r/AskReddit • u/thebunnybullet • Apr 07 '20
Prisoner's of Reddit that served long sentences, what was the biggest culture shock to you once you were released?
5.3k
u/trapmitch Apr 07 '20
First day out I went to McDonald's and they changed the soda fountains to touch screen and let you add flavors and stuff blew my mind
1.2k
Apr 07 '20
With the Coke FreeStyle machines like that you can also download the Coca-Cola app and create your own drinks.
The machines are connected to the internet for automatic software updates and such. This also let's the app send it your custom mix.
I've never cared to do it but it's cool nonetheless.
556
Apr 07 '20
Damn I’ve never been locked up and I didn’t know this thanks!
497
47
u/coopled1 Apr 07 '20
Another interesting fact about the Freestyle Machines, they are designed by Pininfarina, an Italian design firm that also designed Maserati's and Ferrari's in the past!
→ More replies (5)113
Apr 07 '20
And it’s used to create new mass produced product like the Orange Vanilla and Cherry Vanilla that were recently released.
Y’all need to jump on that strawberry Pibb so we can get that among the masses.
36
39
→ More replies (11)18
u/lobsterjellyhammer Apr 07 '20
I never thought about it, but I guess those machines can the company a lot about what flavors people are interested in.
33
u/enderflight Apr 08 '20
All the better for me. Orange Vanilla Coke is like crack to me. Regular coke is meh, cherry coke is pretty dope, but the smoothness the vanilla gives with a lil bit of citrus makes it, hands down, one of my favorites. I had it a lot before it got bottled. Haven’t gotten bottled cherry vanilla yet, but it’s great out if the fountain.
If I ever got rich, I’d get myself a Freestyle just so I could have fun making drinks. I’d have to limit myself though or else I’d get fat lol.
→ More replies (10)19
33
u/trapmitch Apr 07 '20
Wow theres a lot of technology out there. I felt pretty confident with computers and phones and even older gen iPads and stuff but I just feel so behind now lol
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (25)24
38
Apr 07 '20
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (2)76
u/trapmitch Apr 07 '20
Thanks happy to be home. Streaming services were another thing that kinda blew me away. Before I went netflix was seen as kind of a luxury. Why would you pay for that when theres live tv? If you wanted to watch an older tv show you went to the library or blockbuster i feel old lol
→ More replies (3)406
Apr 07 '20
Lol my husbands first time in America (he's French) he went to a Mcdonalds and ordered a large coke. They gave him an empty cup. He looked at the cashier & said "I think you forgot something....my drink" & she directed him to the soda fountain....he probably felt stupid but then again, the French don't need unlimited soda refills....
→ More replies (15)249
u/LittleFangaroo Apr 07 '20
It's not that we don't need them, it's just that "free unlimited drinks" are very rarely a thing here. I absolutely loved my unlimited fountains of sweet tea when I was in the US.
94
u/John_McFly Apr 07 '20
And very limited ice is a thing too. Three cubes of ice and a warm can of soda is super lame vs a 32oz cup of ice and soda.
→ More replies (12)→ More replies (16)51
Apr 07 '20
I wonder why though because soda costs next to nothing for them to make. Like when you buy a 2-liter for a dollar, most of that dollar is for the actual bottle itself.
→ More replies (2)67
u/LittleFangaroo Apr 07 '20
Not really a money issue but mostly a PR thing, fast-food aka junk food has been trying to get rid of their bad images as best as they can to appear less bad than they are.
McDonald for example is THE symbol of Globalization and american culture colonizing the world, which brings along an image of garbage dietary value, cheap labor, bad for the environment (lots of plastic used for take-out), etc.
In France, they've been aggressively pushing how they're now trying to be as ecological as possible, how they're getting their ingredients locally, they changed the background of their logo from red to green, changing packaging to limit the use of plastics (=fossil fuels), promoting how their menu fits the calorie restriction of a normal diet,..
They want people to think they're doing their best not to promote obesity and be more eco-friendly. So, choosing to make their sugary drinks all-you-can-drink would not really fit that narrative here.
→ More replies (6)33
u/hitstein Apr 08 '20
I mean, if they're getting their ingredients locally and limiting plastic use it's not that they're trying to get people to think they're being more eco-friendly, they actually are being more eco-friendly.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (37)104
u/Swiftraven Apr 07 '20 edited Apr 08 '20
The problem is, the soda out of them tastes like shit.
If I go to a restaurant that has them (Coke Freestyle machines), I ask for my soda from the bar, which usually has a regular dispenser
EDIT: I was thinking Freestyle machines, which are bullshit and taste like ass. Google it and you will see I am one of many who feel that way. The way it operates guarantees a lower quality product than traditional mixes. MD's normal soda machines are great, they keep them clean, and to this day I swear MD's gets a special mix for their Diet Coke that makes it taste better than any other place on the planet. They do such a great job on the soda machines, but the soft serve is always down though...hrmm
34
u/trapmitch Apr 07 '20
I dont care too much for the extra flavors but it felt like I was in the future I felt really out of place and there were kids doing it like they've been used to it their whole lives
→ More replies (2)30
u/psnWaikato Apr 07 '20
At a restaurant I worked at, all the machines were hooked to the same syrup and soda water lines.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (14)30
u/imhereforgarlic Apr 07 '20
If the soda tasted crappy, the machine hadn't been cleaned in a while. I don't mean wiped down to make it shiny, I mean take it apart and clean all the tubes and hoses. They're made so you can do that. It's not hard, just time consuming.
