As I waited for the guards to clear the 10:00 am census count, I listened to the Rush Limbaugh broadcast over my radio headphones. Some people who serve time with me at Taft Camp don’t get why I would listen to Limbaugh’s verbal pollution. The truth is, I’ve been listening to him since 1989, soon after [...]
Early this morning, I completed my final edit of chapters five and six. When I write “final edit,” I mean the last changes I’ll make before Carole sends the manuscript to Jim, my literary agent. I may have many more edits before the manuscript turns into a book. Now I wait until Friday, when I [...]
Today was my 23rd Columbus Day as a prisoner. I used to look forward to Columbus Day because it marked the first holiday of the season, and in federal prison, the holidays usually come with opportunities for extra visiting. At Taft Camp, Carole and I choose not to visit on holidays because the rules in [...]
One advantage of being confined inside Taft federal prison camp is that I live in close proximity with several men who led successful businesses. Bad decisions brought them to prison and that’s a misfortune for the prisoners and their families. For me, their presence here is a benefit because by talking with them, I tap [...]
During my visit with Carole yesterday, I spoke with my friend David’s daughter. She was visiting from Israel and told me that after reading how Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People influenced my adjustment, she purchased a Hebrew translation for her father to read. It’s true that I read Dr. Covey’s [...]
This morning I began my day at 1:42. I was eager to work through edits on chapter 12 of Earning Freedom, the final chapter of the manuscript. I finished the edit in time to send the chapter out in this morning’s mail. Carole ought to receive the chapter on Tuesday and I’m hoping that she [...]
Carole sent me a hard copy of an email message I received from an elderly lady who worried about her middle-aged son who was about to begin a lengthy prison term. The lady had read some of my earlier posts about visiting and she was alarmed about my expressions of how I had gone through [...]
This morning I woke at 1:08, and by 1:23 I was sitting at the table where I come to write. I didn’t have a project to work on because I’m waiting for a mail delivery to bring my final chapter of Earning Freedom for proofing. Instead of writing or editing, I spent part of the [...]
Today has been a day of waiting, and I may have a few more as the week progresses. I’ve completed the edit of chapter eleven for Earning Freedom, leaving me with only the final chapter to work through. I can’t begin to until I receive the typed version from Carole. It may come in tomorrow’s [...]
Early this morning, I finished the edit of chapter ten. I should write more accurately that I finished overseeing the edit of chapter ten. My friend Steve read it first, offering his suggestions on how I can improve it. He’s the only prisoner at Taft Camp that I’ve allowed to read Earning Freedom, and the [...]
