How Mr. Ayers And Mr. Lopez Became Friends

(CBS)  This story was first published on March 22, 2009. It was updated on Sept. 3, 2009.

This is one of those urban fables that happens to be true. Steve Lopez is a newspaper columnist for the Los Angeles Times; Nathaniel Ayers is a troubled man with a brilliant past.

As 60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer reported last March, they met by chance on the streets of downtown L.A. - an encounter that would change them both. The story of their friendship is a tale about madness, redemption, and the mysterious power of music. At the insistence of Mr. Ayers, who was taught good manners as a child, they call each other "Mister." We will do the same.

Mr. Ayers and Mr. Lopez were introduced, in a way, by Mr. Music himself, Ludwig van Beethoven.

"I was in downtown Los Angeles. And I heard beautiful music," Mr. Lopez told Safer.

That day three years ago, Mr. Lopez, with a deadline approaching, was pounding the pavement, stumped for something to write about. A few blocks from the office - by a small park where a statue of Beethoven had been erected - he found Mr. Ayers, a homeless man, playing not as a panhandler, but for himself, music to chase away the demons that forever stalk him.

Asked what first piqued his curiosity about this homeless man, Mr. Lopez told Safer, "Desperation. Sweating out another column. Looked like it could work. I thought, 'Okay, where did this all begin? How does this guy end up on this street corner?'"

Mr. Lopez would find that Mr. Ayers, now 58, was once a hugely gifted young musician accepted by Juilliard, the country's preeminent music school. His talent - and future - were crushed by the weight of a devastating, incurable mental illness: paranoid schizophrenia.

His passion for music is perfectly clear. His illness becomes obvious as he tries to describe Beethoven. "And there he is still there, the consternation. And he's complete with another symphony, the elucidation. And you know, my mind goes wild. And the bird droppings are wiped away by the workers. And he's just as real and green as the next tree or beautiful scene," Mr. Ayers told Safer.

After their first meeting, Mr. Lopez tracked Mr. Ayers to the place he called home: a downtown tunnel where he played by day and slept at night, carrying sticks to ward off the rats. Though he was trained to play the bass, he also taught himself trumpet, cello, and violin.

"Playing the music in that tunnel with the cars and exhaust and God knows what, why there?" Safer asked.

"It seemed orchestral," Mr. Ayers replied. "The commotion, the calamity, and the sounds, you know?"

"You were part of the symphony of the big city?" Safer asked.

"Well, schizophrenically, yes," Mr. Ayers said, chuckling.

Mr. Ayers Performs:



Slowly, Mr. Ayers opened up to Mr. Lopez about his music and his background. Mr. Lopez brought him home to meet his wife and daughter to offer a glimpse of a settled life.

"With each visit, I got more of his intelligence and charm, and more of the disjointed, all over the place sentences," Mr. Lopez recalled.

"I don't care about Beethoven as an obituary. Just Beethoven as a spirit. And my mother. Just as good as the Statue of Liberty forever," Mr. Ayers said.

A conversation with Mr. Ayers can switch with lightning speed from one fixation to another: Stravinsky, baseball, Barbara Eden, Colonel Sanders. They're tangled thoughts followed by moments of perfect clarity.

"Music is saying, you know, life isn't that bad, you know?" Mr. Ayers explained.

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[kt_acca]

Thank you for this segment. Schizophrenia effects 1% of the population. As a parent of an individual who has been diagnosed with this debilitating disease, we find hope in these segments that help educate others. This disease is misunderstood & hidden in many homes. Families need help to diagnose, treat, & stabilize these individuals. They can improve & even "recover" from this horrible disease but services are so limited! We need more research & support to help us with our loved ones who have this disease. This disease costs our country millions of dollars to house, hospitalize, & institutionalize these individuals. With more research & proper treatments & medications, preventative treatments could help the individuals & lower the costs. We have been lucky enough to find someone to help us through this tragedy & we are thankful every day for that. We do need more nationwide help for this disease.

[mscath123]

Compassionate people make the world a better place. Joe Russo became this musician's friend and never gave up on him. Joe still writes wonderfully and plays heavenly too. He was recently interviewed on his friendship. To listen to Joe's music visit www.josephmrusso.com

So wonderful to hear this story!

[judmac7mom]

My son is a paranoid schizophrenic. There is no virtuoso hidden in him. No great talent suppressed by the crippling illness. Put he will ever be a shadow of who he could have been; he is not homeless, he is not living under a bridge fending off rats. He is however a lonely man, now 42, who for 20 years has been shunned by friends and family, who often goes without food, and for whom real relationships are deprived. The illness is an overwhelming part of his life. Though medication does offer him some relief he has sleepless nights and troubled days where he is confronted by his fears. Few people take the time to understand the illness and would rather make him a butt of jokes or a hated pariah. The stigma of mental illness is still with us and will be until we take the time to learn all we can about it.
JM

[sbeamon]

This was truly an inspirational story of the plight of some of our homeless. Nobody knows what talents are out there until you ask.

