Lady in Woods

There is a homeless woman in the woods, we share a favorite breed of dog. Hers is named after one of my best friends, we laugh when she tells me. Our meeting flooded me with heartache not for just the dog, but her... as she told me stories of living with Sheiks and Muslim women coming to eat ice cream with her to get away from her husbands. And how the government knows she is there, but they don't bother her because of her "position" It was then I realized this woman was delusional. Having experienced mental illness first hand, I inquired later down the line with one of her "camper" neighbors. He confirmed my thoughts, she suffered from mental illness and he confirmed, she takes medication and he has heard her tell many outlandish stories. My guess is schizophrenia of some sort, she is not violent, but perfectly content in her woods, full of trinkets, including china, a broken radio, wooden pallets placed side by side to make a walkway and a 6 person tent stacked from floor to canopy full of clothing, every stage of clean through dirty. The pallets lead to a fire pit where she "entertains her guests" and pieces of carpet surround areas to keep the dirt and mud from entering the tent. Tarps are stretched over the camp and tent to keep some weather and wind out and not unless you know she is there would you notice them from the highway...

I mention all this, so that if you ever meet a homeless person and they talk about strange things and tell outlandish stories, many times they suffer from Schizophrenia or Bipolar. The symptoms look much like a person on heavy drugs. Many of the homeless compensate for their thinking disorders by using drugs and some of the disorders are brought on by the extended use of hard drugs. It is truly a vicious cycle!