crazy people.

here's the thing about crazy people. i've seen them. every city has its weirdos. i lived in nyc for a summer in college and saw about all the crazy people i'll ever see. in cambridge, central square was the hangout. downtown boston, downtown crossing. and there was always that crazy "animal rights, sign the petition" lady at the porter square t stop.

here's the thing. in san francisco, crazy people are normal. they're integrated into the fabric of society. they're given *leadership* positions. they're nurtured and fostered and encouraged to be crazy, but in a normal daily life kind of context.

i work in art education, and we have our fair share of nutters. this conference i worked at on saturday turned up the usual suspects - youth, good-hearted youth workers, activists hungry for a change, and crazy people. crazy people who serve on arts boards in local communities, but carry all of their belongings with them at all times in one large backpack over a dirty puffy coat even though it's 70 degrees out, and who have sociopathic handwriting. crazy people who have jobs that involve molding young minds, and yet who show up at community forums to dominate the conversation with a rant about the bush administration. i sit at arts board meetings looking around, trying to catch someone's glance - "this is torture!" i'm saying with my eyes - "let's bust out of this nuthouse!" but no one gets it.

i know i sound like a jerk. and y'all know i can be impatient. but cut me some slack. i deal with CRAZY people all the time. and they're starting to get to me.