A Different World by Daniel Egan

Since 1996, I’ve been free for about 15 months. I spent 17 years straight in some of the worst prisons America has to offer. I’ve been places that’d make most tough guys’ bottom lip quiver. Hate, anger, and aggression were my only friends. Love, while a foreign concept, was something I ached for…for 28 years. Until one day, they told me to pack it up; I was going on a bus ride.

I left El Chapo, Terry Nichols, and all the ISIS terrorists to travel to a tiny little mountain town’s jail. As I walked in, on the worst day of my life, to get booked for a murder I didn’t commit, it was impossible to focus on what those folks were telling me. Sittin’ on that jail bench was everything I’d been dreaming about for the last 28 years. The most gorgeous woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. I did my best to play it cool and keep it appropriate and respectful to this beautiful little mountain town’s jail nurse. The worst day of a long, hard life didn’t seem so bad sittin’ in the same room as this pretty lil’ girl! ”Honey, take off your shoes and socks…” said the booking officer. It took a moment to register: wait…what?! My mouth fell open and all pretense of respect went out the window as I, blatantly, stared at this beautiful girl getting booked into the same jail as me. She took off her socks and all I remember thinking was, “good grief, even her feet are pretty!” (Sexiest lil’ tattooed feet I’ve ever seen, if I’m honest!). Pretty sure, right then, all 28 years of that tough guy shit went smooth out the window as I fell in love…at first sight.

“You’re goin’ to Jail?” I managed to mumble. When she looked at me to answer, I knew exactly what the face of an angel looks like. I don’t even remember what she said, but I knew that I loved the way she was lookin’ at me and I had to do whatever it took to keep that pretty face lookin’ at me for the rest of my life. I said, to myself, or out loud, “I’m gonna marry you!”

Six years later, not only is she my wife, but she’s my best friend and the love of my whole life. We’ve had each other’s back since that day. She’s my Ride or Die.

Let me clear a couple things up from my last blog: I am happily married to my best friend and the last thing on God’s green earth that I want is to divorce her. I just struggle with how to communicate. How do you explain to someone who is used to grimy, lying, weak punks, that you waited 28 years to love her – you’d rather die than cheat on her? How do you explain to someone who’s used to hearing lies from their best friends, that you made your Grandpa a promise on his death bed to be an honest man and you’d rather die than let Grandpa down? How do you explain to someone that you waited 28 years to feel them in your arms and you’ll go to your grave loving only them? I think it’s this world. After 28 years, the caliber of human beings has degraded drastically. My baby girl has never met anyone like me. She doesn’t understand that there ARE men who don’t lie, aren’t fake, have confidence in themselves, will never cheat and take things like honor, respect, and loyalty seriously. I vowed to myself, if i ever found the woman I’ve been waiting to love for 28 years that I would love her with everything I am. 28 years of passion? I’m not sure my poor lil’ wifey was ready for all that! Buty problems are the price of progress and we’ve had our share. She is the center of my world and I can’t even imagine walkin’ through this life without her by my side. She is very unafraid to stand and butt heads with me like two hardheaded lil’ goats high on horny goat weed. We tried marriage counseling, but the marriage “coach” dropped us after the first week when she found out I was in prison. Does anybody know any marriage coaches willing to help? Get a hold of us. All I know is I want to spend the rest of my life lovin’ my lil’ small town hottie. Everything about this woman was made specifically for me. Her lil’ shrimp toe’s hotter than any supermodel’s whole body! She is truly the baddest chick on this planet, to me. I just wanted to make that clear, and while I’m at it, ask, what the fuck happened to people?

When I left in ’96 people still had morals and values and believed in things like truth, honor, honesty, and integrity. Now, I’ve watched kids crying in the backseat while moms nodded out on Fentanyl in the front seat, a so-called “good woman” told me dead to my face that “no thanks, I don’t want help, I love Fentanyl more than I love my kids,” responding to my offer to help her get her kids back. What happened to society? Prison sheltered me from the real world, I guess, ’cause everyone I talk to acts like lying, grimy, shit-baggery is the new norm. That’s part of the reason why the love of my life and I have decided to dedicate the rest of our lives to helping at-risk kids make educated decisions. I plan on using my stories of life, gangbangin’ in prison and a life plagued with addiction to help steer these kids away from that path. I’ve been where they’ll end up. I can illustrate vividly the consequences they’ll face if they keep travelling down that path. I won’t let these 28 years be for nothing. Anyone with any knowledge in that field or who can help us get our foot in the door, please feel free to get at us and help us help these kids.

Again, I am happily married and definitely not looking for any female pen pals, only help with marriage counseling or anyone in the recovery or youth mentoring community to help us get started. Have a beautiful day and remember what Marilyn said: Those who weren’t there for you at your worst definitely don’t deserve you at your best.

Daniel Egan #167101
PO Box 600
Canon City, CO 81215
Or message me at JPay.com