Photo by John HoffThe owner of Johnny A's showed me the spacious walk-in coolers he installed before the city shut down his business. He kept saying that he'd put half a million dollars into this business. That it was his whole life and it was just GONE.
"I take care of my mom," he said. "And my brother, who is a disabled vet."
He said this to me more than once, like he didn't remember saying it, like he says it all the time; a depressing mantra. Because I've been a military psych tech, I could recognize this man is (most likely) seriously depressed.
I tried to urge him to come to the human chess tournament, walk in the sunshine and eat a grilled hot dog with us. He didn't want to leave the bar. He was worried he would see some city official and feel angry.
All was not lost, however. He has arranged a sale of the property and was talking about filing a lawsuit.
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