Prison Journal: Day 8,055
August 29, 2009
In Taft Federal Prison Camp, I share space with nearly 500 minimum-security prisoners. Many of the men tell tall tales about their amazing success as businessmen in the community. I’ve learned to dismiss and ignore most of the men, as the lies I’ve heard border on the absurd. Sometimes, however, I have the privilege of shaking hands with men who’ve made substantial contributions to the advancement of our society. For the past several months, I’ve appreciated opportunities to spend time with David and Tuvia. They’re friends and business partners in Los Angeles, and they each serve brief sentences with me here at Taft.
My wife and I spend every Friday in the Taft visiting room. Since David and Tuvia receive visitors every Friday, Carole and I have met their wives, Judy and Gila, along with their many friends and business partners. Whereas Carole and I cherish those few hours together, David and Tuvia rotate new visitors into the room for one or two-hour sessions all day long. Each man serves a brief sentence, yet they have so many people who love and care for them, they juggle as many as 20 visitors on any given Friday.
Rather than brag about the great success they’ve made in their lives, as many other Taft prisoners like to do, David and Tuvia lead very low-key lives inside our boundaries. They’re friendly with all the other prisoners, and I presume they have more tolerance for the nonsense stories that others tell. Yet the support they receive from so many family and friends attests to the genuine love others feel for them. In that way, and in at least one other, those men are role models for me.
The other way is the love and devotion they feel for their family. Each has been married to his wife for many decades, and when they’re together, their obvious affection for their spouses is evident. Their children come from as far away as Israel to pass a few hours together in the visiting room. I admire those close family ties, and Carole and I look forward to strengthening our family ties when I leave these boundaries behind. For now, we continue to reserve most all of my visiting hours for each other, as we strive to build a marriage that becomes stronger through the decades.
This morning, at 2:27, I began writing on chapter ten of the manuscript. By the time I wrapped up my day, I had advanced the manuscript through page 434. It’s coming along.
I ran 10 miles this morning. Today’s run boosted my cumulative tally to 2,304 miles over the past 260 consecutive days.
Saturday, 29 August 2009
Prison Journal: Day 8,054
August 28, 2009
I just heard the strangest news from another prisoner at Taft Camp. He told me that he received an incident report because officials suspected that he had mailed a letter to his wife with instructions that his wife should forward the letter to someone else. I understand that policies prohibit inmates from corresponding with other people who are in prison. I haven’t heard of a rule that prohibits prisoners from using family members or others as a clearinghouse to pass along other correspondence. I’m going to look into the mail policy more closely, and when I learn more, I’ll write about it. Until then, I will not send letters home for my wife to pass along to others.
It will not be much longer, I keep telling myself, that I’ll leave prison for the real world. Running every day helps. I don’t expect to be in prison 1,000 days from now, and since I have more than 8,000 prison days behind me, I can handle it.
This morning I began writing chapter ten of Earning Freedom. I began outlining the chapter before 2:00 AM, and by 6:00 I wrote the first four pages, advancing the manuscript to page 424. Then I went outside to exercise. I ran 3 miles, the shorter distance I always run when I’m expecting a visit from my wife. My running tally is now 2,294 miles over the past 259 days.
Carole and I enjoyed a wonderful six hours together. The time is never long enough for me. I miss her terribly each Friday night, but I’m finding strength in the manuscript I’m writing. It’s therapeutic for me to write about the prison journey, and now I’m in a section where Carole and I go through our first transfer together. I look forward to writing more tomorrow.
Friday, 28 August 2009
Prison Journal: Day 8,052
August 26, 2009
I’m pleased to have finished Chapter 9 today, or at least a first draft of the chapter. I began writing at 1:51 this morning and by the time I finished for the day, I advanced the manuscript to page 420.
I’d like to begin outlining and writing chapter 10 in the morning. I can’t. This morning I had a long phone conversation with one of the attorneys who is working to help me. He asked that I provide him with some information that I’m going to have to write. I expect to spend eight to ten hours writing that content. That writing responsibility translates into my not being able to start chapter 10 until Friday.
I had a slower 10-mile run this morning, at a more normal pace that allowed me to finish the run in 87 minutes. My new distance total is 2,281 miles in 257 consecutive days.
