He stands in front of a wall of cigarettes and chewing tobacco. He greets you with his deep, booming voice.
His hands seem permanently dirty from his eight-hour shift at Chandler Automotive and Towing earlier in the day. His teeth are brown and rotting from his years of smoking crack and the pack and a half of cigarettes he smokes every day.
Amid a region with wealthier, out-of-state college students, Justin represents the opposite. He is a Hoosier, sober and working long hours to provide a better life for himself and his girlfriend.
Justin’s exhausted, but he’s clean. He hasn’t smoked crack in nine years since his three-year addiction, and he hasn’t touched alcohol in two.
At 6 a.m., he goes to his girlfriend Amanda’s trailer to get a couple hours of sleep on the futon they share in the living room. Then it’s back to work at 9 a.m. at the towing shop. Back to the trailer at 5 p.m. for a couple more hours of sleep. Then back to Circle K.
This year’s Little 500 was supposed to be a big weekend for Justin. He wanted to make enough money at the tow shop to get a new place for him, Amanda and her daughter, Emma, to live. But the “biggest college weekend in the country” — the one the tow shop relies on to get through the year — didn’t live up to its promise this year.
Justin’s graveyard shifts are ending at Circle K. He just accepted a position as an assistant manager. He’s going to be working 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. That means he’ll have to quit at Chandler.
But he hopes the promotion will get him a higher position making a yearly salary more than double his current pay.
He hopes once his son can choose, Skyler will spend more time with him than Justin’s ex-wife. Justin claims he tries to see Skyler. His ex-wife says differently.
For now, Justin’s making money, staying sober and being the dad he should have been.
Correction: In Monday's print edition of this story, the title of the towing shop in the story and in a caption should have read Chandler Automotive and Towing. The IDS regrets this error.