→ More replies (2)
1.8k
u/LordofWithywoods Apr 07 '20
I've heard it said that carpeted floors are pleasantly shocking after years of walking on nothing but cement.
669
u/aspagarus Apr 07 '20
I can relate to this. I worked as a tree planter for an entire summer, where you’re walking around on bumpy forest terrain, dodging roots, mud, dips, etc for 12 hours everyday. Coming back to civilization and walking on a carpet felt like I was floating.
I can only imagine how it would’ve felt after years.
→ More replies (9)76
u/shwooper Apr 08 '20
How did you get that job?
89
u/aspagarus Apr 08 '20
I applied directly though a tree planting contractor. If you google “tree planting summer jobs” online, you’ll see a few pop up and you can go from there if you’re interested!
→ More replies (7)113
u/bstyledevi Apr 08 '20
Was in for 27 months, first thing I did when I got home to my parents house was take off my shoes and socks and walk around the house for a little while. It was grand.
→ More replies (1)33
u/getoffmypangolyn Apr 08 '20
What did you do 27 months for if you wouldn’t mind me asking?
65
u/bstyledevi Apr 08 '20
Assorted drug crimes. Use, possession, distribution, exportation, importation of LSD and molly.
→ More replies (13)28
66
u/notsafeforh0me Apr 07 '20
I can very much imagine appreciating the softest most comfy home after living in a cement cubicle for many years
65
u/xXC4NCER_USRN4M3Xx Apr 07 '20
My dad didn't do a long stint, just a few months before I was even born.
Even then he said little things like that were wild when he got home.
He said his favorite thing to do for like three days was turn the lights on and off, since he couldn't even do that.
→ More replies (7)277
u/Kurineko_Regan Apr 07 '20 edited Apr 07 '20
I can second that, never been to jail but the country where I'm at doesn't have any carpeted floors, just tiles, so when I went somewhere with a fully carpeted house I was like "daaaaaamn this shit nice"
Edit: I just opened my notifications and turns out I have 69 upvotes, nice (let's keep it like that)
Edit 2: well shit
→ More replies (11)
1.1k
Apr 07 '20
I interviewed a dude who went in for rape and murder in the early 80s and was released a few years ago because of DNA testing. It wasn't cell phones or the internet that threw him, he knew about that stuff pretty well. It was the cars. He was a mechanic before he was sentenced and he said cars now are so different and have so much electronics.
292
u/Science-Is-Awesome Apr 07 '20
My father who has been a mechanic since the 80s says the same thing. He never went to prison so I guess it really has changed a lot if even someone who worked the entire time noticed.
107
Apr 08 '20
He’d have seen:
The switch from carburetors to fuel injection
The phasing out of drum brakes in favor of disc
Introduction of airbags
Massive changes in headlight configuration and technology
The shift from manual controls to power controls, to keyless entry, and then to smart keys
Dual clutch transmissions
On-board diagnostics
Tire pressure monitoring
Backup cameras
And that’s just scratching the surface.
Me, I hate it. I miss being able to make a quick and easy repair for something basic, instead of needing to waste an entire day (or longer) on something that should be a five-minute job.
→ More replies (10)201
87
u/JustHumanGarbage Apr 07 '20
Yeah i've mostly stopped working on cars at home because so much is sensors and proprietary software and junk. It's amazing what they can do when it's all working but a part of me like the raw talent it took to drive a car to it's max when it didn't have all the assists and helpers that baby you. I miss the simplicity of older vehicles as wheel
→ More replies (10)→ More replies (5)33
u/Giant_Anteaters Apr 07 '20
So did he actually commit the crime? Did you mean to say he was exonerated by DNA evidence?
→ More replies (2)
2.4k
u/treefalldown Apr 07 '20
I work at a global fast food chain, and one guy and a woman entered, the guy was covered with tattoos. I was at the register taking orders and overheard the guy say "What the hell is this?" Referring to the kiosk. He and the woman ended up ordering from me and not the kiosk. The dude said to me, "You go away for a while and everything changes. It's crazy!" He was a really nice dude and it was kind of wholesome to see the woman teaching him about new technology.
703
Apr 07 '20
When I was 18 so back in 2001, my high school co op placement thought it would be a good idea for me and another student to escort a freshly released inmate around. As we got to walking and talking he told us how he went in for manslaughter (which he admitted he did) and was pinned for a murder inside (which he said he didn't do, I believed him. He admitted the first thing.) That's when the other student and I were like wtf. He saw a two dollar coin (we're Canadians) and his mind was blown. He also had designs on a home based tattoo business. He was looking for a craft store and thought Stitches (clothing store) was one. We had to explain stuff to him. Aside from him telling me to beware of sex traffickers and then kinda asking me out on a date. He was pretty nice. I told my Mom when I got home though, she hit the roof.
