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I was reading old posts and happened across this one which reminded me of something similar that happened with one of our local nuts.
This is the saga of Crazy Jane. (name changed slightly, not that it matters)
Now, the story above I'm referring to is about a crazy and/or drunk woman who was determined to "school" a bartender during karaoke night at a bar. That reminded me of when I went to a small coffee bar up the street from the computer shop I manage to see a couple of friends perform.
Crazy Jane lives (or lived, anyway) about a block away from us. I think she's schizophrenic, and is definitely on some sort of medication for craziness. Well, I think she went off her meds this fine evening.
My friends are a duo - K plays guitar (he's a very funny fellow and used to be a professional comedian) and S sings. (she's a lovely woman with a good singing voice) They do songs from the 20's up to the 80's. Nice variety.
There's a fellow in town I'm friendly with, let's call him Jack (because he looks a LOT like Jack Nicholson). Have hung out with the guy at the coffee bar many times - very nice and pleasant. Well, I don't know how he knows Crazy Jane, but he brought her to the performance. All seemed fine at first.
K & S performed a Neil Young song, as I recall. Crazy Jane immediately starts speaking - loudly - to Jack and anyone else who will listen about how much she loves Neil Young and starts demanding - loudly - that K & S play more. She spends more time getting out of her chair and walking around the coffee bar, trying to talk to the band, and looking at things for sale on the wall than she did sitting in a chair and listening to the music. After a half hour of this, Jack finally takes her outside to sit. (there are speakers outside which play whatever music is going on inside the place) That seemed to placate Crazy Jane for a while. Jack later came in and apologized to K & S for her outbursts... apparently she literally had just changed medications over the last couple of days.
But that's just one story.
I first met Crazy Jane about four years ago after I just started working here. She wandered into the store and made some inquiries about used computers. No problem at first. Answered questions and made pleasant conversation. But I quickly realized there was something wrong when she became fascinated with this little cartoon computer on our cans of air. She started giggling like a child and TALKING to it. I have a pretty good sense for when somebody's putting me on, and she definitely wasn't. I quickly did my best to get her out of the store.
Later, the owner told me she had done the same thing once before. She was nice, but talked to herself and was exhibiting classic schizophrenic behaviour.
Fast forward two years. I'm across the street at the convenience store and as I'm walking in, she's with some local older stoner fellow and the store manager is pretty much yelling at him that Crazy Jane is not allowed in the store and he should know that.
Being friendly with the staff, I later inquired what the beef was. Apparently a week or so before, Crazy Jane had told a worker there that she was going to come back with a knife and kill her. Well, that simply won't do. So she was banned from the store. That fact had not yet been hammered into her head, it seems, because right before I came in the store she had attempted to purchase cigarettes and was told to leave. I'm not sure who the stoner fellow is... boyfriend, husband, roommate, whatever. The store manager informed him as to the situation and told him not to bring her in again.
I haven't noticed her around town for a few months. But it seems like some of the local crazies have left town, as it were.
This is the saga of Crazy Jane. (name changed slightly, not that it matters)
Now, the story above I'm referring to is about a crazy and/or drunk woman who was determined to "school" a bartender during karaoke night at a bar. That reminded me of when I went to a small coffee bar up the street from the computer shop I manage to see a couple of friends perform.
Crazy Jane lives (or lived, anyway) about a block away from us. I think she's schizophrenic, and is definitely on some sort of medication for craziness. Well, I think she went off her meds this fine evening.
My friends are a duo - K plays guitar (he's a very funny fellow and used to be a professional comedian) and S sings. (she's a lovely woman with a good singing voice) They do songs from the 20's up to the 80's. Nice variety.
There's a fellow in town I'm friendly with, let's call him Jack (because he looks a LOT like Jack Nicholson). Have hung out with the guy at the coffee bar many times - very nice and pleasant. Well, I don't know how he knows Crazy Jane, but he brought her to the performance. All seemed fine at first.
K & S performed a Neil Young song, as I recall. Crazy Jane immediately starts speaking - loudly - to Jack and anyone else who will listen about how much she loves Neil Young and starts demanding - loudly - that K & S play more. She spends more time getting out of her chair and walking around the coffee bar, trying to talk to the band, and looking at things for sale on the wall than she did sitting in a chair and listening to the music. After a half hour of this, Jack finally takes her outside to sit. (there are speakers outside which play whatever music is going on inside the place) That seemed to placate Crazy Jane for a while. Jack later came in and apologized to K & S for her outbursts... apparently she literally had just changed medications over the last couple of days.
But that's just one story.
I first met Crazy Jane about four years ago after I just started working here. She wandered into the store and made some inquiries about used computers. No problem at first. Answered questions and made pleasant conversation. But I quickly realized there was something wrong when she became fascinated with this little cartoon computer on our cans of air. She started giggling like a child and TALKING to it. I have a pretty good sense for when somebody's putting me on, and she definitely wasn't. I quickly did my best to get her out of the store.
Later, the owner told me she had done the same thing once before. She was nice, but talked to herself and was exhibiting classic schizophrenic behaviour.
Fast forward two years. I'm across the street at the convenience store and as I'm walking in, she's with some local older stoner fellow and the store manager is pretty much yelling at him that Crazy Jane is not allowed in the store and he should know that.
Being friendly with the staff, I later inquired what the beef was. Apparently a week or so before, Crazy Jane had told a worker there that she was going to come back with a knife and kill her. Well, that simply won't do. So she was banned from the store. That fact had not yet been hammered into her head, it seems, because right before I came in the store she had attempted to purchase cigarettes and was told to leave. I'm not sure who the stoner fellow is... boyfriend, husband, roommate, whatever. The store manager informed him as to the situation and told him not to bring her in again.
I haven't noticed her around town for a few months. But it seems like some of the local crazies have left town, as it were.