Well, the last thing the father says is that in Brooklyn, in Gowanus, around the projects where the father grew up, there were these signs, all over, reminding people not to be sloppy, to cover their garbage. The signs read: STARVE A RAT TODAY. And the point was this: you could judge a man by the company he kept, and if you talk a lot of trash, you attract a lot of rats, and what kind of boy was he? And what kind of man did he want to become? And the kid best learn how to keep a secret.”
