The reality of our mental health crisis

Northern Michigan, specifically the Grand Traverse region, had a dose of reality July 26 when a knifewielding man stabbed 11 strangers at the Traverse City Walmart.

The man, with a lengthy history of mental illness, took a three-inch blade and wreaked havoc in the store, injuring nearly a dozen persons, including Cindi John from Suttons Bay.

Good Samaritans tended to the wounded and others stepped up to subdue the assailant, avoiding any fatalities.