L gets tips from a drug dealer.

Inmates, especially those in solitary, have nothing better to do than chat. I’ve learned they offer great advice on life. Here are some of their tips to me:

1. Never put out too soon. Men are all about the chase. 

2. I am in the wrong business. Big time drug dealers can make up to 5K... a day. Read it again. 5K in a single day. Apparently, a brick of coke can be bought wholesale for around 22K, then mixed (through a process involving a whisk and baking soda that makes a totally different sort of cake) to make a brick-and-a-half of crack, which is then cut and sold to distributors.

3. You have to live the life in order to The Life. This one’s a bit cryptic, but substitute “live the life” for “treat your business as a way of life” and substitute “The Life” for “enjoy the lifestyle of a drug lord,” and you’ll get a message of how hard work pays off.

 4. Loyalty above everything.

P.S. I love the comments I've been getting because they remind me that all of us have a unique conception of our universe, its moral order, and what truth and justice means. What I've learned is that my universe is constantly changing, with each new person I meet and every experience I have. My universe is hazy, at best. It's a place where morals mean nothing and society's interests are subordinate to individual needs. 

I think that maybe there's not one universe, but countless universes, each defined by our respective minds, bound by our experiences and knowledge. That's why death is so tragic--one person's universe is erased forever. That's why children are important in our society--an individual believes he can pass on his universe to his children.