I was staying in a homeless shelter in Bakersfield, CA. We were awakened a little earlier than usual and I watched the live coverage with over a hundred winos and prostitutes and various other unsavories. It's not surprising that I was in a cynical state of mind at that time in my life and I was immediately suspicious regarding the truth of what I was hearing from the news. 

In my wanderings in the following days I noticed that the entire city looked homeless. Everybody looked as though they were just looking for their next drink.  It seemed we were all going to hell in a handbasket.