"It was nobody's fault; it was everybody's fault."

Much has been made recently of very personal, jarring consequences to Hard Times of the like that we as Americans have by and large been immune to for decades. By and large, the Good Times narratives have drowned our daily tragedies, but now the BBM (Big Bad Media) has its antennae up for outrageous stories of hardship.

Pasadena added its own narrative Monday with the death of Wanda Tubbs, a 53-year-old Wilson Avenue resident who lost her home after taking out a bad loan, continued to live there under its new owners, and then facing eviction after their foreclosure precipitated her eviction, decided she'd rather die than leave.

From the L.A. Times:

Early Monday, the day of her expected eviction, firefighters pulled her body out of the house as it burned. She apparently had set it on fire before shooting herself in the head, authorities said.

"We knew it was going to happen," said Steve Brooks, who lived across the street. "It was nobody's fault; it was everybody's fault."

As Brooks watched the flames, he noticed that Dunn had left two of her plants on his porch, along with a note: "Please take good care of us or find us a good home." She also had left several inexpensive toys, along with the name and address of a charity organization.

Photo courtesy Los Angeles Times.