It’s now eight minutes past one on a Tuesday afternoon. Ordinarily I’d be in a small room in my housing unit at Taft Camp writing at this hour. Today I’m in the library, sitting amidst thousands of books, with the rat-a-tat-tat of typewriter keys coming from the adjacent room on my left. I’m not writing this afternoon because I’m contemplating. I’m wondering how different my life may have been if I had chosen a more responsible path as a younger man, or, at least, if I would have made better decisions than those that led to my arrest exactly 22 years ago, on August 11, 1987.
Today is an anniversary for me, an anniversary of imprisonment. Sometimes I wake up on 11 August and wonder where the years have gone. Not today. One reason for my optimism this morning may be that I know I’ve got 22 complete years in the bank. Another is that I expect that I’ll be released from prison before three more of these anniversaries pass. Either way, I know that I will not spend four more August 11 dates in prison.
Certainly, the 22 years I’ve served have taken a toll on my life. I don’t have relationships that are as close as I would like with my mother, my grandmother, my sisters, or their families. I wasn’t able to spend time with my father before he passed away, or my grandfather. I haven’t been able to build a career or accumulate the resources appropriate to my age. Still, the time has not been all bad.
During my lengthy term I’ve had opportunities to earn educational credentials, the privilege of building relationships with many wise people who became mentors to me. The time has given me space for introspection, and through my writing I’ve connected with tens of thousands. I’m blessed to have had the privilege of contributing to society, and I look forward to expanding upon those efforts going forward, especially after my release.
Another reason this anniversary doesn’t choke me is my current writing project, Earning Freedom. This morning I began writing at 1:51, and by the time I put my work away I had advanced the manuscript through page 315. Writing about this long journey through prison reminds me how much of the sentence is behind me, and I’m grateful that I’m nearly ready to emerge, successfully, happily, with an extraordinary wife who will help ease the transition.
I ran 10 miles this morning, bringing my tally to 2,145 miles over the past 242 consecutive days. Also, the running shoes I ordered last month were delivered today, so I look forward to my morning run tomorrow.
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