A Strange Thing That Happened Yesterday
Yesterday I went through a drive through barbecue place and picked up a meal to take to Kendra.
She was at the flip house and hadn’t been able to leave all day. She has to stay there for plumbers, electricians, inspectors, etc.
So I called her and asked if she’d eaten and she said no. Then I picked up one of the meals she prefers.
We sat in the car while she ate because she doesn’t like to eat in front of her men. At least it gives us a chance to talk for a bit. And she can still keep an eye on what’s going on.
On The Way Home:
Afterwards I headed home and came across a strange sight. At one main thoroughfare a young woman stood in jeans and a t-shirt in the middle of the road.
She was dressed and groomed well. Not a homeless person I don’t think.
Her stance reminded me of a policeman directing traffic. They typically stand in the dead center of the street going both ways.
She kind of danced around and then sat down. It was hard to get around her.
To Stop Or Not To Stop?
It occurred to me to ask if she was okay. But the look in her eyes told me it probably wouldn’t be a good idea. She had this ferocious look; a daring look I guess you could say. Her eyes were a little too bright and intense.
I think she was probably high. If not that, maybe she was mentally ill and off her meds. It occurred to me that it wasn’t a great area I was driving through.
Tulsa is funny that way. You can have half a million dollar houses on one block. And a few blocks down there are bars on store windows.
As I drove on I looked in the rear view mirror to see if she’d gotten out of the road.
Doing Perfect Splits:
No, she was still there. But now she was doing perfect splits in those tight jeans.
Splits in the middle of the road with drivers timidly trying to get around her.
What a strange sight.
Now I’ve seen some strange things in Tulsa just driving down the road.
There is this one guy who dresses up like a boxer. He stands in place usually along Riverside by the river and shadow boxes.
He’s an older man. Looks to be in good shape.
Town Characters:
When I lived in Norman where I raised my girls there was “the glove man.” For years he walked at a rapid pace all over town with a glove on his hand and talked to himself. So that’s why everyone called him the glove man.
There are always “characters” in every city I suppose.
I hope the woman doing the splits didn’t get hit. She was young and looked healthy. I thought about her all day.
The mentally ill and/or addicted in our communities apparently need a lot more help than they are getting these days.
But instead of allotting money to social programs it seems they always give a big tax cut to the rich. What a disproportionate country we live in.
I guess it’s appropriately “Mental Health Awareness” week this week.
Brenda, I’m just glad you didn’t stop since you were alone and not equipped to deal with her if things turned violent. I’m sure someone did the appropriate thing and called police – which relates to the “defund police” issue which is being misinterpreted by those who think it means removing them. No. It means adding resources like counselors to accompany officers to scenes where mental illness might be a behavioral factor.
I wish they would have named it something other than “defund the police”. To me an excellent idea that because of misunderstanding may not happen. This is an excellent reason the police need help with people like this young woman.
It is amazing sometimes what you see while driving. Unfortunately we are seeing more and more homeless and mentally ill people on the streets. So sad that they people do not have family or a person to look out for their well being. Truly sad. I hope someone might have called the police to say she was in the middle of traffic. For her safety and that of others. Happy Wednesday.
I agree..a 911 call would have seemed reasonable. Although it is all too sad to see this..another issue with mentally ill folks or folks who are down on their luck asking for a donation…hanging out in the street or too much in the way of traffic is that innocent drivers may accidentally harm them and then guess who goes to jail for the accident.. It is a sad world and there is no vocabulary in my world for “defunding the police”. It may be a good idea to have someone trained to deal with sick folks on standby to show up if necessary, in addition to the police if needed. Law abiding citizens also are entitled to safety measures, though.
Brenda, I was driving down the main street in our city recently. There was a black man standing in the middle of the street, with his arms folded genie style. He was wearing nothing but his birthday suit! I have seen everything now!
That is so sad about the young woman. Yes, she was probably on drugs and/or mentally ill. That is the time to pull over where it is safe to do so and call 9-1-1.
There’s a man in our area who just walks around daily in camouflage clothing to bring attention to those inflicted with PTSD. He walks on sidewalks and doesn’t talk to people. It is very sad In the richest country that there are so many causes now out there needing medical facts and also dire funding. I now feel for those People who have lingering affects (dialysis, lung issues, heart, brain, etc) after recovering from covid because this gives them an underlying condition from here on out. This continues to escalate and one more thing We can’t dismiss. You need to keep yourself safe Brenda so I am glad you got back home okay.
Did it occur to anyone to call the Police? Doesn’t everybody and their uncle have cell phones these days? Obviously she was not right in her head, or she wouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the road doing splits and daring cars to strike her. We have more mentally ill people in this country today than ever, particularly males (have you ever heard of a female mass shooter?) and we still have an extreme stigma on the disease and its treatment. I remember how a certain political party fought against having even two weeks coverage in the Affordable Care Act, and that was an extreme compromise. Many people still believe that mental illness is somehow a “character flaw” and not an actual physical disease caused by malfunction of chemicals that control brain functions. It is one of the things that I get particularly angry about, not because we’ve had any particular issues in my family, but because it can strike anyone, at any time. And then we act like it’s a “defect,” a “flaw,” some kind of shameful thing that needs to be hidden and covered up. Really – can’t we as a culture be BETTER than that?
My phone was not charged. I’m always forgetting to do that! By the time I got home (had to go to the pharmacy first) it had been awhile. So I didn’t know if she’d still be there.
Maybe he won the lottery! Best you did not stop people on drugs can be very strong and wild. Stay safe
It is sad that those who need medical treatment the most are not getting it. Many who have served in the armed forces, the mentally ill – especially those who are poor without health insurance. Imagine how many of workplace and school shootings could have been prevented by mental health care availability.
Hello Brenda,
I haven’t seen any strange sights lately but I have seen so many more homeless people since the pandemic started. As far as mental illness, I have an aunt who suffered for 50 years before she jumped in front of a train, she had the best treatment money could buy and yet it was still not enough. In this day and age there is still a stigma attached to mental illness and so many people are afraid to ask for help and frankly even with insurance it is hardly covered at all. The aunt I mentioned above had insurance, and so many of the treatments we not covered and it was all paid out of pocket.
I hope that people get the help they need.
How are Charlie and Ivy? And you? I hope you are all enjoying Fall.
Oh my gosh I forgot about the glove man! He really was a strange Norman character! Then there was always a bunch at the Town Tavern or whatever it was called on the corner of Asp and Boyd. But I still had loads of fun there!
I had a similar experience many years ago. I was driving down a city road and a man in a car In front of me just stopped his car got out and started dancing and hollering. He then got back in his car drove a few feet and did the same thing. He turned into a business, which I took note of and when I got to work (this was before cell phones) I called the police!