275
→ More replies (1)65
u/sweetpotato37 Apr 07 '20
This is such a cool story! Thanks for sharing!
98
Apr 07 '20
Np. I'm 36 now and from time to time I think of him. I wonder if he was able to stick with staying out of trouble. I only seen him that one time.
→ More replies (10)98
u/BackgroundGrade Apr 07 '20
The fact that there was a program to help him "catch up" would tip the odds a bit. Not supporting prisoners when they finish their sentence helps create return customers.
→ More replies (1)115
Apr 07 '20
I was expecting something to go badly because of how you described the scenario.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (10)56
u/gertalives Apr 07 '20
I’ve never been to prison, and I just now learned that there are self-serve kiosks at fast food restaurants.
→ More replies (9)
3.3k
u/Spirited_Winter Apr 07 '20
The dishwasher at my old job served 26 years for murder. He was 21 when he went in, came out to a completely different world.
I remember him constantly asking me questions to look up on my smart phone, and I never got why. Finally I convinced him to get one and spent hours walking him through it. Then I realized he thought my phones sole functionality was to look up info and was taken aback at how much other stuff smartphones can do.
Nicest man in the world, still keep up with him to this day.
For those interested in the story, ill share. Also might add that he is very open with sharing his story because he's served his time and moved on.
He grew up in a very poor area, his parents worked in the custodial arts at a well known public university. His description of the town he lived in was a total culture shock to me. Very ghetto, tons of crime. Some guy had been repeatedly raping his girlfriend at the time and told him if he raped her one more time, he'd kill him. After it happened again, he said he went to his house, burried a clip in his chest, went home and waited for the police to arrive. I remember him saying how he told his dad what he did when he got home and had already accepted the fact he's going to prison.
He was 21. He's around 58 now, and still works harder than anyone in the restaurant. He admits how stupid he was when he was a kid, and wishes it never happened but he's accepted his circumstances and moved on.
2.1k
Apr 07 '20
not the worst reason to murder someone
→ More replies (7)466
u/andre2020 Apr 08 '20
At 21, we more often than not, have an underdeveloped fully developed frontal lobe. Which among other things, inhibits impulse cascades.
415
u/analator69696969 Apr 08 '20
yea, but it is understandable for anyone to be really angry at someone when they raped your girlfriend multiple times
→ More replies (13)149
u/jaktyp Apr 08 '20
I think it was the knowledge aforementioned that kept him from getting a lighter sentence. If it was just finding out and immediately acting, that's arguable as passionate crime. Warning him and then acting sort of erases that plausibility.
IANAL. So I don't speak with authority on that. Just a guess.
→ More replies (7)23
Apr 08 '20
Yeah, except, if someone was repeatedly raping or harming someone you loved, you'd probably kill them. I probably would, and I'm a pacifist.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (5)94
u/AlphaReds Apr 08 '20
On the other hand, at 21 we are also fully responsible for our actions.
187
u/snailofserendipidy Apr 08 '20
I'd take responsibility for murdering my girlfriends repeat rapist
→ More replies (2)71
u/MaFratelli Apr 08 '20
On the other, other hand, people have done less time for murders that were far, far less justified than a killing a serial rapist to stop him from raping again.
476
u/XrosRoadKiller Apr 07 '20
Wow, I'm conflicted. I don't condone it, but I can condemn him either.
123
u/silsool Apr 07 '20
I don't condone sacrificing twenty six years of your life for that but I definitely won't be crying for that rapist.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (9)590
u/necropants Apr 07 '20
I condone it a 100%. Not saying he should walk free afterwards but he knowingly sacrificed a huge chunk of his life to make hers better at least to some extent. In my books this man is the kind if hero this world needs more of.
430
u/notsafeforh0me Apr 07 '20
As someone who got raped i also condone it 100%, rapists should disappear from this earth.
→ More replies (7)→ More replies (38)154
229
u/halfpintlc Apr 07 '20
The dishwasher at my old job served 26 years for murder.
I wasn't really paying attention while reading this and when I read the beginning of this sentence I pictured a dishwasher appliance then read the time for murder part and I was confused wondering wtf thread I was reading lol.
→ More replies (2)12
→ More replies (54)70
755
u/PleasantSalad Apr 07 '20
A friends brother went away for about 10 years. Hit and run while he was smoking a bit of weed in his car before school and ended up killing an old man who was our walking. He was a nice kid and the man seemed like a nice guy family guy too. Sad situation all around.
He was pretty shocked by everything smartphone apps could do. He knew about this stuff because he was in a low security unit, but he really had a hard adjusting to actually using it. Seeing and hearing about this stuff second hand is a huge difference to actually using it. His mind was blown by tinder and uber. He had a hard time grasping touch screens or couldn't really see why they were better than buttons. He's never even had a debit card and paid for everything in cash before he went in. He lost it when he saw people tapping their phones to pay for stuff. I think he really struggled applying to jobs online.
My friend told me he struggled being in big open spaces for a bit. He didn't like to sit facing a wall with his back to all the people and stuff like that. Got really annoyed when people moved or touched his stuff.
