Frenchie Jackson, 56, retired USMC, graduated from Lincoln High, has strong opinions. His father was a great role model, who retired from General Dynamics, his mother was a social worker. He has four siblings, and reveres his youth where kids danced and played football, rather than running in gangs and shooting at eachother. After five years in the U.S. Marines, he did manual labor jobs and laments he didn't have a life plan. He got into drugs and was arrested for sales. He went into a program to clean up. Now his main purpose is staying positive and saving money to buy a fishing boat and Harley-Davidson. He hates homeless who use the street as a public bathroom, opposes swearing in songs on the radio and takes the "don't give someone a fish, teach them how to fish" approach to life.

David, 53, born in LA grew up in a patriotic, Christian home, moving around the country. He studied teaching English while wandering the library reading books on chemistry and calculus, which came in handy calculating coordinates for missile strikes while in the US Army. From there he joined an evangelical group converting Taiwanese to Christianity, but soured on their methods. Back in the States he fell into drugs and alcohol but sobered up, fell into a compassionate relationship, but suffered again when she died. Now he plucks out Bowie tunes on the four remaining of a six-string electric guitar.

Jeff Anderson, 58, a US Navy veteran, drifted across the country for years before arriving in San Diego a month ago, landing on the grass next to the USS Midway Museum. He hopes to start his own business selling information products, so he can remain independent, make his own money, not rely on anyone else. Once he gets his own housing, he wants to get a couple of dogs for company.