The difference is that was then, this is now.

When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.

I made up my mind that I'd get out of that place and I didI learned that if you want to get somewhere, you just make up your mind and work like hell til you get there. If you want to go somewhere in life, you just have to work till you make it.

Y'all were heroes from the beginning. You just didn't 'turn' all of a sudden

My mother was physically and emotionally abusive. My father was an extremely cold man.

We couldn't get along without him. We needed Johnny as much as he needed the gang. And for the same reason.

It was too vast a problem to be just a personal thing. There should be some help, someone should tell them before it was too late. Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand then, and wouldn’t be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore.