Peace and harmony behind bars?

It was a breath of fresh air.

The prison gates clanked behind me.  A Corrections Officer frisked me.  Into another room…more gates noisily opening and closing.  A remote control unit with an emergency button for me to carry in the event I felt endangered or threatened.  Still one more gate, and then an escort through the prison yard to another building.

And in that moment, I escaped from some insanity never experienced before in my eight decades---

Entire families hardly verbally communicating with each other anymore---simply texting!

Two factions claiming that scripture is on their side, and that between contemporary music and traditional church music, only one is acceptable!

People of alleged integrity claiming that it’s OK to discontinue healthcare for some segments of our society.

An abrupt reversal in our nation’s care and concern about immigrants, racism and the environment.

A tacit approval from our nation’s leaders to denigrate and bad-mouth those with whom we disagree.

30 men welcomed me into their prison classroom last week, for a book club meeting. There was hugging and hand-shaking, as old and new friends greeted me. The tone of the meeting was set when an inmate suggested that he offer an opening prayer.

And then, behind bars, I had the most amazing experience.  Yes, there was some discussion of my book, the actual reason for the get-together. But the two-hour session was much bigger than that.  Here were 30 men who, according to some segments of our society, make up the “worst of the worst,” showing dignity and kindness and respect and consideration to those with varying opinions and ideas.  Here were men who not only wanted to discuss the lessons and ramifications of the SWEET FREEDOM story, they wanted to discuss what to do about these concerns and problems.  These men behind bars wanted to explore how to make this a better world!

Can you even imagine it?

Believe me, I didn’t need a portable alarm system in my pocket.  I needed a magic sponge to absorb the love, concern, compassion and respect that filled that room.  I wanted to take it home with me.  I wanted it in my soul to ward off what I knew I could anticipate when I left the prison grounds and returned to the real world.

May God keep the afterglow alive.











Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Half-a-race!

The HFP Drag-Racing Fund-Raiser had the potential of being extremely successful, and could have raised several thousand dollars. Let's just say it was partly successful. For background purposes I'll explain that I was racing a 1963 supercharged Studebaker Lark that has a reputation of being one of the fastest stock Studebakers in drag racing today. The engine was built by one of the finest Studebaker engine mechanics in the country, and the car many times has achieved quarter-mile runs in less than 14 seconds! We promised to make at least ten passes in the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags at Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, Michigan, this past weekend, and we asked for pledges ONLY ON THOSE RUNS REACHED IN LESS THAN 14 SECONDS. On Friday, here's how we fared: Run #1 13.936 @ 101.24 mph Run #2 14.027 @ 101.30 mph Run #3 14.091 @ 100.88 mph Run #4 13.805 @ 102.84 mph Run #5 14.058 @ 101.26 mph By the 5th run we discovered that ...
Read more

Gregory John McCormick: 1964-2008

Itchy is dead. The lifeless body of this talented rock musician, whose band Shock Therapy was a popular group especially in Europe, was found in a field in Detroit last Wednesday, November 5. The Wayne County Coroner's office informed father Glenn McCormick that the body of his son Gregory, better known to all of us as Itchy, bore no signs of trauma. Glenn said that Itchy, who had been living at his father's dental lab in Detroit, had been drinking to excess for some time. While the toxicology report has not been released yet, the general consensus seems to be that he drank himself to death. Our agency, while still named INNOCENT, first got involved with Itchy in 2005. The Detroit native, who called Germany his home, got involved in some unfortunate activity that placed him in the Michigan State prison system on a charge of arson of a dwelling. It was really just a bonfire in an alley, but an alleged parole violation placed him in prison for 1-20 years. I personally sat w...
Read more

Three lives, connected by a divine thread

My kids say it should be a book! The Doug, Pat and Mark story is a doozie!   About 25 years ago, while fighting to free Maurice Carter from prison, I read a newspaper column written by Pat Shellenbarger of the Grand Rapids Press on the topic of eyewitness identification. I contacted Pat re that story. That led to a friendship between Doug and Pat that continues to this day.   In subsequent months, Pat would go on to assist me in an investigation into the Maurice Carter case that eventually led to solving the crime.  That particular episode became a chapter in my book about the Carter case, SWEET FREEDOM, published in 2006.   Fast forward to 2009, A New York businessman claims wrongful conviction, and while serving time in a Michigan prison is handed a copy of my book. Mark Hartman, who was also convicted in Berrien County, was amazed at the similarity of these two stories and tried to reach out to me. His letters bounced.   Persisting in his efforts to c...
Read more