I’m calm as I move into this final week of October. Jim Schiavone, the literary agent who represented my previous book, Inside, is now reviewing Earning Freedom. He will determine whether the manuscript is ready for submission to publishers, and I know a decisions awaits that may influence my life. I’m hopeful, but I’m calm.

I’ve been looking at a calendar and projecting into the future. It won’t be long before we celebrate the holiday season, and in only two months, we’ll be in a new year. This year brings the mark of a new decade, and a feeling of renewal. I began my term in the 1980s; I served all of the 1990s, and now all of the 2000s in prison. When the 2010 decade begins, I will have begun the fourth series of 10 years as a prison—but it will be the decade I’m scheduled for release. As I advance closer to release, I’m thinking much more about the changes that will come and how I will live.

Mostly, I’m looking forward to building my life with Carole, and to making contributions to society through my career. Sometimes I find myself staring into space, wondering about what freedom is like. Earlier today, I spoke with Carole about my enthusiasm to discover so much about the world together with her. That time approaches, and we’re both ready.

Today I ran 10 miles in the morning and I followed the run with 300 pushups. I’ve run 2,828 miles in 317 consecutive days.

Monday, 26 October 2009

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