You should be more like Merlin and walk everywhere

Many years ago now, when a friend moved to Newtown, she remarked that it "must be on the Mental Health Ley-Lines". This was because* of the high incidence of seemingly-crazy people who wandered the streets of our venerable suburb at all hours of the day and night. Presumably they follow the mysterious "crazy-" forces associated with points along the aforesaid Mental Health Ley-Lines, or something.

* (It is probably much more likely to have been something to do with the destructive health policies of the fucken National government 1990 - 1999, but that's beside the point.)

Years and years later, she's still there, and the crazies are still there too, picking up the force-fields with their built-in "crazy-o-meters" and wandering endlessly from point to point. Of course they are. Who ever wins votes by throwing money at improving community-based mental health care? Subsequently I find myself sharing a bus with this guy a lot more often than you'd expect to if you hadn't studied the statistics of chance.

If you can't read it, the writing on the back of his jumper says:

I AM A SOLDIER IN CHRIST'S ARMY

I didn't actually know Christ had an army. Depending on whether or not he's actually dead, I suppose they could be the "Army of the Dead" out of Army of Darkness, or The Lord Of The Rings. Or not. Perhaps he's just advertising the Salvation Army. I wonder if he's armed? At least he's not a soldier in Allah's army, I guess.

Anyhow, go him. He also wears a Placemakers beanie, and smells like a damp old couch that a large dog has slept on for about ten years.

o o o

If you're reading this and thinking to yourself "Fuck me, drinks-after-worker, that's a bit on the nose -- leave the old fullah alone" then fair enough, I take your point. But I've already pretty-much made mine; imagine the reinstatement of decent, comprehensive community-based mental health care. Wouldn't that be a bloody miracle, then?