It’s that time of year again. A time of fellowship with family and friends. A time for gluttony without sin. A time for thankfulness. And a time for gratefulness.
In prison these times are like a double edged sword. A camradarie grasps us and the friends we have in here grow closer through these trials. On the other side, there is unreachable family that has to carry on without us; especially those with children. But it isn’t all gloomy. We come together and cook microwaveable meals that would make most chefs envious. I, for one, am blessed to have friends that I would even spend time with outside of this place. I’m also blessed to have the family I have. All in all, I am blessed. I hope that you all have something to be thankful for because I know that I do. And one of my biggest blessings is coming to the penitentiary. Allow me to explain:
If I neve came here, I wouldn’t have heard of writeaprisoner.com. If I never got on that website in search of a pen-pal, this wonderful lady named Suzie Jennings wouldn’t have found me and invite me to blog on her site. I wouldn’t have been able to talk to you all abuot life in here or about my book ‘Ruse of Discontent’. And most importantly, if I never got locked up, I never would have met Kelly Beckner, the GED teacher at my previous facility. That lady is whom my book will be dedicated to. She christened me on my literary journey; a gratitude that I could never fully express. Also, if I never got locked up, I never would have had to time or ambition to sit down and dedicate myself to myself.
I will never do what I did to get me locked up again. It isn’t me, and it isn’t what I stand for. To the contrary, out of those foolish robberys, I discovered something amazing about myself and the people around me. I am constantly meeting genuine, good hearted people in and out of the penitentiary every day. This is a bleak place, full of negativity that I refuse to bite off into. I hope you all find your silver lining in life and you take time to tell the ones you love how much they mean to you.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Thank you for listening and riding with me on this journey.
Go see something live!
Matthew Epperson
DOC #284812
Love the selfie! Surely you are an inspiration.