Schizophrenic Conversations

This story is too good to not tell.

Bus Interchange: I'm standing, "patiantly" waiting for my bus that happens to be running late (what a surprise) and this woman in her mid 40's plops down on the bench in front of me. She was a jolly woman, happily rolling up handmade cigarettes and offering them to anyone who passed. With the new law in place, raising cigarette prices from $6.50 to $20.00, people were graciously accepting them, to my surprise. Oh, but this woman was just soooo happy saying "here ya go son!" while juggling a rather large bag of tabacco in one hand, pieces of paper on her lap, and handing off freshly prepared cigarettes in the other hand. All the while having conversations to what seemed to be an empty space beside her.

On the Bus: Sitting Diagonal from me, the woman continues to roll cigarettes but struggles because of all the stopping and starting of the traffic. I watch as slowly she becomes agitated with her invisible companion saying "This bus is only going 20 miles per hour!" when clearly we were going faster at that point. I watched as she became even more aggrivated when the bus stopped to pick up more people... and then as the people coming on the bus became victims of verbal abuse as the woman starting hallering at them. 20 minutes into the bus ride she started yelling at the bus driver "We've been on this thing for an hour and a half! Can't you go any faster man! I'm in a HURRY!" then would quietly tell her invisable companion "I know we're in a hurry but this bus is going as fast as it can." Now this was quite a sight because she still had the bag of tobacco in her one hand, rolled up cigarettes in the other, and the paper between her fingers. About 5 minutes later she was able to calm herself down and started to ask every person who came onto the bus if they had any money. As a thank-you for the money, she would offer a cigarette. Finally, she pushed the button, signaling the bus to stop and leisurely walked to the front of the bus. This is what amazes me... this woman, who has just been hallering and in complete chaos minutes before, stops and says to the bus driver "Sorry for all that, I have schizophrenia and it's just been effecting me back there."

Government Flatt: From the bus I watched as the woman calmly stepped off the bus, light a cigarette, and simply walk slowly toward the government flatts. It seemed as if she didn't have a care in the world as she strolled along.

That's my story.

Do You Have A Cigarette?

Wanna know something interesting? In an attempt to discourage people from smoking, the Australian Government has raised the price of cigarettes from around $6.50 to $20.00. Hmm... interesting... Making cigarettes unafforable to the poorer population, and making money off the people who can afford it. huh.

yup, that's all I have.