It was a fixed and unusual smile. As wide as a smile can get. The smile of someone who is not exhibiting normal facial expressions, but is trying hard to look...innocuous?
The place where I saw the main I believe to be Laspisa is always occupied by at least one sign-holding person asking for money. From early in the morning until well after dark. They are all part of a homeless community living in a nearby riverbed, according to local police (to whom I also reported that I thought I saw him - and they said I wasn't the first person to contact them). They also said that a lot of the sign holders are drug users (meth) and are watched by their drug dealers and the money is taken from them as they collect it.
Actually, the police resource officer for that area of our town said it was "all" of the panhandlers, as far as he knew. California Supreme Court ruled that people have the right to be on sidewalks, etc.
During the height of fire season (we're technically beyond that now, but they're going to have to revise the dates next year, I think), the local authorities tried to dismantle the big homeless encampments and get the people out of the river bed due to high fire danger. Many are now back down there (one can see them from several vantage points if one knows where to look).
I thought about Bryce with that fire, as well. There are many homeless people who move up and down the river beds (and Castaic has water resources and open land where people can survive, if they come down to the fast food restaurants along the I-5 and rummage through trash, which they do).
