Podbit · The Hidden Third
While locked up, Wallo kept what he called the Book of Life — a running list of everything from the type of peanut butter he wanted to over 30 American cities he planned to visit. Nine years after release, he's been to all but two of them.
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At 30:56 · chapter starts 30:55
The Book of Life was not metaphor — it was a literal notebook. Wallo wrote down the type of peanut butter and jelly he wanted when he got home, the number of sweatpants he intended to buy, a raisin bagel with cream cheese, and 30-plus American cities he had seen on the Travel Channel and intended to visit. Cities he had never been to — because before prison he'd barely left Pennsylvania. The list included Boston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Seattle, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin, and many more. Nine years after release, he's traveled to all of them multiple times, with only Albuquerque and Honolulu remaining. The Book of Life gave Wallo something most inmates lack: a concrete, personal vision of the future that made the present bearable and gave release a direction rather than just a date.
While in prison, Wallo wrote down over 30 cities he wanted to visit in America; after release he visited all but two — Albuquerque and Honolulu.
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