thinking, ''What a horrible song...
''to have to hear
in the midst of this panic attack.''
A song that l'd usually
get a groove going with.
l'm trying to sing the lyrics,
and l've got an apple in my throat.
l'm trying to rationalize with those lyrics...
trying to think, ''Wouldn't it be nice?''
And it just wasn't working.
Some disturbing news today from
the Genesee County HeaIth Department.
It announced the rat popuIation in FIint...
has now surpassed
the human popuIation by 50,000.
HeaIth officiaIs say it's due
to massive numbers of peopIe Ieaving...
and the city cutting back
to twice-monthIy garbage coIIection...
due to budget constraints.
Just when things were Iooking bIeak,
RonaId Reagan arrived in FIint...
and took a dozen unempIoyed workers
out for a pizza.
He toId them he had a great idea.
If they tried it, they'd aII be working again.
He suggested that maybe some of us...
could find better jobs elsewhere...
like in Texas, or in the southern states.
That's when l spoke up...
because l have a son, a home.
l'm trying to do it by myself. l can't just
pull up stakes and take off by myself.
We don't hold public office,
we're nobody special...
but he wanted our opinions and views.
lt was at a level l could understand,
and l liked his ideas...
that he voiced to us.
None of Reagan's Iuncheon guests
got back into the factory in Iater years.
The onIy bright spot of the whoIe affair...
was the individuaI who borrowed
the restaurant's cash register...
on the way out the door.
MeanwhiIe, FIint's more fortunate were
hoIding their annuaI Great Gatsby Party...
at the home
of one of GM's founding famiIies.
To show they weren't totaIIy insensitive
to the pIight of others...
they hired IocaI peopIe
to be human statues at the party.
What's it like in Flint these days?
Things are tough here
for the people that are laid off.
There's still people working.
l don't think it's as bad
as people may believe.
We started something,
and we're gonna finish it.
-We're gonna be the leaders.
-What did we start?
We started the industrial revolution...
an art form that's never been created
in the history of mankind.
-What was that industrial revolution?
-The cars. Steel.
lt took off from there.
We invented the wheel again.
We're off again and running.
What advice do you have
for those having a rough go of it?
Get up in the morning
and go do something.
Start yourself. Get your own motor going.
There's things to do out there.
l don't think it's fair to pick on
the negative things and publicize them...
and not pick up
any of the good aspects about Flint.
What are some of those good aspects?
-The ballet. Your kids were involved in it.
-Ballet. Hockey. lt's a great place to live.
Sheriff's department. Anybody home?
Hello?
I had found one man in FIint
with a secure job.'
sheriff's deputy Fred Ross.
l treat a person
the way l would like to be treated.
You know, l explain to them
that l got a job to do.
The court issued the order, not me.
lf you can make peace
with your landlord, good.
lf you can't, you've got a problem.
l've put out some good people.
You have a lot of people in this town
paying $800 to $900 a month house note.
That's a lot of money
to try to pay on unemployment.
Some of these people
don't want to leave...
especially older people.
Some of them have retired from the shop.
Taxes catch a lot of them, too.
So if things go down,
they close up some plants here...
this town is gonna be a rough place.
I continued my search for Roger.
I scoured the neighborhoods
of Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Woods...
Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Park...
Grosse Pointe Shores,
and BIoomfieId HiIIs.
I tried in vain to Iocate his house...
but the name Smith
was a common one among these peopIe.
I then read that Roger was going to be
at the Grosse Pointe Yacht CIub.
I decided to drop in on the affair.
l haven't seen him.
-You haven't seen him here yet?
-