Formerly homeless Springfield resident Kirk Toncray, in his book "Behind the Signs", wrote, "I have often thought of what I would say when someone asked why most homeless people drink. I would have to answer: When it's twenty five degrees at three in the afternoon, and you are looking forward to a night with the low temperatures dipping into the single digits, catching a little buzz makes things a little more bearable. That probably sounds awful. If it does sound awful, try sleeping on and under nothing but cardboard for a week in that kind of weather. You'll get it."