Mentally Ill.

Chicago is home to many unique individuals. The city alone is extremely diverse, and can also be classified as segregated. But no matter what part of the city you're in, there's always people doing outlandish things. Generally, most people who are homeless or appear to be estranged, were at one point of time admitted into some form of institution that treated mentally ill patients. The reason for this is because the former Mayor of Chicago, Richard J. Daley, closed numerous mental health clinics around the city, which caused an influx of mentally ill people to overtake the streets of Chicago. In this brief journal, I'll be introducing a few of the unique people I've come across, and getting into details more about the mental aspect of these individuals.

Often times you'll find mentally ill people outside wandering the streets or riding public transportation. Majority of the time these individuals are harmless and appear to be seeking attention. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to converse with them. Talking to some of them will actually seem somewhat amusing and you'll find out things from them you never would've imagined. Believe it or not, I held a short conversation with this guy in the photograph above. He was extremely animated and loud, (which made others passengers on the bus uncomfortable) but seemed to be looking to start a conversation with another man sitting in a seat to the left of him. He continuously babbled about being a street fighter, so I asked him how good of a fighter he was. "I beat Muhammad Ali before he became famous! Ask about me, I'm a bad man!" I chuckled a little as did the other passengers near by. The stories these people tell are nine times out of ten not true, but they're still worth listening to. The guy went on to say that his name was Snake and that he'd soon be fighting Floyd Mayweather.

In this subject above is King. King was one of the more interesting people I've came across. This was one of the most fascinating encounters I've had with a mentally ill person on the streets because I couldn't tell if King was mentally unstable right away like the others I've witnessed. Getting off of the Redline train at the 47th street stop, I walked across the street to the bus stop to wait on the 47 bus. As I was walking across the street, I saw this man who looked as if he was confused or didn't know where he needed to get on the bus at. His hair was unique and his clothes looked old and distressed. The man went over to this piece of metal on the gate by the bus stop, close to where I was sitting, took a seat, and dropped his head as if he was about to go to sleep. Me being me, I moved closer to him. At first I just thought the man was homeless and needed to sit down and rest. But as I began to photograph him, I realized he was mumbling to himself and was also twitching a little. He got louder and louder with his mumbles, and people on the bus stop became uncomfortable. I listened in to hear what he was saying but couldn't quite make out what it was that he was mumbling. After about a minute or so, he stood up and began marching as if he was in a drill line at a boot camp or something. Right away, I began thinking to myself that maybe this guy was an ex vet because of the camo jacket he was wearing (which can also be seen in the photograph above). As he continued to march he kept repeating "My name is King sir! I am a strong soldier!" After about a minute straight of repeating that, King took a seat again and bowed his head as if he was about to sleep. He began twitching, again, and after about another minute or so, he began to march...again. As I realized that King's actions were repetitive, I then knew that he had some form of mental disorder that caused him to behave the way he did. When the bus finally arrived, King got up and stood in front of the bus and continued his marching. As I got on the bus I overheard others discussing King, and I could do nothing but feel bad for him. People like this are on the streets everyday and their lives are at risk because of the diseases they have. More people should become aware of these problems mentally ill people have, and not just make fun of or be afraid of the disorders these people obtain.

As I'm typing this entry right now, I'm talking to Leroy; taking in everything he has to say, and observing his every move. For some reason he's carting around a baby stroller with no baby inside. Who knows why. Leroy says he rides the train everyday and has 32 children...that he also picks up everyday. I don't know if I believe him...But hey, maybe he's telling the truth. Leroy keeps looking up as he talks to me and avoids eye contact when he communicates. I'm not sure what that indicates about him, but I'm pretty sure it describes his disorder. As my stop on the train approaches he begins to change the subject completely. I wish I could stay on the train longer to analyze him, but I have to go.

95th street has always been a rough place to get on and off of the train at. Being the last stop on the CTA Howard Red Line train, there's always lots of chaos taking place here. With lots of drugs being sold and all sorts of people hanging around, there are a decent amount of police stationed here. Uncle Nate is here every morning. I've asked people about him and everyone who I've talked to all said the same thing. "Uncle Nate is a comedian." The first time I had an actual conversation with him he was trying to sell me ventra cards. It was funny because of the way he was auctioning off the cards as if they were so important. I told him "nah I'm good I don't need any cards thanks though bro." He wouldn't take no for an answer, so I figured I'd buy one anyway. Ever since then, every time I see Uncle Nate he yells extremely loud, "Everybody, that's my nephew right there!" I laugh every time I see him, and out of respect I just acknowledge him as "Unc". Uncle Nate is one of the many kind hearted people who just has a couple loose screws up top.

Overall, the city of Chicago is a very beautiful place with all sorts of people wandering the streets. Every person is different from the next, and that's what makes humanity and life itself so golden.