My question is this: During the interview Mr. Ayes was wearing a shirt with "Young Marines" and a Young Marine Shoulder Patch. How did he come into possession of this shirt? Has he been involved with that program?

I am involved with the program and a former Young Marine. The Young Marine Program is celebrating its 50th anniversary on April 25.

http://www.youngmarines.com/50thPages/index.htm

[randgroup]

Regarding the footage you showed at the 5 min 58 seconds point of the Ayers video....a shot that was supposed to be indicative of the Cleveland area where Ayers roamed the streets as a homeless man:

Just to inform you, the building you showed was at one time a vibrant manufacturing building employing between 200 and 250 people from a period between 1930 and 2003. Only our government and their free trade policy has caused that building to fall into dire disrepair. The real estate was owned by the owners of Ohio Knitting Mills, who were a firm that was based in Cleveland Ohio, employing people of many nationalities and cultures. In 2003, Ohio Knitting Mills was unfortunately forced to close its doors due to the unfair trade practices of the United States government. The factory is typical of many of the old industrial buildings that are condemned across the country due to our trade practices with other countries.

Please go to ohioknittingmills.com to see the products, sweaters, and vibrance that came out of that building over a 70 year period.

[donzhang]

it is very good story on 60 minutes, touching and unforgettable. i will use it as a listening material in the class for the students. by the way i come from china.

[bruisedreed]

I repeat my question. 60 Minutes obviously got some benefit from Mr. Ayers. Los Angeles Times' columnist Steve Lopez received acclaim, a published book, and a movie contract. None of these benefits would have been possible without Mr. Ayers, who is clearly in need of help. His rehabilitation will cost money. Is Lopez giving him a share of the book and movie proceeds; or is he keeping it all for himself?

[Cerph]

It was painful to watch this segment last Sunday.

Painful, because I know what happened to Mr. Ayers, and what his challenge is now- and also the level of consciousness of the people in his life, etc.

Here was a sensitive soul, blowned away at Julliard, by a predominently white upper class culture. Also, it's most likely his own family didn't understand him (as a person) fully.

This is what led to his being "homeless". And after living on the street for a while, the psychic damage that takes place is horrendous, and perhaps irreversible. One's protective shield ("aura") s decimated, leaving an extreme vulnerability to other people's energy, vibrations, thoughts, and emotions.

Too bad Mr. Lopez didn't give this man protective shelter, instead of ignoring his plight.

In a country this wealthy (even now), the fact there is even one "homeless" person is shameful and embarassing.

In virtually every instance, those who are "homeless" come from "dysfunctional" families. In fact, they wouldn't BE homeless if they had a family that cared.

I pray in the future we, as a race , will have arrived at a high enough level of consciousness and love to know these things.

[BarbaraPilvin]

Ever since I read "The Soloist" I hoped I'd have a chance to hear Mr. Ayers play one of the many instruments his extraordinary gift has enabled him to learn. Hearing him play the cello moved me to tears--not because of his illness but because of the beauty of his playing. Many years ago I played that instrument in my elementary school's orchestra; I took it home over the summer, didn't touch it, and, assuming I'd forgotten everything I'd learned, gave it up, to my everlasting regret. Today I'm a dedicated (read "passionate") amateur singer, and have been in the same chorus for over 25 years...in part because we once sang at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall...though mainly because the music does something for me that Mr. Ayers might understand better than most people. I know what music can do for us humans...not just those of us who have psychiatric disorders (mine is so well treated that most people think I'm joking or lying when I say I have it, though I can't imagine anyone falsely saying he or she had such a disease!). If I ever had the chance to hear Mr. Ayers perform in person, I would be thrilled; if he were ever comfortable with the idea of trying the state-of-the-art psychiatric treatment that has recently come into existence, that would also be thrilling. He has the kind of gift that comes along rarely and I'm very grateful to him for allowing CBS to let me and millions of others witness that gift.

[735152]

Thank you very much for the article on NathanielAyers the homeless person and musican. I hace followed the articles since the beginning. Icannot wait until the movie. Mr. Steve Lopez, you should be awarded for your timeless time you have spent with Nathaniel and the help that you have given to him. I have worked with youth who have experieced the same health and mental illness. but the issue that Mr. Lopez wrote of the getting him a room and he did not feel as safe in the room as the streets was heartbreaking. I would like to see him playing and would like to go to the Preview of the movie (smile). Also, the 60 minutes program was great. I have mention the issues to everone that I can. I believe that we all should pay attention to Mr. Ayers writing and issues because because we never know especially doing these hard times how far we are from being homesless and depressed and other mental illneses. please keepup the good work. Patricia Robinson [phone]