6.18.2010

Charlotte, NC I




"Life, man! Life is the hardest decision! How you gonna live!" Toby stands on the side of the highway and yells at the top of his lungs, not because there is traffic, but because he is Toby. He pirouettes with his arms spread out: "everything just comes back around, you know? You gotta make the right kinda decisions, man!" Toby is built like a tank, his sweaty gray wifebeater looking ready to explode from the pressure of his spastic muscles. He has a round, coffee-colored face and an incredibly friendly smile underneath his broad straw hat. "If you start on the right foot, whoever you are and wherever you go, you'll be alright. You can be a millionaire, but if you start on the wrong foot and I start on the right foot, I will sure catch up to you. You know what I'm sayin'? Yeah!" He hunches over and throws a vicious right hook at an imaginary foe, shifting weight spryly from foot to foot before abruptly standing upright and cracking another huge smile. "I'm an entrepreneur," he yells, "and I'm gonna make it!" Toby used to work construction—he is in his mid-forties though his appearance hardly betrays it—but several years ago a brick fell on his head and he had to take time off. Since then, he has been living on workman's comp and planning his next career move. "Living is the hardest decision! That's why you gotta make it right!"