Growing up in Guyana, one of the many aspects of life here I found intriguing was the presence of a number of several larger-than-life characters found all over Georgetown. Most of them appeared to be individuals with mental problems, or sometimes a physical impairment, who seemed generally homeless as they wandered the streets in the daytime, not generally troubling anyone, but managing somehow to survive with no income and no real place of abode. Adults would tell youngsters like me these were people who had “gone mad”, but I don’t recall any instances of them becoming a danger to anyone, apart from the occasional cuss word or gesture when persons tried to interact with them.