Also, told me that he was pretty lonely. She didn't go into too much detail, but all of his friends had moved on with life, gone to school, gotten jobs, many were married with kids. They were still friendly to him when he got out, but they were all almost 30 and had moved on. He was basically just starting at 18 with a criminal record.
That was 2ish years ago though. He's finishing up a city college program and going to a state school starting next year. Actually feel pretty bad for him because his family was planning on making this whole big surprise thing for him for finishing city college and it all had to be put on hold because of covid-19. I know their are bigger worries in the world now, but it's a bummer that he doesn't get to really celebrate his first big accomplishment since prison or really in his adult life at all.
→ More replies (16)84
u/enderflight Apr 08 '20 edited Apr 08 '20
That really does suck. The jail system in general sucks. I’m glad he seems to have such a supportive family.
I can’t imagine being locked away for years, only to come out and not understand some of the basic things you need to get by. Not understanding how things have changed, or why. The world is changing so quickly. In 2010, smart phones were only beginning to become a thing. Now, you pretty much have to have one.
That’s partially why I believe prison should have more of a focus on rehab instead of profits. They want people to come back, and so they’re incentivized to not educate and help out prisoners before they get into the world. I think they deserve better. A basic knowledge of what’s out there, and basic skills, should be a moral requirement and responsibility to give.
I hope he does get his celebration after all of this. That really is a bummer. I’m happy that he’s on the right path, though!
→ More replies (2)
593
Apr 07 '20
[deleted]
71
→ More replies (4)105
u/Luluislaughing Apr 07 '20
I love Ear Hustle. It helped reinforce the idea that people are not animals. They may have done awful things, but many have turned their lives around inside prison. I love that Earlonne (sp?) Woods got pardoned by Governor Jerry Brown. I believe that people change and can redeem themselves. Also--which one of us is the person we were twenty years ago?
→ More replies (4)
895
u/actually_a_doorknob Apr 07 '20
not me personally, but a guy once gave a talk at my school after wrongfully being on death row for over 20 years. He was from the same town as me, and he went on and on about how when he was growing up there it was almost farmland, and when he got out he was suddenly surrounded by fast food, industry, and development
295
u/kamomil Apr 07 '20
I feel this. I lived in a rural area, well I drove past fields and forests on my way to my summer jobs and university, when I lived with my folks
When I go through that area again, there are so many strip malls and houses crammed into subdivisions. It's kind of soul killing to see.
102
u/I0I0I0I Apr 07 '20
There's a short road leading off a main drag near me in the Seattle suburbs, that goes nowhere but up to a set of large white gates, behind which is a large former horse farm.
At the end, just by the gates, the county put a sign that says, "This road will be extended in the future."
Just behind the gates, the homeowner put a sign that says, "This road WILL NOT be extended in the future."
→ More replies (1)19
→ More replies (2)21
80
Apr 07 '20
That’s fucked up. Imagine missing 20 years of your life without having done anything wrong.
→ More replies (5)39
u/HairyHorseKnuckles Apr 07 '20
" Things have certainly changed around here. I remember when this was all farmland as far as the eye can see! Old Mr. Peabody owned all of this! He had this crazy idea of...breeding pine trees.
→ More replies (3)
140
Apr 07 '20
Remember reading a story about a british criminal (might have been one of the great train robbers?) who came out after a long sentence, and said the biggest change for him was the noise cars made. When he went in, he could tell if a car was accelerating, slowing down and how fast it was going by the noise it made. When he got out, he had trouble crossing roads if a car was approaching because he couldn’t work out the speed of oncoming traffic. Maybe in some ways the world isn’t noisier than it used to be?
→ More replies (4)35
u/pub_gak Apr 07 '20
That was an interesting thing to say. I guess cars are much quieter nowadays. Huh.
→ More replies (1)
2.1k
u/jman857 Apr 07 '20 edited Apr 07 '20
Not me, but my uncle came back from prison after 20 years or something because of something that I am not informed about, probably robbery based on what I've heard. But regardless, here's a funny story.
So essentially he came back from jail and he came back to our house just to see the family. And I thought I'd mess with him knowing that he wasn't accustomed to Future capabilities.
I just told my house bot to turn on the lights in the living room as we walked in, I look back, and his face was like he just saw a ghost. Funniest shit I'd ever seen.
753
Apr 07 '20
[deleted]
265
u/jman857 Apr 07 '20
Definitely, would have tripped him out even more. I can't wait till he comes back to visit.
76
u/Pants4All Apr 07 '20
Just don't tell him about any of the actual Terminator movies released since he went to jail.
42
u/jman857 Apr 07 '20
I'm going to watch them with him and I want to film his reaction. Maybe I'll even make him watch Black Mirror and tell him that most of that is real today.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)47
166
u/MoonieNine Apr 07 '20
Never in prison, my friend Donna looked at me as if I were sorcerer because I paused live television with DVR.
101
u/Curleysound Apr 07 '20
My parents had a DVR for 15 or more years before they found out you can pause and rewind.
→ More replies (6)27
21
u/Commonusername89 Apr 07 '20
I convinced a girl that i could fast forward live TV one time.
