:05:00
The cafés were filled with people
at 3:00 p.m.
:05:05
I was told there's one restaurant
for every 44 people in San Francisco...
:05:08
but most of them
seemed to be dessert places.
:05:11
Trying to get a simple cup of coffee
became a nightmare for me.
:05:14
Espresso, double espresso,
cappuccino, double cappuccino...
:05:18
latte, double latte, mocha, double mocha...
:05:21
caffe con panna, macchiato,
double macchiato...
:05:25
caffe bianco, or house blend.
:05:29
I was feeling disoriented living in a town
that didn't carry any nondairy creamer.
:05:33
I went to work and announced...
:05:35
that I was going to give a monthly column
to a Flint auto worker.
:05:38
The owner instead told me to run
an investigative report on herbal teas.
:05:42
I told him I had a better idea:
Let's put the auto worker on the cover.
:05:46
The owner wasn't amused and declared
that California and I were a mismatch...
:05:50
just before he offered me
my free U-Haul back to Michigan.
:05:55
- Hello, Dad.
- Hello, son.
:05:57
- It's been a long time.
- It sure has.
:06:00
- Where's Mom?
- In the kitchen.
:06:09
Why, your hands are filthy!
:06:13
- Go upstairs and wash them.
- Okay, Mom.
:06:16
Okay, so my homecoming
wasn't quite like that.
:06:18
In fact, I wasn't back in Flint more than
a few days when the bad news hit.
:06:24
This is the CBS Evening News,
Dan Rather reporting.
:06:28
Good evening.
:06:29
General Motors confirmed it today.
:06:31
It is going to close plants
employing almost 30,000 workers.
:06:34
Today we are announcing the closing...
:06:38
of 11 of our older plants.
:06:40
While Detroit and Pontiac
will certainly be hurt by the shutdowns...
:06:44
the effect on Flint
is absolutely devastating.
:06:50
Devastating wasn't the half of it.
Maybe I got this wrong...
:06:53
but I thought companies lay off people
when they hit hard times.
:06:56
GM was the richest company
in the world...
:06:58
and it was closing factories
when it was making profits in the billions.