Uncommon Life

True-crime autobiography of the best safecracker from Pittsburgh to Atlantic City in the 1970's and 80's.EXCERPT: I remember the bus ride clearly. Early 1976. I was wondering the whole trip home what I was going to do about a job. I didn't have a high school diploma, and I had a drug bust on my record. After the four-hour ride, we pulled into the Reading Bus Terminal. No one was there to meet me. I felt all alone at this time in my life. I made it to my mother's new, two-bedroom apartment. I took the second room. It had no bed, but a rug. I showed up around 5:00 p.m. She fed me and gave me a good talking to. She told me I would have to get a job as soon as I could, and that I must stay out of trouble. If I had a normal life, she said, I could stay there as long as I wanted. I said, "Thank you, Mom. Love you." Then, I went to my room to contemplate what I was going to do with my life. While lying on the rug on the floor, thinking which way I was going to go, it hit me. I would make what would be one of the biggest decisions in my life. I didn't want to live a normal life.After fighting with myself for a few days, I made my decision final. I didn't want to spend my life working for a car payment, a house payment, and keeping my five other partners happy-the phone company, gas company, car company, oil company, and the electric company. So, the next day, I made a phone call. I called Big G, and he told me where to meet him. We met at a bar. I walked in, and he was already there, waiting. He said, "Hello, Kid."