Tag Archives: contemporary legend

Big Larry the Uber Driver

Age: 22

Date Collected: 4/16/2026

Context:

My friend is a senior at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She is in a sorority up there, and we have known each other for about seven years now. Once, when I was up there visiting, she had told me about a legendary Uber driver that everyone in SLO tries to get when traveling to the bars. I asked her about it later over the phone.

Text:

In SLO, there’s one Uber driver, “Big Larry”, who became very popular with the students. My friend explained that he rose in popularity mainly because he was really funny, and his car had colorful lights, great speakers, and a karaoke for passengers to use. He is instantly recognizable with his huge cowboy hat, sunglasses at night in his “funny-looking minivan.” My friend said that “if you get an Uber with Big Larry, you have to take a pic.” Big Larry also makes and posts compilations of the riders with their consent on Instagram and TikTok. He’s “promoting his side hustle,” personal driving service. He does a great job branding his rides, and it has become a ritual for passengers to take a selfie with him. He also posts crazy AI videos of himself doing wild things to get people excited for big events like the Fourth of July, Spring break, and St. Patrick’s Day.

Big Larry typically works weekends, from what my friend explained, and typically around that time and location, drives around kids going or coming from parties. But he does drive during the day and on weekdays too. She believe that “riding in Big Larry’s Uber will guarantee a legendary night out.” They’ll take pics with him and post them on their Instagrams. My friend explained that some of her friends said they had very memorable nights out after riding in his Uber. Also, in her sorority, when someone is out having too good a time, they’re on “Big Larry’s wild ride.” The story gets passed around by students to the point where almost everyone who went to SLO knows Big Larry, and knows how lucky they are when his name pops up on the app.

But not everyone loves the legendary character Big Larry. My friend got to ride with him once, she said that the ride was kind of awkward. They hopped in and asked, “Are you big Larry? He was like yes, want a picture.” They didn’t really want one, because the vibes were off, but took one regardless because it’s what everyone else has done. That said, my friend said that she wouldn’t give him legend status; in fact, he’s kind of a creep-o in her mind based on the encounter and his demeanor. But I guess they do say, never meet your heroes.

Analysis:

From my understanding, Big Larry is something of a local legendary figure in SLO. He is something like a patron Saint of the nightlife and social scene in SLO. He is an omen of luck, and students are happy to see him as their rider. Students learn about his character from friends in casual conversation or on their Instagram. This reflects the traditional word of mouth and more recent digital spread of folklore. But Big Larry represents a new wave of folklore. What was interesting to me was how Big Larry uses Instagram and AI to further bolster his reputation and public image. For example, a recent St. Patrick’s Day post shows an AI video of Larry carrying a pot of gold, calling himself “The Big Shamrock”, and giving gifts to everybody. Big Larry is very much an active participant in forming his own legendary reputation in the neighborhood.

The legend functions as a way to unite the social scene in SLO. Friends can bond over their experiences with Big Larry, or just laugh about how silly his persona is. Either way, it helps people bond and creates a unique community of students who have a distinctly SLO identity. We have strange and unique Uber drivers in LA, and we had some when I went to Santa Barbara, but nothing like Big Larry. It also gives students a way to control the unexpected. They can’t pick their Uber driver, nor can they decide how fun their night out will be. But getting Big Larry is an omen that helps alleviate those anxieties and doubts. When they see him, they know they’ll have a great time, so just relax and enjoy.

Some might believe that the man really is magical, and you should buckle up for a great night when you take his wild ride. But my friend is more of a realist; she doesn’t think anyone else can make or break your night out. That doesn’t make the character any less of a legend, though. People generally remember the hits and forget the misses. Everyone who had the awkward encounter still says their out-of-control drunk friends are on “Big Larry’s Wild Ride.” So the legend still does mean something to them. But, in that context, the legend is kind of flipped and used ironically. We learned that legends aren’t always what the grand stories make them out to be. My friend’s awkward encounter essentially counters the legend; she didn’t have an especially amazing night out. The encounter was awkward, mundane, and altogether just didn’t feel right. But, I would say that her encounter humanized him. In reality, Larry was just a tired guy on a weekend driving students. Larry can curate his online persona, but he can’t mediate every real- world interaction he has. At some point, his persona outgrew his ability to maintain it. In reality, he’s just another guy. Legendary stories don’t focus on these more mundane aspects because people sensationalize them. We often want to believe in larger-than-life figures because it makes the world feel that much more special. When we encounter one of those legendary figures, we might take something from it. In this instance, we might leave our anxieties about the night behind.

