The Soloist

Because I like anything Robert Downey Jr. does, because I like Jamie Foxx almost as much, because I have read Steve Lopez's columns in the LA Times, I put The Soloist on my Netflix list. I knew only a little bit about the story but that the film had gotten mixed reviews.

After seeing it, I have no idea from where the bad reviews came. I thought it was a tough but poignant film on mental illness, homelessness, poverty, and the creative process. It is based on a true story and the book of the same name by Steve Lopez.

Basically Lopez, in looking for something to write, [Steve Lopez-- LA Times], became interested in a street musician, Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, who was homeless and mentally ill. I won't go into more about the plot than that it involves Lopez's desire to get a story, help Ayers get back into his music, get off the street, and the impact that all has on Lopez's life. The performances are first rate as would be expected. The plot was interesting and pertinent to our times. The extra features well worth watching.

What blew me away was what it showed about skid row. Like most Americans, I see the homeless sometimes but not like this, not so concentrated where they live. Mostly I see them walking past or asking for money. I thought that the people in the film looked like the real deal and they were. The outdoor set was Los Angeles's skid row. Most of the extras were people who live there.

I don't know if the homeless districts in all cities look like in LA; but if so, what are we doing as a nation to let this happen to fellow humans? Probably half of them are mentally challenged, some physically handicapped.

Some years back, on a trip through California, we stopped to see the mission in San Luis Obispo. A young woman came up to me asking for money. I had seen all of the men hanging around and saw that there was a soup kitchen nearby. She said she had missed the time for food and asked if I could help her. I dug out $5.

Yes, I knew she might well be giving it directly to those watching men; but I couldn't not give her something. She had a birthmark that covered one half of her face, sounded mentally challenged in how she talked, and was way overweight. Life had dealt her a hard hand. I saw her as a sister and even today it's harder for me to not give money to women who find themselves in these situations than to the men. There could go me and sometimes it's a thin line for why we aren't the ones out there decided by the right parents, luck and genetics.

The ones I see where I live run a gamut of ages and seeming mental states. Some truly don't know where they are; some are on drugs or alcohol; and maybe some have chosen it as a way of life. I haven't seen anything like Los Angeles's skid row.

I had read the number of homeless has been growing. I have seen the lines to get food. I didn't know until I began looking more into this that Portland school district this year reports 1706 of their students are homeless. [Number of homeless growing at schools near you].

"Not all the students — not even a majority — are living on the streets. The federal government defines homeless students as those who "lack fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence."

"More than 13,000 students are living with relatives or families. About 750 called a motel primary residence last year, another 1,700 were living in shelters or transitional housing. Finally, 2,264 were classified as "unsheltered" meaning they were living in cars, sheds, tents, or on the streets." from the above link

How often I have written that our big problem is the middle class becoming extinct. I still see that as important because the middle class has been the hope of the poor, a road up that they can see they could reach by hard work or luck. It used to be that way.

After watching The Soloist, I became more aware of how too many Americans are forced to live. Some low income families are just a thin line away from this. You can't even get medical care, like say surgery for cancer if you don't have a home address. I learned that after reading more about the film

It's not just the poverty which is bad enough but our limited ability to help those with serious mental problems. We want a magic pill or some think prayer will fix it as they see it as an emotional or spiritual problem instead of physical. The truth is not enough research has gone into something that can totally rip a normal life away from people. With more and more children being diagnosed with different degrees of autism, what will a future United States look like?

If you get the chance, rent The Soloist. It is a powerful movie that brings home the difficulty of trying to help the mentally ill and the reality of homeless lifestyles. Most of what we are doing today is stopgap-- keeping people from starving, offering medical clinics that can treat some problems, nighttime shelters that sometimes seem so undesirable to the homeless that they would rather sleep in camps.

You know, no matter what the 'experts' tell us, this is looking more and more like a depression. Even if we are in a recovery, will it bring everyone with it? We face many problems today and not the least of which is inner city deterioration.

Bob Herbert wrote a good piece that fits with this topic: Behind the Laughter. Please don't tell me everybody has an equal chance at a good education and job. If you think that, you are uninformed of what it's like for many families as well as the inner city problem. I think it's going to take real commitment, more tax money, people who know how to make a difference, not just throw money around, and some positive planning to have any hope of turning this thing around.

Many years ago my father said that he saw this country becoming a nation of haves and have-nots. He didn't live to see it, but I am afraid it's what I am beginning to see. There was a second part to what he said would happen then that it would turn into a far more violent culture where people shoot others for no reason. Well we are seeing that happen also. What should we do about it?