Fresh Loaf

(photo by Joeff Davis)

Don’t get mad at Durante Franklin for towing your car from the courthouse parking lot. He’s just doing his job. Franklin has been a driver with A Tow Inc. for five years and is actually a pretty friendly guy.

“We tow from city, state and federal government properties. Also private and commercial towing; if you break down and you have services through your insurance company, then we come get you and bill your insurance.”

As an occupational hazard, Franklin has gotten on-the-job threats. “Maybe ’bout four times. And I also got ’jacked at the courthouse in 2005 by Brian Nichols.”

On the being carjacked by Brian Nichols: “I was at Five Points. A guy walked around the truck with a gun telling me to get out. I said you can have the truck, just don’t shoot me. So he took off with my cell phone, radio and everything down Peachtree.”

“I went to an accident scene where a young lady was killed. Another car had flipped up and came through the windshield. But her two kids were still alive in her SUV.”

On karma: “If you’re doing wrong, it is going to come back and bite you in the butt.”

Occasionally, Franklin is offered bribes by desperate car-owners. “They’ll be like, ‘Uh, man, I give you $300 to let it down,’ and I’ll be like ‘No, you going to jail and I’m going to jail … I don’t think so.’”

On how man can achieve salvation: “First of all he’s got to get himself together with the Lord. If he don’t believe, then he needs to believe.”

On people he admires: “I like a lot of people. I love me some Tupac because he always speaks the truth.”

On what he wouldn’t do for money: “There is stuff you put guidelines on, like that show where they used to have to eat pig guts for money. It’s Fear Factor. How are you just going to eat a hog head, and they just killed it, and they say they will give you $20,000? I will pass.”

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(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Jerry Turner is president of Advanced Bio-Treatment, a company that specializes in cleaning the mess left behind by murder and suicide. The company also cleans up urine and feces, as well as old meth labs.

“Suicide from firearms are difficult because the splatters are small and located all over the place.”

The most gruesome place he’s cleaned: “A suicide with a [large caliber rifle]. It looked like 15 bodies had been slaughtered, not just one head.”

On telling people his job: “I pass out my business card and all kinds of cool conversation happens. It’s like my bar trick.”

“I have empathy for people. I understand how it affects people to lose a loved one. But death just doesn’t bother me at all. It’s a part of life. Everybody dies.”

On what he looks for when hiring: “They need to be meticulous and not squeamish. Most of my workforce is women. I guess they’re used to dirty diapers. And they’re typically cleaner than men.”

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(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Mak Keltner has been poking strangers with needles for four years. An acupuncturist at Tiger Heart Acupuncture in Inman Park, Keltner treats patients using a variety of traditional Chinese treatments.

What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is an ancient, comprehensive system of medicine that has helped millions of people and treats a wide range of heath problems. It is safe and addresses a lot of concerns that sometimes can’t be explained by conventional medicine.

Explain how it works.

The body is made up of energy channels that carry out all the functions of the body. When energy channels become deficient or blocked due to injury, diet or stress, pain or illness can result. Acupuncture points are used to move the energy, or qi, back to a normal state, restoring health. Each acupuncture point has a specific function in the body. I might use one point for stopping a cough or another for knee pain that gets worse when it rains.

Have you ever done acupuncture on yourself?

Yes, often. I treated my knee pretty regularly after I had surgery.

What does it feel like?

When the needle is inserted, I feel a tap and a pressure on my skin. I usually feel a dull ache combined with a sensation of slight movement, almost like a tiny muscle twitch. Sometimes there is a temporary pricking sensation, but it is much milder than the feeling of an injection or having blood drawn. (more…)

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