Sunday, March 20, 2011

Schizophrenic encounter

We ran into a schizophrenic last night while entering an elevator. He started telling me something about swimming to an island, and then produced a credit card which he held before him like an ID card. Two other people approached, and he waved them off. At this point, I knew that we had to get away from this individual.

My family was left a bit shaken by the incident. It happened in a suburban setting, where our guard is usually down. I am left wondering what happened to this person? Is it someone who went off of their medication? Is he homeless?

It's a shame that our first reaction is to abandon these people, but their behavior is very erratic, and you are left wondering what they are capable of. When you throw the presence of your family into the mix, it is time to, as the saying goes, "get out of Dodge".

My most vivid memory of the incident is seeing letters tattooed on his knuckles. Seeing this evoked a mental image of Charles Manson. Probably an overreaction, but you never know. He seemed very anxious to be alone with us in that elevator.

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