I've been reading "McSorley's Wonderful Saloon" By Joseph Mitchell. One of the portraits is titled King of Gypsies, written in 1942. There is a conversation between Johnny Nikanov and Joseph Mitchell that goes as follows -
"And let me tell you something," he said finally, waving his hand at me with an oratorical gesture. "I just can't wait for the blowup".
"The blowup of what?" I asked.
"The blowup of the whole entire world, that's what," said Johnny. "It's going to bust wide open any day now, ask any gypsy, and I don't give a D-double-damn if it does".
"That's no way to talk," I said.
"And if it was left to me," continued Johnny, paying no attention to my remark, "I'd sure fix things up. The very first thing I'd do, I'd unlock the insane asylums all over the world and let them people out. I'd leave them run things. I'd hunt up the insanest feller of all and I'd say to him, 'Sir, you got any notion how to run the world?' And he'd say to me, 'Yes, indeed!' 'O.K., pal, ' I'd say to him, 'take charge. You can't possibly do no worse than them that's been had charge'...."

64 years later, and I feel like it could have been written yesterday.