Lou O' Bedlam
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My car broke down last week, I'd finished surfing, started driving back, I'd gone all the way up to Malibu, good waves had been hard to find that day.

First the battery light went on. This had happened a few months ago, turned out the was the alternator...so I got a new alternator...so this light should not be going on.

Figured I'd drive it straight to the shop. Then a weird sound started to emanate from the engine, maybe a clicking, maybe a thumping, hard to remember, now.

"Well this isn't good."

Then the temperature light comes on. I've never seen the temp light come on.

I pull over, stop the car, call AAA, get myself towed from the beach to Hollywood, a good 40 minute drive.

AAA says it'll be about 45 minutes for the tow truck arrives. They lied, friends, They lied right through their teeth.

Hour and a half later, Danny shows up, takes about five minutes to hoist my car up on his tow truck, and then we're off.

Wish I'd gotten a picture of him, but I rarely bring my camera to the beach, there's a solid risk of getting your car broken into, classic surfer mistake. Hide your shit, don't bring anything too expensive.

Instead, I've gotta write it all down. How we started with how Danny got into tow truck driving (the pandemic made his other gig, flipping cars, too unstable). What kind of money he was bringing in (better than other guys, because he can drive the more challenging tow truck. Flatbeds? Easy. The one where you gotta hook up the tires to the truck and all that? That takes skill. Skill Danny learned after decades of street racing, fixing cars, selling cars, fixing trucks, selling trucks.)

He told me about how he wins street races even though he doesn't always have the fastest car (the trick is not making a mistake when there's all that power under the hood, most guys, they'll lose control, if only for a split second, and that's where he gets 'em.)

Trading cars with other friends in the community, taking long drives up the coast with other Mustang owners, buying his son a cheap car so he could learn to drive, being a minor celebrity in the street racing circuit. With more than a little bit of pride, showing me his latest car on instagram.

Enjoying truck driving, being able to help people, getting tipped, getting cars out of spots that other tow truck drivers can't, being able to identify that some cars don't actually need a tow, just a line wiggled, or a hose jiggled.

Would it surprise you I have conversations like this almost every week? That I can't get enough of hearing about other people's lives? That, if I could, I'd surgically attach a camera to my arm, to get it all down for posterity?

See the whole series on THE PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNAL!

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Taken on: March 5, 2024
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Sets appears in:   • The Photographic Journal    • 2024   
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Camera: NORITSU KOKI QSS-32_33 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: NORITSU KOKI QSS-32_33
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