"I've done time. That was county lock up back in the 1980s though. Different era. Everyone was high on angel dust, doing the robot and listening to The Jets and Shalamar. Not like this gangsta rap like Drake and all these god damn gladiator academies you got nowadays, full of nasty and violent habitual reoffenders.
But then I actually met some of these guys back in 1994 when I was doing research for my tour de force role as remorseful death row prisoner Ray Poncelet in Dead Man Walking.
Really friendly fellas you know ... now I'll admit I was nervous when I first got to Rahway Prison, but two cartons of Malboros and a couple of signed VHS copies of Shanghai Surprise later and it was like we were all road dogs together.
Really friendly fellas you know ... now I'll admit I was nervous when I first got to Rahway Prison, but two cartons of Malboros and a couple of signed VHS copies of Shanghai Surprise later and it was like we were all road dogs together.
They taught me some of the jailhouse lingo for purposes of authenticity, sorting out my 'shivs' from my 'shanks'. I also learned about the different types of 'Jacksonville Special' and exactly what a 'rama lama ding dong kite' was. Trust me you don't wanna know.
I shot some hoops in the yard with them before we went back to the mess hall and ate some lunch. They had a guy named Tiny in the kitchen, a real swell dude with a constant smile on his face who cooked a mean beef lasagne. God knows how they made the bechamel sauce though.
My point is, some of us are prisoners even on the outside. Prisoners to our vices, our memories or even multinational corporations. Never judge a book by its cover, that's my motto. Except maybe a phone book or that Men Are From Uranus shit. "
No comments:
Post a Comment