Prison wolves, loneliness life-changing experience
After prison life, Mike has found peace driving across the country making deliveries for his expediting service.
“I’m not a violent person. It was just a bad situation that I misinterpreted. My anxiety level was so high it was unreal. I wasn’t sleeping. I had heart palpitations. I felt scared all the time. So when the situation arose I just reacted. It was fight or flight, and I took fight.
“I spent 20 years in the joint. It’s so lonely. You’re just surrounded by strangers, and every one of them is a wolf looking for something. You’ve just got to deal with it every day, but it colors your perception for the rest of your life.
“I’ve been out eight years now. As you get older, you learn to care less and less about things that used to get you so agitated. Like, I’m not going to see that guy again. Who cares what he thinks of me. You leave all that foolish stuff behind.
“Obviously, you’re changed because of everything that’s happened. But you learn to accept who you are now, and you just move on with life. I don’t even care anymore how old I am. I just know I’m going to get older. And every day I get older is just like one more day that I never expected to live. I’m just living in the here and now.”
— Mike, 57
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