She was stunned. The water cannon had moved on to find other victims. Punky helped his mother to her feet.

She staggered a few steps and then was confronted by a cop.

"Down on your knees! You're under arrest!"

Punky started screaming in fear. The cop took a swing at him with a night stick. The blow broke his jaw and he sank to the wet tarmac, unconscious.

When he woke up he was in a hospital ward, his jaw wired shut. He began to thrash out in fear and fell out of the gurney. Two nurses came and lifted him back into it. A nice looking black doctor approached him with a not so nice looking needle.

"Rest easy, son. We're still trying to sort things out here. Next time you wake up maybe you can tell us who your parents are. We suppose that they were in the protest."

His mother was found after several days. Punky's troubles were not over, though. The State of California declared her unfit and sent Punky off to a foster home. He never saw her again.