tow truck guy stocks shelves by day for a grocery store, and then drives the night shift for a small tow company.
he’s 28, and he has a six-year-old who wants to play when he gets home at 7am. has no energy at that hour.
girlfriend complains he’s not doing his part. falls asleep with one arm in the air trying to play. half-finished beer on the coffee table.
he told me that his dad was a drunk so he ran away at 16. to mexico!
tijuana!
apparently if you’re born in the USA, and a teen, and you haven’t done anything illegal, the US won’t go into mexico to bring you back.
so he hung out with hookers and learned how to shoot guns and, well, make love.
being an american, all the girls wanted to marry him and then move to the US. this included a brazilian girl who could cook, spoke english perfectly, and, well… taught by example.
at first he says, they were flailing, but then she said, look if we’re gonna do this let me show you how
he said, theres a spanish word for mind-blowing and said it to me
were you tempted to marry her? i asked.
hell no
but they say brazilian girls are the prettiest in the world. was she a 9? a 10?
she was a 20! he laughed, smiling, driving that pick up flat-bed tow truck fast through the streets of la. a pack of marlboro greens (!) bouncing on the dash, waze squawking out directions, and him making fast turns, windows rolled down, howling.
we talked cartels, food, the unique world of tossing salads, and being a dad
id like to take my son fishing, he said.
where?
lake lake
i had him repeat it because i was pretty exhausted myself
lake lake, i swore he said and i laughed bc what a great name. did the laziest man in la own it?
unfortunately when i got home i learned he was saying legg lake.
but now i need to strike it rich so i can make a fishing hole and call it lake lake.
and then hire someone to carve a statue of my man
who saved my ass tonight.