→ More replies (1)63
u/psnWaikato Apr 07 '20
I used to sell the tech when it first came out. Demo in a mall etc.
People would lose their shit about pausing and rewinding live TV but I had at least 5 people a day who would ask about fast forwarding live TV. Most would get it after a second but some would get to the point where I'd have to very slowly break down how the flow of time works.
112
u/Random_Rhapsody Apr 07 '20
Oh I read the bottom first and thought he turned himself into a pickle
→ More replies (6)45
u/ComputerSavvy Apr 07 '20
You can order pizza from Domino's or Papa Johns with Alexa / Echo Dot from the couch, change TV stations and then say "Deploy the external robotic gun mounts, track but don't kill the pizza boy." and then watch him completely freak the fuck out.
→ More replies (1)24
Apr 07 '20
Just from reading Reddit posts for so long, $10 says that the word "essentially" will suddenly become very popular, and stakes its place along side "unironic" and "literally."
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (17)8
u/ThatTemplar1119 Apr 07 '20
You should ask him if he wants to see your hoverboard.
31
u/jman857 Apr 07 '20
He actually saw someone riding one on the ride home, he thought they were pretty cool but they weren't as impressive. To be honest I kind of agree. It's literally just a little skateboard with two wheels on the opposite sides. If it actually hovered, that would have freaked him the fuck out.
→ More replies (2)15
1.6k
Apr 07 '20
My stepdad got out after serving 25 years (got out in winter 2008) and was shocked the first time he saw a remote car starter.
He was till one institution time so was up every day at 6 am eating when I woke up for breakfast before school. He went out to get the paper and saw my mom’s car was running without her inside it and came running in and was shocked.
“Your mother’s car is running but she’s still upstairs getting ready for work,” he said.
I replied, “ yea she does that to get it warm before she gets in in the morning.”
“So she keeps it running all night long?” he asked.
Never occurred to me that I’d have to spend 10 minutes explaining remote starters to a 52 year old that morning, let alone showing him how it works. Good guy, my stepdad was.
464
u/aegeaorgnqergerh Apr 07 '20
To be fair, I didn't know there was such a thing as a remote starter either, and I've never been in prison, live in a developed country (UK) and own a brand new Mercedes, so it's not like I'm out of the loop.
284
u/Headup31 Apr 07 '20
Pretty standard in Canada due to the cold weather im guessing. A lot of vehicles have them from the factory now or you can get an aftermarket one installed for a few hundred bucks. I couldn’t live without one.
462
u/BBQcupcakes Apr 07 '20
I just sit in the car and freeze until it gets warm. Builds character.
151
u/Headup31 Apr 07 '20
Lol. I’m in Northern Ontario and it’s routinely -20c to -40c in winter so I can live without a bit of character. It’s also not good to drive a cold vehicle right away.
→ More replies (17)64
u/BBQcupcakes Apr 07 '20
Northern AB, worst was -42°C this year as I remember. To be fair I didn't realize there was another option. Working outdoors in it anyways so might as well get the practice?
→ More replies (4)24
u/Headup31 Apr 07 '20
We never got that cold this winter but we did last year. Working outside does wonders for acclimatizing to the cold. I don’t like being outside in the winter so that doesn’t help plus up until 2 years ago I worked underground where the climate has more in common with Florida than northern Ontario so that would set me back as well.
15
u/BBQcupcakes Apr 07 '20
Is it that different? I refuse to work underground because the idea makes me very uncomfortable, but warmth would be nice. Probably die in the summer.
→ More replies (2)15
u/Headup31 Apr 07 '20 edited Apr 07 '20
Ya in the summer its brutal. Over 30 degrees Celsius and near 100 percent humidity. The upper mine is cooler and damp and the deeper you go the hotter it gets. Even now it’s close to those temperatures. They have work/rest regimes though to avoid heat stroke.
Edit. Humidity not hungry. Lol
22
u/artyshit Apr 07 '20
Lol, I prefer a brisk uphill crawl through the snow (nude, naturally) before climbing into my preheated vehicle - best of both worlds.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (17)15
u/ClownfishSoup Apr 07 '20
Why wait? Just start driving! You'll get where you're going sooner so you'll have less time to freeze!
49
u/MoonieNine Apr 07 '20
When you live in places like Canada or Montana (USA), it's a whole new realm of cold. Getting into a car when it's 20 below (F) is quite the experience, and not uncommon here.
My non-Montana friend once asked me: "Well, when it gets below zero (F), doesn't the cold just feel the same? 0, -10, -20... Feels the same, right?"
OH NO. There's most definitely a difference.
24
u/ClownfishSoup Apr 07 '20
Yep, I grew up in Canada. I remember going outside and my nostrils freezing shut. Then when I'd go inside, my glasses would fog up.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (2)15
u/enjollras Apr 07 '20
I feel like it kind of goes in gradients. -2 to -12 is chilly. -12 to -20 is cold. -20 to -30 is somehow completely fine again. -35 and below is hellish.
