The "Sarge", as he's known on the street, happened into the gallery yesterday. Vietnam vet, truck driver for the mob, small business owner, the Sarge has done a lot in his life.
He was homeless for about a year, before he got his V.A. checks and social security, but now he has his own room in one of the skidrow Housing Authority buildings.
I asked him about the homeless population downtown and he thought that at least fifty percent were mentally ill and in need of medication, and that "you could walk that right back to Reagan," ( Reagan's presidency saw many government funded mental institutions closed.)
Articulate and funny, the Sarge said he like the art show a lot, but that might not be "high praise coming from a one-eyed old coot". His words not mine.
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