Seven Degrees of Separation From Kevin Bacon

Nationality: American
Age: 54
Occupation: Unemployed
Language: English

Informant Analysis: I first heard about the “Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon” when I was younger. The idea is that any actor, or really any person, can be linked to Kevin Bacon through seven or less people. It’s like a pop culture twist on the “six degrees of separation” theory, which suggests everyone on Earth is connected by six or fewer people. My dad always thought it was funny and kind of spooky how often it worked. It stuck with me because it turns celebrity culture into something you can play with.

My Analysis: This idea that everyone is somehow connected to Kevin Bacon is a fun way people explore how weirdly small the world can feel. It plays into this deeper belief that we’re all more connected than we realize, especially through pop culture. The randomness of using Kevin Bacon as the center makes it more of a running joke, but it still explores how interesting social networks are. At its core, it’s about how connections, coincidence, and community.

Slender Man

Nationality: Korean- American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Language: English

Text: I watched a youtube video in the fourth grade, with some of my friends, that described the lore behind Slender Man. I didn’t really believe in his existence, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid of the possibility of him being real. I used to live in a densely forested area, and walking back from my friend’s home at night, during the peak of the distribution of Slender Man information, I would always run to avoid any possible encounters with this entity. Its not even that I saw him, or a figure resembling it at all, I was just worried at the possibility. When the trend of talking about slender man died down, though, I found myself not being fearful.

Context: Informant first became exposed to the idea of Slender Man in the fourth grade. They describe that it was a sort of “trend” to be knowledgable or discuss the figure at school and amongst friends. The informant believes that The Slender Man’s ability to scare the younger populations is what lead to its prevalence in the community. Informant believes that The Slender Man legend had the ability to create unity within younger populations through a collective fear.

Analysis: I find the contemporary legend of Slender Man to be very critical to understanding the interaction between folklore and the internet. It is undeniable that the propagation of his lore was attributed to social media, and many agree that his origin point was the web. Though he originated on a digital platform, he quickly took on the qualities of traditional folklore. He began to spread by means of oral tradition, and his stable presence proves that, even with technology, folklore continues to prosper.

Cram it, Clownie!

Nationality: American
Age: 53
Occupation: Gardener/Substitute Teacher
Residence: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Performance Date: April 21, 2014
Primary Language: English

The informant grew up in various parts of California, due to his father needing to relocate for work. The contemporary legend described below was first heard by him in Norwalk, CA when he was 9 or 10 years old in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s. The informant’s older brother and his friends (older by 3 years) first told the story and the informant overheard them. He remembers seeing the Bozo show, but he does not remember this specific episode. He tells this story when reminded by a story about similar defiant acts by children or when televison-related urban legends are brought up.

The story is as follows (paraphrased):

There was a television show in the 1960’s called Bozo the Clown that had children as guest stars on each episode. It was supposed to be an honor to be one of these guests, and most kids were happy to be there. These programs were not heavily edited and time-delayed like the television shows of today. There was one kid, though, that was not having it. When Bozo asked the child to do something or answer a question as was normally done, the child loudly said “Cram it, Clownie!” This was obviously not the expected response and is probably why this story gets told.

The story caused my informant to laugh as he told the story. My informant had not actually seen the episode in question, and the show was probably not rebroadcast if this did occur. This really shows the unpredictability and unfiltered nature of some children, which was entertaining even to 10-13 year old boys in the 1960’s. This wouldn’t be entertaining if children were ‘supposed’ to be like that, so the fact that the story is still entertaining shows something about how children realize that they are not supposed to behave that way. I think he remembered this legend because he has seen instances of children misbehaving like this in public throughout his life and career and therefore enjoys an example that was publicly broadcast. Because he has raised two children (19 years old and 22 years  old) I think he has a different perspective now as a parent than he did when he first heard the story as a child who wasn’t much different in age from the child in question.