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 Exercise 8.3
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Use the following information, which is from a story in the Iowa State Daily at Iowa State University, to write a narrative lead.
Rick is 27 years old. He makes his living repossessing cars. The work is often unpleasant and occasionally dangerous, but that does not bother Rick. He's athletic, the kind of guy you would want on your side in a fight.
This story will refer to the main source by first name only because many people dislike a "repo man."
Rick has a tanned face, dark curly hair and a long nose. He has a scar above his left eyebrow, the souvenir of a run-in with an angry debtor.
Rick's job begins when he is hired by a bank to repossess a car from a buyer who is far behind on the payments. For example, here is how he handled a job for a bank in Des Moines.
First, he gets a letter, an "Assignment for Repossession," from the bank. The assignment includes the borrower's name, a copy of the vehicle's registration, the type of vehicle, key numbers and a copy of the loan-payment record.
The car is a Chevrolet Celebrity. The borrower is three months behind on his payments. The payment record shows an unpaid balance of $10,056.55.
Under "additional comments" is written:
"WIFE—TAMARA—PROBABLY DRIVING CAR—WORKS McDONALD'S DAYS—IN INDIANOLA."
Next, Rick calls the McDonald's. "Is Tamara there?" he asks. "OK, thank you." He is put on
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hold. In a few minutes he is told no, Tamara isn't there right now, but she is scheduled to work at 11. Rick hangs up. He's ready to go to work.
Rick heads for the McDonald's during the lunch-hour rush. He drives his Renault Alliance into the parking lot. He glances at the official paper in his hand and asks, "What color is it?" The paper tells him. "OK, that's it right there," he says, pointing to the Celebrity. He tells his passenger, "I'll just have you get behind the wheel of this one and follow me back to town."
Next, Rick opens the door of his car, glances into the restaurant and walks briskly to the Celebrity. He produces a pick from a packet in his hand. He gets inside the car and slides back the seat. There's the sound of an engine starting, and Rick drives the Celebrity out of the lot.
It takes less than 20 seconds. If you blinked your eyes, you missed it.
"See, that was easier than your average repo," Rick said later. "It was just a matter of getting in and driving off. She was at work, she couldn't see out. It she did, she saw me leaving the lot, but at that point I'm already gone and it's too late.
"It's not like taking a car out of somebody's driveway. Every once in a while you get somebody who's half goofy in the head. You gotta be careful because a lot of these people are professional deadbeats. And once a deadbeat, always a deadbeat."
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2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education