Prison Journal: Day 8,366
July 6, 2010
New prisoners don’t always self-surrender here with hopeful spirits, and I’m always inspired when a man transforms his life from inside these boundaries. Mike Levy, an acquaintance I wrote about previously, surrendered to Taft Camp weighing nearly 340 pounds. During the three months that he’s served so far, Mike has dropped nearly 70 pounds. The dramatic weight loss has boosted Mike’s spirits, and I can understand why. I’m certain that he feels much healthier, and he’s motivated to reach the goal of weighing less than 250 pounds before he concludes his sentence.
Weight loss and improved fitness represent a positive adjustment. My friend Tom, a former CEO who used to live in Alaska, is another example of improved fitness. He told me that he read my blog before he self-surrendered, and yesterday I had the privilege of meeting his sister in the visiting room. She is inspired by Tom’s positive adjustment, which she can see by his weight loss. What she can’t see are the positive ways that her brother contributes to the lives of others in Taft Camp. While I’m writing, I frequently share space with Tom as he tutors other prisoners in math and accounting.
Obviously, no one wants to serve time in prison. When individuals struggle through the justice procedures they endure the worst part of the journey. When they’re in the earliest stages as criminal defendants, they live in complete blindness, totally dependent on defense attorneys for guidance. They don’t have any concept about how onerous the sanction will be, nor do they know how life will change for them as prisoners.
Men like Mike and Tom and other prisoners I’ve met who recently began serving sentences at Taft show that the human spirit is remarkably buoyant. Some may live with anxieties about how time in prison can sink a person, yet those who face the challenges with courage and perseverance always triumph. It is possible to create hope through positive attitudes. Even at this stage of my confinement, they inspire me.
Ran 10 miles / 5,092 miles over 571 days
700 pushups / 73,000 pushups in 2010
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Prison Journal: Day 8,203
January 24, 2010
I frequently speak with men who self-surrender to prison. When they hear that I’ve been incarcerated since 1987, they want to know how I’ve managed to serve so much time without losing my mind.
The truth is that prison has strengthened me on many levels, and I appreciate opportunities to suggest strategies that will help others. Besides an individual routine to advance the mind and spirit, every individual benefits, I’m convinced, by making a commitment to improve physical fitness.
The news reports frequently describe obesity problems in the United States, and I see those problems clearly when new prisoners self-surrender. I suppose that when a person has family, career, and social responsibilities, it becomes easy to disregard the importance of daily exercise. A lack of exercise together with bad eating habits can lead to debilitating health problems. Prison can be a good place to embrace a healthier lifestyle.
When new prisoners begin to incorporate exercise into their daily routines, benefits come quickly. Numerous times, I’ve seen prisoners drop 50 pounds during their first three months in prison. When they lose that weight, their energy level picks up and their health conditions improve. Some men resolve problems with diabetes, hypertension, and blood pressure as they exercise daily. Many overweight people snore loudly when they begin serving their sentences, but as they drop the weight, their snoring ceases to shake the building.
Exercise may begin with walking a few slow laps around the track. Eventually, the prisoner may increase the time he spends walking, or use some of the cardio machines like stationary bicycles or elliptical machines. Prisoners can build up their stamina to jog, or incorporate strength training. The important commitment to stay active, I’m convinced, can make time in prison pass easier and more productively. That’s a message I always share with my fellow prisoners.
This morning I ran my regular 10 miles and I followed the run with 500 pushups.
[Consecutive running log: 3,620 miles over the past 408 days]
[Pushups in 2010: 7,700]
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Prison Journal: Day 8,088
October 1, 2009
On 1 October 1988, 21 years ago today, I began to exercise regularly.
I exercised regularly during the previous year, but I was locked in jails and only able to exercise in my cell with pushups. By the time I transferred to the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, I was fit and ready to commit to a lifelong fitness plan. Since then, not a single week has passed without my exercising at least four days.
