Welcome to the inaugural post of my blog: Project MK-Ultra!
This blog is meant to satifsy the requirements of my Technical Writing Course ENG420.
In deciding what I was going to blog about, I had a few different ideas. At first I was going to write about my love for Alternative Country Music, a genre of music misunderstood by Alternative Music and Country Music fans both. Chicago is home to an incredible Alt-Country Band, Wilco, and I planned to name my blog in honor of their seminal album "No Depression."
Then, seeing interest from my professor regarding my part-time career as a pencil jockey for the pen-and-paper games industry, I thought about writing about my experiences there. I decided few people would want to read about how many tons of light lasers a Clan Vulture mech loads out, whether High Elves and Eladrin are the same species or not, or what Shadowrunners are really referring to when they discuss 'Essence.'
It was as I was contemplating this blog that I was contacted by an acquaintance of mine. I use the term acquaintance because those individuals suffering from Schizoid Personality Disorder rarely form friendships in the traditional sense.Though it's unlikely that anyone reading this blog will know this man, I will be referring to him using an alias.
Henry Darger is that man living in that house on your block that you've never met. He's the man you work with, but never see outside of work, the one who never talks about his family, girlfriend, wife, or friends and by all accounts has none. He gets up, goes to work, goes home, and cloisters himself away from the rest of the world and the people in it. He's a hermit.
It is difficult to say how many people in the world suffer from Schizoid Personality Disorder because the disorder is marked by secretiveness and self-reliance. Those who suffer from the disorder rarely seek assistance and so the professional community has difficulty counting them.
Henry Darger is a man that suffers from this disorder and this blog will be dedicated to my experiences with this man. He has agreed to allow me to interview him, but those interviews will not appear here in transcript form. Instead this blog will take a journalistic form as I explore my relationship with Henry Darger, discuss his way of life, his thoughts and feelings, and my own personal musings. My goal is to reveal the existence of this hidden disorder and encourage understanding in those who may meet similarly eccentric and private individuals.
