Bus Guy

schizophrenia, schizophasia, word salad, medication, small talk
There's this man, who is famous in the downtown of the city I live in for being, well, crazy. He's clearly a paranoid schizophrenic, because he used to go on an on, to anyone within shouting distance, about the conspiracies that rule our lives. Everything, and I do mean everything, was all a plot to get him and possibly the rest of us. All he did was walk everywhere shouting about conspiracies.

For the last two weeks, I been sitting next to him on the bus. His beard is now trimmed, as is his hair, and he has been silent. He hasn't said a word.

Until last night when he asked me if I liked the weather. (We've had a weeklong springtease in NEPA.) I said yes, I love spring. He returned to silence.

Obviously, he's been medicated. Also obviously, he is slowly returning to a world of small talk and normal conversation. I don't know how much courage it took for him to comment on the weather to a stranger, but I suspect a lot.

I'd like to use my blog to say a few things to him that I can't really say to him in person.

Bus guy, I'm glad you're medicated. Life is hard enough without your brain tricking you into a state of constant panic. You seem nice when you're able to be you.

I'd like to engage in small talk with you again.

Please don't give up if other people don't want to converse with you. People are stupid. People can be mean. It's not you. It's them.

For the rest of you, please be kind to people like bus guy. They're sick, and you wouldn't make fun of someone for having diabetes or cancer, so don't make fun of the mentally ill. And don't blame them for their misfortune. That's an ugly thing we engage in in the US and it needs to stop.