Chicken-Cooped In A Cuckoo's Nest

[danchangtulsa]

Originally posted on Tulsa Indy Gazetter

It is the last night of my stay at a very strange place called Griffin Memorial Hospital in Norman, Oklahoma. I am standing in the courtyard, bouncing a basketball, looking out alternately at the coming dusk thunderstorm, the lightning crackling in the southern sky, and the residents and staff of the institute for the improvement of mental health. They are all puffing away at their pathetic cigarettes with complete abandon, discussing the day's drama, large and small.

Five days ago, with a court order, a Tulsa County Sheriff's deputy roused me from sleep, handcuffed me, and rudely chaffuered me 130 miles to this cuckoo's nest.