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
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