have gotten in over the weekend and was hiding somewhere but stuck.
Well, the poor kitty was stuck for a couple of days. But then I got the new guy to come out of his shell by talking about his family. He was still nervous but felt more relaxed talking to me. That was when I realized it was HE that was meowing.
He often started it by doing a throat clearing phlegm thing. Yuck!
But I learned that was a conditioning to try to get himself to stop.
Later he started a head jerking motion and repeated no no no, to himself...followed by the "Meow".
It was humorous...but then I also thought that must be horrible for him.
To be arguing with himself so that others would not make fun of him.
So, one day when he stayed late, I stayed with him to help and I talked to him about it. I explained that I understood that it was just a medical condition and thought nothing less of him. He truly was a very sweet man! And with time, the office became adjusted to the cat wandering the halls. :)
4 people like this
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
5 Apr 07
That is really sweet :) I hope all went well for him. It must be really hard for someone with TS to deal with normal daily life.
3 people like this
@peaceful (3294)
• United States
6 Apr 07
Tourette's syndrome was once a mini epidemic that caused many people in early European history to be accused of witchcraft, possession and consorting with the devil... many of these people were jailed and/or killed... I wonder if today's outright neglect is being used as a subtle form of persecution?
2 people like this
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
5 Apr 07
This is wildly amusing! I can say though that I've only seen one "crazie" around here. Or at least in that manner - cause I do work at Wal-mart LOL. He's probably in his 50's and he walks around talking to himself all the time - none stop. I don't know his story but for some reason he creeps me out. Purphase it's society today. I feel sorry for the man.
Oh yeah! There was a woman once who came into Walmart who talked to herself too but for the life of me I can't remember what it was about!! All I know is that she said that I was going to get fired. She didn't like me. She said she'd pull out all her stock if they didn't fire me or something she was rambling about. But she was going on and on before she even got up to me. Other customers where making weird faces towards her trying to warn me.
We had a schizophrenic cashier too who talked about the Bible and burning in hell and voices. But finally she started taking her medicane and got all straightened out. Now she really does scare me due to one of my friends. She told me the schizophrenic people will most likely hurt the people they open up to - which was me and that I should be careful around her. The friend's boyfriend is schizophrenic.
I guess I know more than I realized! LOL Oh and there is this one chick named GnosticGoddess - if you see her RUN!! She never takes her meds and should LMAO!
I did grow up in the middle of the woods for the most part and led a VERY sheltered life. So I guess I didn't have much opportunity to see many of these people in the county I grew up in.
3 people like this
@peaceful (3294)
• United States
6 Apr 07
Many years ago, I used to work at a department store, you know, the upscale kind where they had well dressed employees walking around with sample of colognes and perfumes... they were trained to spray some of their sample (sometimes without asking) to initiate a sale... some of this stuff was really expensive so they were told to only try to make a sale to someone who "looked like she/he had money" and was well dressed... well sometimes "Clothes don't always make the man!" as they used to say...
One of the sample women spotted a well dressed man walking toward her and got her sample ready... as the man came closer, she chirped "Hello, Sir!", " Would you like to try a sample of..." and squirted the man with the stuff at the same... big mistake...
They Guy screamed and called her a b*tch, and said "How would you like a sample of this?" and proceeded to whip out his willie and peed straight on her silk (I think it was Halston) blouse!
This, of course, initiated a scream, and that of course, alerted Security who jumped the guy, who was now growling like an animal, and hauled him away...
Turns out that he was a "crazy", a famous and rich "crazy", the kind that doesn't stay locked up for very long... their families always has enough money to buy them out of trouble...
That the disparity factor in a, pardon me, nutshell... the rich ones who can afford to ignore treatment often do... and the poor ones who sometimes plead for treatment get ignored, that's what's really "crazy".
