In Straight Time, Dustin Hoffman‘s Max Denbo explains the difference between being in prison and being free on the streets of Los Angeles: “Inside it’s who you are. Out here it’s what you have in your pockets.” Same analogy today. In New York City I had an image of refinement and accomplishment, based partly on my professional rep but also my personal appearance. Now I’m back to being a guy who drives a semi-beater, or what my son Jett calls a “ghetto car.” No valet parking, always parking two or three blocks away for fear of anyone identifying me as the owner of this thing, etc. Humiliating.
