Brenda and I watched The Soloist last night.

What was that all about? A homeless person, with schizophrenia, plays the fiddle in the street. He used to be a cellist. He went to Julliard.

And?

That's it. He went crazy. He's homeless.

He won't take medicine. A lot of crazy people won't. You can't make them.

A newspaper columnist wrote a column about him. A reader gave him a cello. A cello player offered to give him lessons.

He acted out. Crazy people act out. That's why they're living on the street.

The reporter found an apartment for him. He got to keep the cello. He practices.

He's as happy as a dead pig in the sunshine.

I am happy. Writing in my writing room. I don't bother anybody. I earn my own way.

I work, when I have a job. I print up pamphlets, at my own expense, and give them away, at lectures.

Gulf Coast Writers Conference, Gulf Coast Community College, September 19, 2009.

Black Papers: The Dark Side of Publishing. And DIY: Self-Publishing Strategies.