Outrunning the Devil

Our old friend Billy Joe just returned after a stay at the hospital.  He was so sick that they took him to a well-known and respected University hospital nearby, where he probably received some of the best medical care available.  He is now prescribed a “Heart Healthy Diet” (this, of course, implies that they know our usual diet is nothing like that).  Billy Joe vowed that he was going to eat whatever the hell he wants, despite the better food his new status affords him, and not two days had gone by before he was smuggling out his healthy meals and swapping them for Swiss Rolls and Cokes.  I asked him to explain this behavior and he did not disappoint:

The devil been chasin’ me for years.  I’ve lied, cheated, and stealed (sic).  I’ve slinged dope, run whores, sold guns, and shot people.  I been a lowdown no good criminal my whole life.  Stayin’ me one step ahead of the devil, but one step behind the law.  I figure I got nothin’ to worry about.  If the devil don’t want me for all I done, I figure he ain’t gonna take me over some cakes and pop.

Feeling a little philosophical, I asked Billy Joe about his thoughts on religion.  If he believes in the Devil, does he believe in God?  Would trying to “get right” as he would say get him some brownie points in the afterlife?  He had thought this through and laid it out for me, “Well now Library Man, I been so low not even God would recognize me.  I figure it’s better to be an honest crook than a lyin’ angel!”

I don’t know if I agree with Billy Joe about it being too late to change his life, but he does have a point about being true to who you are.  Too many guys here try to play a part.  The Gangsta, the Carman, the Kingpin, they lose touch with themselves.  I’m sure they do it for protection, wearing a mask to not get hurt emotionally.  I think the toughest guys here really are the ones who get through it with a kind and caring attitude, who try to stay sane.  I won’t give up talking to Billy Joe about finding a better path for his life, but it’s his choice in the end.  And if he at times all he needs is a Swiss Roll, a Coke and someone to listen, I can also handle that.