Prison Journal: Day 8,051
August 25, 2009
This morning, I began writing at 1:47 am. I’m writing about the days leading up to my marriage with Carole. My mother and my younger sister, Christina, flew to New Jersey to participate in our wedding inside the Fort Dix visiting room. That wedding was one of the best days of my imprisonment. Many people advised me not to marry. They said I had been in prison too long and that I didn’t know anything about love or the difficulties of marriage. Marrying Carole, though, was one of the best decisions in my life, as she’s brought more happiness and fulfillment to my life than I expected to know as a prisoner. I wrote through page 411 of the Earning Freedom manuscript, chapter nine. I ought to finish chapter nine tomorrow.
After the creative writing, I worked the remainder of the day editing. My mentor, Peggy, and my wife provided some outstanding suggestions to improve the presentation. I’m grateful for their expert touch.
This morning I ran 10 miles at the fastest pace in many years. I think the cooler temperature and my new running shoes combined to give me a finishing time more than 10 minutes ahead of my normal pace. I finished the run in 1 hour, 16 minutes, 13 seconds.
Prison Journal: Day 8,050
August 24, 2009
I saw a blurb cross the streaming news ticker at the bottom of the CNN screen this morning that related to prison crowding in the State of California. The state legislature is deliberating over prison reforms that would allow nonviolent California prisoners who participate in education or vocational programs to serve the remainder of their sentences in community confinement centers. I applaud this progressive news.
Some citizens oppose any type of early release for people in prison, regardless of what efforts the prisoners make to reconcile with society. I don’t understand such a lust for punishment. It would seem that by now, all citizens would recognize the need for “smarter” use of our prison resources. It’s absurd to me that some citizens limit their perceptions of justice to calendar pages turning.
What would prove more beneficial to society?
- Requiring a nonviolent offender to serve every day of a 10-year sentence OR
- Encouraging that nonviolent offender to earn a vocational certificate and train for sustainable employment over a four-year period, then releasing him to a supportive group and employment?
To me, the second alternative makes so much more sense. The only segment of society that would benefit from the first would be the bloated prison industry, or those who identify with “Shylock,” Shakespeare’s character from The Merchant of Venice.
This morning I began writing at 1:51 am. I’m continuing to enjoy writing about my earliest months with Carole. Today I wrote through page 401 of the manuscript, and I feel so proud of Carole’s commitment to our marriage and happiness.
I ran 10 miles in the morning, bringing my running tally to 2,261 miles over the past 255 days.
Prison Journal: Day 8,049
August 23, 2009
I’m trying to convince David, my roommate at Taft Camp, to continue his education. A few months ago I wrote a blog describing David’s graduation from the GED program. Since then I’ve urged him to continue with studies at Taft College, but he’s losing interest. Like many prisoners, David’s being seduced with the “easy money” he’s sure that he can earn by learning how to chart commodity prices. He’s spending hours every day writing closing market prices and trading volume, but he has such a poor math skills, he can’t truly grasp the meaning of those numbers.
I asked Carole to order a basic math book for me today. It’s the same math book that the Taft College uses to teach students who enroll in the remedial math course. I’m trying to motivate David to master every problem in this book, and since we share the same cube, I’ll be able to help him when he needs help, and push him to study harder when he slacks off.
It’s crucial for David to develop his education. The world is advancing, and he will not find much fulfillment if he can’t function at even a basic level. He struggles with simple percentages, fractions, decimals, even arithmetic. If he works consistently, and I coach him, in one year he’ll master this book, and he can then advance to the next. I’m hopeful that he’ll stick with it.
This morning, I woke at 1:35, and I had an excellent session of writing new content for chapter nine. I wrote through page 381, bringing me to the section where Carole first moves to New Jersey to begin our life together as a prison family. These memories make me fall in love with her all over again.
I ran 10 miles in the early morning. My running tally now stands at 2,251 miles over the past 254 days.
Prison Journal: Day 8,048
August 22, 2009
My visit yesterday with my sister, her children, and Carole, exhausted me, I guess. I slept until the unpardonable hour of 2:30 this morning. I could have slept longer, but I was too eager to hop down from my rack and resume writing chapter nine of Earning Freedom. I had a productive writing session, advancing to page 381 of the manuscript.
Early in the morning, I took my break for exercise. I ran 10 miles, bringing my tally to 2,241 miles over the past 253 days. Some of my fellow prisoners here at Taft Camp asked me how long I intend to continue running before I would take a day of rest. I want to run for 1,000 straight days, and unless prison regulations or release stops me, I intend to reach that goal. If I complete 1,000 straight days of running, by then I will be much closer to home. I’ve already completed more than 25 percent of the journey.
