The Sad Death of the Crazy Lady

Everyone who lives in a small condo association gets to know their neighbors probably a little bit more than they'd like. Sometimes you get normal people, sometimes you get the druggies, but everyone condo group has that one person that just drives everyone else insane. We had her until Saturday. Her name was Susan. No one else is going to write about her, not even her family so I will tell her short tale as I know it.

Susan really was crazy. I'm not quite sure of the exact nature of her craziness but she was paranoid, disorganized, tended to repeat the same things over and over, questioned everything, and in her early 40's, was diagnosed with breast cancer. I have been told she was crazy long before that and as a result her husband left her, and took the children with him. Susan was left alone with her orange tabby, Ringo.

Susan was so crazy that she even annoyed me, and I felt sorry for her. She would show up a Homeowner Meetings, clutching a wad of meeting notes from the past decade. I'm told that at one time she was even on the board but that was in the early stages of crazy. The woman just did not understand the world and I think that's what put her over the edge. Simple concepts were all a conspiracy against her and her only retreat was her home. Even that was nearly taken from her as the front yard became a battleground for enforcement of condo regulations. the place was a mess no doubt. But her only crime was her fence was too short.

Susan was a thin little thing and most of that was probably due to the cancer but she still had energy to fight. From time to time she would start petitions against the condo board and then forget that she had done such a thing. At our last Homeowners meeting, a fight broke out between Susan and another resident. It escaleted and was quickly turning ugly. At this moment my sympathy took over in spite of myself. I had to get her out of there before she was ripped to pieces.

We chatted about the trees, and the landscape while I escorted her home. We looked at her yard and I offered suggestions about how to move the gardening supplies to one side where no one would notice them. Then I asked her cat's name. Susan smiled. It was a real smile and I'd never seen that from her before. "His name is Ringo," she replied and then she thanked me for being so kind.

It was the last time that I ever spoke to her. On Thursday the paramedics arrived to take her to the hospital and on Saturday she died of breast cancer. Her family came and apologized to the assoication for her craziness and for us having to deal with her.

I found out that her daughter is coming over to take care of the cat. I saw Ringo tonight, sitting in the windowsill, waiting for Susan to come home. It was a sad sight. I hope he goes to a safe home.

I'm glad my last words to Susan were kind.