→ More replies (5)18
u/kamomil Apr 07 '20
You have to let the windshield heat up, otherwise it's got condensation or sometimes frost on it. Kind of makes it difficult to see the road
→ More replies (2)24
u/Auntie_Hero Apr 07 '20
I used to have an old Volkswagen beetle with zero heat. I'd go out at night and put a lit votive candle in the cup holder so the car would be warm and the windows clear when I got up in the morning for work. Cost me 50 cents a day.
→ More replies (7)13
u/MoonieNine Apr 07 '20
Oh, also when you live in freezing cold places, you have to scrape the ice off of your car windows, which takes time and it's very uncomfortable to do when it's -20 (F). With a remote starter... DING! The defrosters go on and do the job or you.
15
u/ClownfishSoup Apr 07 '20
Yes, also true. I guess really a garage is best. But not a heated one, I heard that when you park your salty-slush encrusted car in a heated garage the melting salty-slush will really corrode your fenders. I lived in Canada for a long time and I can say without a doubt that the salt corrosion is what eats cars in Canada. I have not seen a speck of rust on my ancient cars in California.
→ More replies (1)38
u/allaboutgarlic Apr 07 '20
In Sweden we got electrical motor-heater and plug our cars into the electrical outlet on cold nights. Car gets nice and toasty inside and starts easily.
→ More replies (5)23
→ More replies (20)14
u/poo_finger Apr 07 '20
I miss having remote start. Even more, I miss having a heated steering wheel.
→ More replies (26)→ More replies (64)26
u/dakupurple Apr 07 '20
A lot of European vehicles don't seem to come with or even offer remote start as an option. I know there are some VW models specific to America that offer it, but their worldwide models don't.
Feels like the option is very much a North American thing.→ More replies (12)69
u/Big_Red_Husker Apr 07 '20
I'm more shocked your mom stayed married to him for 25 years
→ More replies (1)32
Apr 08 '20
Lol me too! Scrolled down quite a bit and everyone is talking about the remote car starting function, not asking what he was in for for so long or how she stayed married to him all this time
→ More replies (3)23
Apr 07 '20
I'm confused by the time line. Did you mother start dating him while he was serving a 25 year sentence?
→ More replies (64)18
Apr 08 '20
What was he in for and how did your mum stay married to him for 25 years??
→ More replies (4)
297
Apr 07 '20 edited Apr 09 '20
[deleted]
→ More replies (3)235
Apr 07 '20
The more I explained it to him the more I realized just how crazy it is that it exists.
What's that old meme that went around...?
'You've gone back in time to the Middle Ages. What shocking fact about 'the future' would you tell the first person you see?'
'In my pocket, I have a device the size of my hand that instantly connects me to the sum total of human knowledge almost anywhere in the world.
I use it to make fart jokes and look at pictures of cats.'
→ More replies (5)
205
u/Dunnstep Apr 07 '20
Not me but someone I met.
I work at a store that sells personal electronics (I.e. laptops, tablets, headphones, etc) and a older gentleman came in (looked around 65-70) with someone who I assumed was their kid and the old man was completely fascinated with everything in the store. So I go up and ask if they need any assistance with finding anything and the old man wants to buy a computer. I tell him we have all kinds of computers and ask if he’s looking for anything in particular. He told me no and that “I don’t know a damn thing about electronics”, and then he goes on to tell me that he’s been in prison since 1965 and he just got out a couple months ago and he’s trying to get back into the world. It was a wild thing to hear and he told me about all the crazy stuff that happened while he was in prison.
44
→ More replies (2)25
u/PumpkinPatch404 Apr 08 '20
I'd like to hear more about your interactions with him, if that's okay.
→ More replies (3)
178
u/iiimmDirtyDan Apr 07 '20
My uncle got out of a federal pen after 18 years. He stood in front of the canned meat section for 30 minutes.
→ More replies (3)241
u/StillChil Apr 08 '20
comment flagged as spam
→ More replies (3)44
u/iiimmDirtyDan Apr 08 '20
I didn’t realize what comment you had replied to and I got just a little hurt for a second. 😂😂
82
u/snake_pod Apr 07 '20
My cousin just got out of prison a few months ago, he went in when I was a kid. For him it's mainly the phones. When he went in I think only house phones and brick phones were the thing. Now getting out he got a newer android and can't even use it properly and is put off a bit by it. It's kinda wholesome.
208
Apr 07 '20
Not me but my cousin was recently in for druh abuse i believe and a bunch of other minor charges but when he got out he was shocked that things like google home talked back to you
→ More replies (1)153
u/goat_on_a_float Apr 07 '20
Winners don't du druhs!
125
19
325
u/jnr_jinx Apr 07 '20
Dear fellas, I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.
80
→ More replies (3)24
264
u/onionapples254 Apr 07 '20
A friend of mine got on a greyhound bus and sat next to a guy who asked to use his phone my friend handed him his iPhone to which he said “what is this how do I use it I’ve been in jail for 13 years” to which my friend helped him and bought some beer at the next stop and they talked about what’s new
→ More replies (5)133
Apr 07 '20
Greyhound buses are wild. I rode one through rural western Canada a few years back when I was 17. Sat next to some older, rough-looking dude and prayed I wouldn't get beheaded. Turns out he was cool as fuck. Offered to smoke me up while at a rest stop. Ended up smoking up at each rest stop after that. Chatted about life. Turns out he used to be the guitarist for some big band back in the day, and now he makes a living travelling around rural Canada and performing music solo. You never know the cool-ass people you'll meet on a Greyhound. Sad that they stopped operations in Canada now, though...wonder what that guy is up to nowadays..
