The Thorazine Shuffle

It was after a couple weeks of seeing Ed on the corner, either when I went to the drug store or to Stella's that I had the chance to watch him. I began to notice that he had a route; he wasn't stationed full-time at the CVS. Ed marched his way up and down Broadway as far north as Addison and as far south as Diversey.

I also noticed that some days Ed seemed more mellow than others and some days he was positively manic. The slow days also revealed another clue about Ed. He walked in a stuttering, almost lurching way. That's when it hit me: the Thorazine Shuffle.

The Thorazine Shuffle is named after the well-known antipsychotic drug. It and its progeny have a suppressive effect not jusst on the parts of the brain that control emotion, memory, and cognition. They also have a significant effect on the physical brain as well. Imagine the dayroom in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Ed's just another one of the poor schmucks who can't support himself or live a normal life, but can't be institutionalized because of overzealous liberals. One of the homeless that greedy conservatives and smug libertarians walk by and snarl at because they could surely find some way to make a living and get off the public tit.

I need to do some thinking and reading now. More on Ed later.