…he might find his life is not his own.
Pick a pocket or two
They say show me the boy till he’s seven and I will show you the man. For Nishimura how his life was going to be became clear when he was still at school. Someone had boasted about his wonderful watch – Nishimura wasn’t sure he deserved to hang on to it much longer. No, he helped get the balance in life right. He didn’t even expect to borrow it– instead he just took it. Of course he got found out but …it told him what he could make of life.
Relieving the wealthy of money and things they would barely miss. For him, that was the difference between getting by and abject poverty. In the commuter trains he would stand behind his mark, a newspaper folded and held to shield his hands. His right index and middle finger slipped into the man’s coat pocket drew out a wallet, and then sandwiched it into the newspaper. It wasn’t only the angle of the dip that counted but speed as well. He became one of the best.