Recently, 293 days ago, I began exercising every day. I’ve been blessed withexcellent health that allows me to keep this schedule, but I’m certain that exercising every day contributes to my good health. During that stretch, I’ve run 2,606 miles, including the 10 miles that I ran this morning. It was during that run that I thought about how essential fitness has been to my adjustment through these decades of imprisonment.
Today, I finished the edit through chapter nine of Earning Freedom. In one more week, I’ll finish the last of this editing round, and I’m pleased. The only thing that makes me happier is that Carole will visit me tomorrow.
Thursday, 1 October 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 8,049
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 8,039
August 13, 2009
Another prisoner who serves time with me at Taft Camp asked me what it has been like to spend so many years in prison. That’s a question I can’t answer easily, and it’s the reason I keep writing books and articles on the subject. To describe 22 years in prison is going to become a career for me, as I have so many experiences to share.
He then asked whether time passed much faster while I was in the penitentiary. I told him that although it may sound implausible, the entire sentence feels as if it has passed easily, fast. I know that many of my fellow prisoners have difficulty moving from one hour into the next. In my case, as I look back, I wonder where the 22 years have gone. It’s not because I wasted the decades. Keeping busy has been an essential strategy in serving this sentence. It still is. I don’t mean keeping busy with jobs or programs the prison system offers, I mean keeping busy working toward meaningful goals that contribute to society. Some people find their peace through religion, fitness, or education. Everyone who reads my writing knows the goals that motivated me.
I am at my best when I create projects that will carry me through several months – or years. Early in my term, the pursuit of educational credentials inspired me to study for more than 12 hours every day. Then, I created projects that would open opportunities to use what I had learned. Later, developing better writing and communication skills kept me going. Throughout the entire term, fitness and exercise has been part of every day, with weight training when I was in my 20s and early 30s, long-distance running in my later 30s and 40s.
I also need time alone. I wake very early, always before 3:00 AM, and find a quiet place where I can value my alone time. Now that I’m writing a new manuscript, I like to begin working before 2:00 in the morning. Today I began at 2:00 and worked through 6:00 PM editing. My only time away from the desk was to eat or to exercise. I ran 10 miles, bringing my running tally to 2,165 miles over the past 244 consecutive days.
Prison Journal: Day 8,036
August 10, 2009
Today I complete my 1,144th week in prison. I arrive at that number because today I complete my 22nd full year. The number isn’t exact because of the several leap years, but with 8,036 days in, I don’t think that anyone would dispute it’s been a long time. Yet the time hasn’t been wasted.
Those who know me can attest to my positive attitude. Every morning, I wake early, filled with optimism and eager to progress toward the next goal I’m working on. I don’t require an alarm clock, as the goals I set bring me all the energy I need to hop off my rack before three each morning and begin my work.
This morning, I began writing at 2:27. About one hour later, two prisoners who were being released today stopped by to wish me well. One who went by the nickname Psyche was with me 20 years ago in a penitentiary. The other had served 17 years. Someday, my release will come.
I wrote through page 309 today. Tomorrow, I think I will complete the first draft of chapter seven. Carole ought to submit the proposal along with the first three chapters today. Once my agent receives them, he’ll determine whether they are ready to submit to our publisher in New York.
I ran 10 miles this morning. My running tally is now 2,135 miles over the past 241 days.
Prison Journal: Day 8,028
August 2, 2009
This morning at 1:40 am I resumed work on chapter six of my manuscript for Earning Freedom. I wrote through page 262. Then I went outside to exercise, running 10 miles and boosting my tally to 2,062 miles over the past 233 days. In the afternoon, I wrote more, advancing chapter six to page 265.
This portion I’m writing now describes the end of 1995, when I was in my eighth year of imprisonment and going through some troubles with prison administrators who blocked access to my studies. It caused a change in my prison adjustment, one that worked out fine in retrospect. At the time, however, the suspension of my academic program really sunk my spirits.
Tomorrow morning I’ll resume work on chapter six, and I expect to finish the first draft by Tuesday.
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