Prison Journal: Day 8,047
August 21, 2009
This morning, I woke at 2:05, eager to begin my outline and initial pages for chapter nine of Earning Freedom. This chapter will bring me great memories, because it is the chapter where I write about the beginnings of my relationship with Carole. This is where our story begins together, and I’m eager to live it once again through these words. I wrote through page 373 of the manuscript this morning.
I ran three miles, then came inside to prepare for my visit with Carole. She surprised me by coming with Julie, my nephew Zachary, and my niece Sophia. We enjoyed a wonderful day together, with the children on my lap. I hadn’t seen my sister since last January, and the children haven’t been here in longer than a year. They’ve grown several inches.
When I left the visiting room today, I felt sad. It’s difficult for me to see the tangible evidence of how much time has gone by since my prison term began. Zach is now in the fourth grade, and I’ve missed those early years of his life. When I come home, he’ll be 12 or 13, Sophia will be nine. I miss my family.
I also missed my time with Carole today. Those six days we spend apart from each other every week really make me long for her. I cherish the time with my family, but it came at the expense of connecting with my wife. I’m at a stage in this journey when I need more, rather than less time with Carole. I’m glad that I’ll have chapter nine to write this week, as it will bring me closer to her.
My running tally, incidentally, is now at 2,231 miles over the past 252 days.
Also, when I returned to my housing unit after the visit, I received the most wonderful letter from a Mr. Holland, of Australia. Mr. Holland is a reader of my work, and he wrote how it inspired him to strive toward becoming a better husband. This gratifies me beyond words, and I intend to write back to Mr. Holland once I complete my manuscript. My writing energy goes to my work and the daily blog now, but I want him to know that I appreciate the kind thoughts he expressed.
Prison Journal: Day 8,046
August 20, 2009
I’m sitting in my cubicle, with my feet posted on the steel post that holds up my rack. It’s 4:04 on Thursday afternoon, and after a long day of writing, I’m waiting for the guards to walk by for the daily census count. Once they pass, and I finish writing this entry, I’ll lie down for the evening.
I’m pleased with the work I completed today. I finished writing chapter eight of Earning Freedom. This pivotal chapter takes me through early 2002, an essential part of my life because that was the year Carole reached out to me. I’ve been looking forward to completing this chapter because all the future chapters of my life include Carole. I wrote through page 369 of the manuscript.
Following the work on my manuscript, which I began before 2:00 this morning, I wrote a letter to Jonathan, one of the lawyers on my legal team. In a speech, Eric Holder gave to the ABA earlier this month, the Attorney General wrote about the importance of thinking smart on crime. He said that reducing recidivism was an important component of that strategy, and I wrote to Jonathan to express efforts I make to reduce recidivism through my work.
In Earning Freedom, I hope to make this case in a compelling way for readers. I’m on track to finish a complete draft of the manuscript before Thanksgiving.
This morning I ran 10 miles. The tally now stands at 2,228 miles over the past 251 consecutive days of running.
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Prison Journal: Day 8,045
August 19, 2009
A federal appeals court recently ordered the state of California to reduce its prison population by 40,000 people. Many other states are also finding that the prison systems they operate are unsustainable and waste billions in taxpayer resources by confining too many offenders for too long.
I’m used to these news reports that showcase the problems individual states are having with funding their prison systems. I’m more surprised to have seen that Eric Holder, our country’s top law enforcement officer, talk about the importance of being smart on crime rather than tough on crime.
One place Mr. Holder can start is by installing a director of the BOP who embraces the enlightened approach of this new administration. Those who run the BOP continue the tired old policies of “isolate and punish,” demanding that prisoners serve as much time as possible inside costly prisons. I’m in my 23rd year of confinement for a nonviolent offense, and prison administrators persist in refusing me 13 days of good time that my sentence authorizes me to receive.
I’d welcome reforms to our federal prison system and to sentencing policies in the United States. Taxpayers have spent too much confining me already, and another four years serves no purpose but “to preserve the institution of corrections,” as BOP personnel are determined to do, consequences and costs to taxpayers or citizens be damned.
Four more years to go at most, and I’ll use every minute of that time preparing to triumph over the obstacles that accompany a quarter century in prison. This morning I woke at 1:37 to resume my writing of chapter eight for Earning Freedom. I advanced the manuscript to page 364.
I ran 10 miles in the morning, bringing my tally to 2,218 miles over the past 250 consecutive days.
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
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