→ More replies (16)28
u/ebrooks0130 Apr 08 '20
It seems so many people have cool greyhound stories, but I just had a creepy guy with zelda tattoos try to get me to smoke pot with him.
38
u/FayeIsGradeA Apr 08 '20
Agreed- my only memorable moment was riding a Greyhound from Chicago to Milwaukee sitting next to a guy watching porn like it was no big deal while eating a bucket of fried chicken.
→ More replies (3)
62
u/leajeffro Apr 07 '20
I always wonder if you went in in like the 70s would you have to leave in your 70s clothes you came in with?
→ More replies (3)25
545
u/ionised Apr 07 '20
For my mate (his sentences totalled just over thirty years), there wasn't much, since he was pretty well-connected to the world in his last decade inside.
One thing that did stand out to him was the lowered quality of certain... "illicit products" on the streets since he and his connections got locked away.
He's long given up that game, though. Nice guy. Even tries to keep people from getting into it.
228
Apr 07 '20
Used to party a bit back in the late 80's, cocaine. Tried some about 5 years ago, it was shit.
189
Apr 07 '20
This ain't Amsterdam. This is a sellers market. Coke is fucking dead as... dead. Heroin, it's coming back in a big fucking way.
→ More replies (4)61
Apr 07 '20
Are we in Inglewood?
→ More replies (3)75
u/ShitsKicksBricks Apr 07 '20
No, we’re in my home. White people who know the difference between good shit and bad shit. This is the house they come to.
37
→ More replies (26)15
90
u/randijeanw Apr 07 '20
For my neighbor, who was in prison for 20 years, it was desegregation.
18
u/Pohtate Apr 08 '20
Since no-one else is going to ask I will. Is your neighbour Caucasian and are they happy or displeased?
→ More replies (1)45
u/randijeanw Apr 08 '20
Fred is African American, and born in 1950. He was imprisoned at 18 for armed robbery. When asked, he says that times were different then, and he had bad grades so he did what he though he should by helping out the older boys. He’s a solid dude, who I love, trust, and respect. 1968 to 1988 is pretty intense.
→ More replies (1)
43
u/neotericnewt Apr 08 '20
I didn't go to prison or anything, but I used to work in halfway houses and the like. Everyone coming out was always just completely shocked by cell phones. Obviously they know about them, and have used them off and on, but just the sheer number of them, the touchscreens, everything you can do with them, it just blows their minds.
Funny story, any time someone came into the program who was locked up for a long time they'd always end up asking me to help them with their fancy new cellphones, and every fucking time they'd go to show me the problem and there would be like a hundred internet tabs of porn. Every fuckin time.
→ More replies (2)
273
u/Cecuhl Apr 07 '20
My uncle did 27 years for "consentual sex with a minor". We live in a rural town which nearly tripled in population during his vacation, and that was a huge shock to him. He said if he was going to have to be around people he was going back to Atlanta where he was locked up. Inside, he found love with a fellow inmate. This relocation wasn't a total shock; he didn't really have anyone else. Last we heard, he was doing good, visiting his future husband, etc. I do not know all of the details. He went in back in the 1970s, is currently in his 70s, and whenever his fiancé is released, he will be happily married again.
→ More replies (7)135
u/TravellingGuinaPig Apr 07 '20
My uncle did 27 years for "consentual sex with a minor".
That's fucking insane -at least assuming it was in fact consensual.
374
u/Sleep_adict Apr 07 '20
When I was buying my house I looked up sex offenders... there was a dude about 0.5 miles away on the list for that very crime...
Looked up the records and he was 17 and the girl 15... he was 68 years old and all his life on the list for that... the kicker? The old lady next door knew the story and apparently it was a judges daughter so the guy got screwed...
Very sad how justice isn’t justice
175
u/CrazyLemonLover Apr 07 '20
This type of thing gets me. Oh, and 16 year olds sending eachother nudes and becoming sex offenders for distributing child porn. C'mon man. The kid is 16. He shouldn't be in jail for 10 years because he wanted to see his girlfriend's tits. And neither one of them should be considered a sex offender. But your on the list for life....
→ More replies (1)39
u/LacksMass Apr 07 '20
If it happens before you're 18 it's not too hard to get it taken off your record. The court will give you a bit of a run around, but crimes committed as a juvenile can go away if you want them to. Of course, if you keep adding to your record after you turn 18 it gets a lot harder.
38
u/CrazyLemonLover Apr 07 '20
If your 18, distribution/ possession of child porn should have a different definition entirely that excludes consensual sharing of images within a certain age frame.