3 people like this
@peaceful (3294)
• United States
7 Apr 07
It seems that when a system starts to turn bad, everything around it deteriorates wildly... We all kind of know instinctively that the "right thing" is not being done... but the answer of what to do about it seems to elude us... that because the system itself, wasn't geared for a shutdown... mental care facilities and such were supposed to last and be there for the needy... somewhere the idea of permanence gave way to the idea of profit... insanity in itself... and that's where it stands today... unraveling.
3 people like this
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
6 Apr 07
OH MY! That is hilarious too! I agree it's a shame that the ones who can afford it won't and those who can't - well can't afford it. That is crazy!
3 people like this
@visitorinvasion (7709)
• United States
26 May 07
Thank you for sharing that. The tears rolling down my face are partially from laughter and partially from sadness that people really are ignored and shunned.
There was a man called "Walkin-Jon" that would walk up and down the bypass from dawn till well after dark, shaking his head, talking to himself, etc. Apparently he had some brain damage from being in the Korean War, or so the stories go. Last I heard, his family took him to North Carolina with them after they sold their house on that same bypass due to the widening of the bypass. I remember being a little kid, I would always holler and wave at him out the window. Dunno why, just did.
There was also this man called "Michael-Michelle" who had lost his fiance Michelle in a terrible accident. He took on her persona. I remember rude teenagers making comments to him in the mall on the weekends. I also remember making one of the bigger boys that liked me then break up a group of rude boys that were messing with him physically (touching his dress and purse, etc.). It was comical to see him if you didn't know why he was that way. Imagine a little man with thick glasses and what's left of his hair is graying with thick five-o-clock shadow donned in a pretty dress, hose, pumps, and a purse...oh yeah, and the most god-awful shade of whatever color was his choice that day. I remember one time he was in my line when I worked at the local grocery store. He seemed harmless enough, but his eyes were sad and lost-looking.
I have been exposed to little of that, as my dad, a former marine recently retired from the VA, made damn sure I was no where near the grounds where the patients used to be allowed to wander freely, and when we went to visit relatives in nursing homes, they kept me under raps big-time.
1 person likes this
@peaceful (3294)
• United States
26 May 07
Thank you for sharing that tale, Vis...
It's ever so vital that we remember these people, especially, since their numbers are going to see an increase...
Nice to know that so many can see an actual Human, under all the "crazy" behaviors, too!
That says some very wonderful things about you, and I'll bet they are well deserved! :)
@AnoChaudhary (1719)
• India
27 May 07
I read the entire discussion, iam laughing and crying at the same time so i have not done this in a long time! these days i only seem to be crying anyway thank you people for posting such wonderful 'stories' of 'crazy' people it always makes one wonder what is sanity and insanity and who decides who is sane and who is not! I have a 'story' as well but its not 'funny'. When we lived in a small town during my school days there was this guy who used to walk around the city with an umberalla with the name of the girl who ditched him written all over it. He also wrote poems on it and sometimes he would make fliers about Love poems he wrote and distrubute them but only to guys he never ever spoke to a girl. When i first saw him he seemed 'normal' except for the umberalla and only later i learnt about the 'love story' that went sour. He never even made eye contact with any of the girls around. i did try to say hello or atleast smile at him but he refused to even look in the direction where there was a girl/woman it was really sad and i used to see him till we moved about 9 years back. He must have been in his early thirties and i was around ten/eleven i watched him wandering around like that for about 5 years and it always made me feel sad and disappointed that a man can waste away like that but now when i think back on him i feel all the more sad ....some of the stories i read here made me laugh so much specially the prison guy with pig fat! gosh they make such an impact on our lives and we hardly matter to them! i think 'we' dont even exist for them! i think if all of us the 'sane' people disappeared from earth one day and only the 'insane' people were left the earth would actually go back to the 'eden' we lost :)
@peaceful (3294)
• United States
27 May 07
All I can say is "Wow!" Your observation has opened up a whole new way of seeing things... "What If all the "sane" people disappeared?" has got to be the first time that a question like that has ever been posed, at least that I've seen...
And your story of "Love Lost" is very, very touching, too... and a caution to "Keep Your Love Alive" no matter what happens in Life! :)
