I used to work at a truck and van plant that hired people from prison on some sort of early release program. In those days it was common for young offenders to be given the choice between prison or the military. And prisoners who wanted to get out early were getting a choice of the prison or the auto industry.
The joke used to be that the authorities would give you the choice between prison or the army or the car plant.... As one fellow worker quipped, sitting in the lunch room after a miserable shift in the metal shop with its 130+ summer temperature: "They gave you a choice?" ML
