California sacrificed his own well being so his wife and kid could make it back to Santa Rosa before winter.  He's been stranded in Portland for the four months since and hopes to make it back by the end of summer.  His family came to Portland in a van with five others to work on a farm in the Willamette Valley during the fall harvest.  A week before their planned return to Santa Rosa the friends with the van left unannounced and stranded the California family.  He had just enough money saved to put his wife and son on a Greyhound to his wife's mother's house and told them he'd find work for a few days and buy a ticket as soon as possible.  He spend every dime he earned-entirely from begging with a sign- on food and shelter during the cold Portland winter.  He paid $20 a night at a downtown motel to avoid sleeping and freezing on the streets.   

I'm not sure if California told the truth during the interview or if he was lying to get sympathy and money.  I gave him twenty bucks and told him to get his ass back to his family. 
 

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