“Never stop dreaming!” Words I told to a disheartened student during the A.M. session of the Roots of Success class that I am an instructor for. It is so easy to lose heart and therefore lose focus when it appears that the world and everyone in it is […]
This day was a bittersweet day. A day that we as Roots of Success instructors have now grown all too accustomed to. The day was bitter because we were reminded of the sobering fact of this communion. The fact that this day meant the end of our journey […]
I saw something the other day that just broke my heart. It was a young lady immodestly and seductively dressed and behaving provocatively all for what? To garner the attention of some chauvinistic boy. Showing cleavage down to her belly button as she is in essence telling the […]
WAKE UP! We have been asleep at the wheel for far too long. WAKE UP! While we have been asleep, life has steadily been passing us by. For too long we have been bystanders in this thing called life and not equitable active participants. WAKE UP! While we […]
There is little to no privacy in prison. Everything is done under a microscope or under the watchful eye of “Big Brother”. Hardly do you ever get time to yourself, an opportunity to be alone with own your thoughts. So with a mind cluttered and emotions bottled up […]
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 Death is all around us but many are too blind to see. Being preoccupied by the […]
There is absolutely no excuse for one to ever stop learning or growing. In fact, there is absolutely no excuse for one to ever stop allowing their mind to be transformed or stretched by new ideas, concepts, or revelations. This is true whether you are in the pit […]
Standing in front of a dull reflective sheet of metal, I am staring at myself in what some would call a mirror but truly it is anything but. As I try to make out my face in the distorted reflection I notice something that was new to me… […]
Character isn’t defined by what you do when everyone is looking, it is defined by what you do when you think no one is. Standing at the officer’s station in the dayroom with a permanent marker in my hand, I wait! 5 minutes pass, I wait! 10 minutes […]
Release from prison often equals continued marginalization. You can do your time but release does not guarantee that you will be playing on level playing ground as others or have equal opportunities. In fact for some that get out of prison the disadvantage is such that it becomes […]
“…All things are possible to him that believes.” Mark 9:23 Teaching the Roots of Success environmental literacy curriculum here at Stafford Creek has been not only a blessing to my life but has also been an enriching privilege and honor. To teach a 10-module course in a classroom […]
“Man, what is this all about? We are just leaving class to go to lunch mainline!” I say speaking up for the both of us. Disapproval spewing from every syllable that I enunciate. As my back and forth bantering with the C.O’s is just getting warmed up, there […]
Life and death are in the power of the tongue. One can speak a simple word that can motivate, heal, edify, or encourage. Than, in the next breath, that same person could spew a word filled with venomous poison that can crush anothers self-esteem or send that person […]
“Hands up! Don’t shoot!” Words that have become synonymous with the life and death of Michael Brown. Words I fear are becoming overtly sensationalized and invalid as a new era of civil rights is picking up steam.** This is a matter of real life not a video game.** […]
Prison is a punishment. However, what is deemed an effective punishment for some, may not be an effective punishment for all. Someone may have been incarcerated for longer than they have been alive and continue down the same criminal path. While another may only have been in long […]
There are countless men I am doing time with that will NEVER see the streets again. Men who will never be released back into society. Many men who will die not in the arms of loved ones but in the prison infirmary, alone, as their soul transitions into […]
I was asked to sign-up to attend a Church service called “Inherit the Kingdom” while I was at Monroe’s Washington State Reformatory. Initially I had no intention of going. In fact, I lied to my boy telling him that I signed up and then I acted shocked when […]
No matter where you are in life you can find people that are willing to go to some extreme measures to escape their pain, to escape reality. Prison is no exception. Instincts tell us to flee from pain instead of looking for its source. Rather than search introspectively […]
“One person can be a catalyst for great pain, but one person can also be a catalyst for great change!” This epiphany derived from countless hours I spent meditating and reflecting early on into my incarceration, at the realization of the pain I caused so many through my […]
I am a numbers guy, which explains me graduating at the top of my bookkeeping/accounting certification class taken through Walla Walla community college or my correctional industries work experience in the C.I. business office where at the age of 21 I was the head of all accounts receivable. […]
If revenge is a dish best served cold, injustice is a dish best not served at all. What is the value of the life for an African-American? An ongoing white supremacist joke is, “If you don’t want to do time or do very little time kill a N-word.” […]
I grew up surrounded by death and destruction, so I came to grips that when it’s my time it’s my time. Lord willing my death just wouldn’t be in vain. Many childhood friends of mine have passed away prior to their 18th birthday or very soon after. Many […]
I was asked to speak to a group of my colleagues, or as society would say a group of inmates, awhile ago and this is a reduced version of what I said: Look around you…if only you could see what I see. As I look around this dayroom […]
“C, be patient because the best is yet to come. No matter how far the finish line may seem from you now, life is a marathon not a sprint, and the journey is the reward. You may have long days where your fuse is short. You may even […]
“Oh who is this precious little girl? Is she your daughter?” an elderly lady asked me. Referring to the adorable pint sized princess I was hi-fiving and jumping up and down with as we celebrated her successful throw of the football. “No Ma’am,” I said with a laugh, […]
Racism, prejudice, and many negative stereotypes are often advanced through ignorance and lack of communication. This truth exists often where two or more groups of people abide by different codes of morality, cultural norms, or even speak different languages. But there is one thing that unifies, a universal […]
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