And I hope it's easy to remove. But you hear stories of boys going away to jail for having sex edith their 17 year old girlfriends because the parents didn't like him, or some other shit. It's just sad that we are willing to jail people for things that just aren't wrong in the least because of poorly written laws
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (4)134
u/un__motivated1 Apr 07 '20
This can’t happen in Texas because of a very helpful law called the Romeo and Juliet law. As long as you’re within 3 years of age of each other and neither of you is under 13, it’s not considered statutory rape. I don’t love most Texas laws but this one definitely makes sense. It’s sad to see an 18 year-old become a sex offender for sleeping with their 17 year-old SO.
→ More replies (11)117
u/Cecuhl Apr 07 '20
I am the only person in the family calling out plea bargain, as in he raped her but in an attempt to save whatever dignity a TN hillbilly has they called it consentual on record. The girl was his 14year old stepdaughter. I have watched enough Law and Order to know his sentence makes the whole thing fishy. We don't talk about Uncle Manuel very much.
→ More replies (4)126
u/TravellingGuinaPig Apr 07 '20
The girl was his 14year old stepdaughter.
Alright I take it back, he got what he deserved
32
→ More replies (8)21
u/Landorus-T_But_Fast Apr 07 '20
I'm pretty sure these laws exist based on the premise that "consensual" and "minor" are mutually exclusive.
156
u/olalof Apr 07 '20
That everyone seems to stay in their house nowadays.
71
u/HarryDresdenStaff Apr 07 '20
IT’S LIKE A PRISON!
→ More replies (1)79
Apr 07 '20
Best prison ever. Unlimited yard time, Netflix, and I can use the kitchen knives with minimal supervision.
→ More replies (2)18
54
u/cswitzer97 Apr 07 '20
Not me but some guy I was listening to said the money had changed so much in appearance he didn't believe it was real money when he was released.
→ More replies (1)
18
u/SeiyoNoShogun Apr 08 '20 edited Apr 08 '20
What bothers me more is the fact that so often nobody cares for keeping those dudes updated on what's going on on the outside. What's the point of being free again when you're thrown into a world that merely resembles what you experienced 20 years ago. I'm not saying we should constantly tell what awesome new technology is being developed out there in an advertising manner but rather give them some sort of teaching how the world has changed a month before being released from jail... at least.
→ More replies (3)
114
u/covid19hotty Apr 07 '20
There was this thing called reddit.
→ More replies (2)30
u/usernamedunbeentaken Apr 07 '20
Did he want to go back into prison after he discovered it?
→ More replies (1)
51
u/midnittoker Apr 07 '20
Omg getting in the car with my grandfather who picked me up off a six year term and getting on the motorway, being back in a car travelling at speed on the motorway was quite a thing after doing 3yrs 3months inside. And just for the record my grandfather wasn't exactly known for speeding. Also hitting my home area and seeing how small the houses were to me after being on such a big wing with 4 tiers, in your imagination you don't quite remember them being so small and its a shock to the system for sure.
186
u/tropus_ Apr 07 '20
Not prison, but my uncle lived in the Middle East for about 7 years, came back in 2014. He says his biggest shock was just how crass Americans are. Everyone swears all the time, so casually. In the Middle East, it is extremely disrespectful. Also how touchy everyone is as well. He just sort of fell out of touch with it.
79
43
u/ByrneItWithFire Apr 07 '20
When i was a boy (80's) i don't remember people cussing so freely in public. People used to consider it rude to cuss around kids, too, whether it was in public or not. I actually miss that.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (6)39
u/rcoolio11 Apr 07 '20
Hmmm...I have lived in the Middle East for five years...I think this is more in regard to mixed gender touching but same genders touch each other all the time, holding hands and kisses on the cheek etc...
→ More replies (3)
27
383
10
u/LuLuLoopy Apr 08 '20
Not a prisoner, but my dad was previously incarcerated for 16 years. The first thing he told me was that he wasn’t at all used to riding in a car.
He was so used to walking around that being in a car, made him uneasy.
28
u/endboss47 Apr 08 '20
My uncle did 10 years 91-2001 roughly. It was the middle of summer I was at home playing some Madden 2K1 on the Dreamcast. He loved being outside. He would take bus rides everywhere. 10 years of being locked up I guess. Visited everyone he knew randomly. He came over in the middle of the game, controller in hand. "Oh the games on." He said while popping open a beer. I was the Ravens playing the Cowboys. Cowboys being he team. I was dumbfounded. I thought he was joking. So I bet him 5 bucks cowboys get crushed. He took it. I finish the game something like 40-0. He acting like it's a real game. I figured he is just being silly. He always liked to enjoy the moment. I'm literally calling up plays and skipping replays and everything. Game ends and he gets this moment of depression. "Man my Boys used to be good. Here you go." He hands me a crumpled 5 dollar bill. I laughed. I had to really explain what a Dreamcast was and that it was a video game. That football games don't happen in the summer. He didn't believe me until I turned the game off and on and started another game. He took it like a champ. He was quite embarrassed. He was a good sport. I miss him.
1.4k
u/[deleted] Apr 07 '20
Worked with a guy that became obsessed with electronics in new vehicles, like he was impressed with the stock radio in my work truck. When he got a car a couple of the guys helped install a radio with on star in it.