In a fast-food parking lot in an area that became world famous as South Central Los Angeles, I shuffle around in the dark.
What am I doing outside the Jack in the Box at the intersection of Slauson and Vermont avenues in South Los Angeles? It is the heart of winter — at least the version we get in Southern California — just a little after 6 a.m., and I am trying to stay warm despite dressing in 5-inch running shorts and a thin windbreaker.
