The Crazies
October 12, 2005
Population: Osaka City – 2.7 million.
Population of crazies: 2.6 million.
In my 3 years in Osaka, I’ve seen my fair share of crazies. In my normal day-to-day routine I’ve run into a few regulars (and I use the term loosely) and a few I wish I had never seen. Maybe it’s because the crazies stick out of the general homogeneous population so much but I find very little trouble in remembering them. Here are a few of the more memorable crazies I run into:
1. There was the slashy gesture guy I wrote about a few days ago. I hope he hasn’t been beaten up yet.
2. On a subway ride, Daniel and I ran into the strangest fellow. He was sitting on the subway bench all by himself. In Japan, even at non-peak times, subways are generally busy. To see a whole bench occupied by one person while so many people were standing was odd. On closer inspection, we noticed he had two plastic bags. He was systematically taking out a small, torn piece of paper from one bag, thoroughly licking it, and then putting it in the other bag. Looking into the bag i could see a big pile of small pieces of paper. His tongue must have been drier than sandpaper and just as course. I understood why no one else was sitting on the bench.
3. On the subway I take to work, there’s a fellow who looks normal in all respects. The first time I met him, he sat down next to me and asked me for the time. I replied. He thanked me and then got up, walked to another person, and asked for the time. Watching him, he asked about 4-5 people per train carriage and moves onto the next carriage. He has a time obsession. I’ve seem him on three or four occasions and it never ceases to entertain to watch people’s expressions as they give him the time. Once I said I don’t have a watch and he was smart enough to ask if I had a cell phone to check. I again told him no and he seemed a bit distraught but he got up and moved on. A mere dent in his methodology.
4. At the OCAT building near work are many floor to ceiling windows. There is a homeless man who appears during non-winter seasons and often sleeps near the pillars by day, doing his homeless activities by night. On many occasions, I see him facing a window to see his own reflection and arguing with himself. He was not merely mumbling to himself, he was having a full blown argument, with strong body gestures, and a serious look in his eyes. I hope he got his point across.
5. There was the homeless guy from a long time ago but I don’t really think he was crazy. Maybe he just lacked adequate social interaction and therefore was unable to interact in a normal way.
