A Day in the Life of Chaos

Lost among the many things President Ronald Reagan did to America during his eight years as president was one particular budget cutting measure.  Perhaps in these days of fiscal austerity it is good to look back to the past as a guide if for no other reason then to teach us about the ignorance of our as of yet "unmade" decisions.  Prior to Ronald Reagan you didn't see many homeless people on the streets.  Those that existed tended to live outside of society.  They were the "Hobos" of yesteryear.  America had a system of mental hospitals and for better or worse these institutions cared for and accommodated the nations mentally ill.  Reagan wanted to reduce corporate taxes and to find the money for this he had to cut the welfare state.  The result was the de-funding and closing of most of the nations large public mental hospitals.  The theory was that mental health care could be more efficiently provided by private companies.  Of course this only works with those

I saw a crazy man this morning. I've actually seen him before but this morning he stood out like never before.  I was riding my Vespa to work feeling quite stylish and quite Italian.  I wore my jacket with the British flag on the back and dark goggles.   While feeling quite chic in my mind I was hoping with all hope I would not be side swiped by a red neck in an F150 or hit on the head with a beer bottle.  I suppose my black visored helmet had that later covered but the former would have been disastrous.  I was motoring through West Columbia, an area that was once a suburb of Columbia and now is seemingly forgotten.  It is run down, dotted by apartments and small houses that should be condemned.  If that wasn't enough, the area is punctuated by a chicken plant that dispenses an odor strong enough to wrinkle the nose.  There is usually a parade of interesting people out on the street but today one particular man stood out.  He was probably in his 60's, of course the appar