LOS ANGELES — In his dim motel room, flies and dust swirled through a slanted blade of sunlight. A shoulder-high heap of boxes, trash bags, electronics and clothes prevented him from opening the curtains.
Mario Blanco, 53, sat at the edge of his bed with his dog, Leo the Lion, staring at the items he's been hoarding in his room for a year. Empty cups, medication bottles, stacks of paper, old photos, McDonald's bags, scattered toiletries, dog food cans, a dirty fan.
Blanco was embarrassed by the scene.
