“Went to jail in 1995, came out in 2013.

Obviously smartphones and whatnot. But the biggest difference to me is simply that I rarely see kids outside. Anyone who remembers the 80s and 90s remembers that past 5pm, there were groups of youth aging 16-28 literally roaming everywhere.

Another thing is crime. Crime used to be everywhere. Even normal, well-to-do people knew about and were often even slightly engaged in some form of crime. They often had siblings that were into crime, or knew neighbors who were into it. If you ever wanted anything ‘extra’ done that was illegal there was always guys you could go to. Then there was your sort of underground life. Almost everyone had one, or knew plenty of people that were into it. I remember as a youth, me and my friends used to sell loosie cigarettes and transport stolen goods from store to store for this seedy Italian guy on our block. In my early 20s we used to help find guys to pay off landlords to let us throw parties on their rooftops. Everyone did this sort of stuff. That was considered kind of normal youth stuff back then. Today that would seem like something only a serious criminal would do. Even our parents had their ‘dealings’ with shady characters.

Those are really the two biggest changes I’ve noticed.”