title: Laughing All the Way to the Bank (Robbery): My Education at Con College
author: Michael W Rickard II
description: Mike Rickard is a former attorney and retired bank robber. He is the author of the book, "Wrestling's Greatest Moments" and "Laughing All the Way to the Bank (Robbery) My Education in Con College". He lives near Buffalo, New York with his three-legged cat, Chester. Mike is pursuing his Masters in in English and has a Bachelors in English literature and writing (with a minor in film studies) at Buffalo State College. He can be reached on Facebook and at Twitter.
zlib_text: **Jim Thompson**
  
   **After Dark, My Sweet**
  
   **1**
  
   **I rode a streetcar to the edge of the city limits, then I started to walk,
  swinging the old thumb whenever I saw a car coming. I was dressed pretty good-
  white shirt, brown slacks and sport shoes. I'd had a shower at the railroad
  station and a hair-trim in a barber college, so all in all I looked okay. But
  no one would stop for me. There'd been a lot of hitchhike robberies in that
  section, and people just weren't taking chances.**
  
   **Around four in the afternoon, after I'd walked about ten miles, I came to
  this roadhouse. I went on past it a little ways, walking slower and slower,
  arguing with myself. I lost the argument-the part of me that was on-the-beam
  lost it-and I went back.**
  
   **The bartender slopped a beer down in front of me. He scooped up the change
  I'd laid on the counter, sat down on his stool again, and picked up a
  newspaper. I said something about it was sure a hot day. He grunted without
  looking up. I said it was 