Shortly before our college graduation, DOC informed the
school that grant money earmarked for inmate higher education would no longer
be available due to “budget constraints”.
Did DOC Director Clarke tell our graduates that when he showed up at the
ceremony to tout his – and the Governor’s – support for education and credit
the graduate’s successes as part and parcel of the administration’s re-entry
program? Of course not. It was up to us to break the news to guys who
already lack trust in the system.
So, I lie. I tell
them people really do care. “You
matter. You getting an education, going
out there and raising your kids, being a good father, husband and taxpayer,
that’s what everyone wants.” I used to
believe that. Now, I think “they” like
sending guys to prison. After all,
13,000 state jobs rely on having full to capacity prisons. And companies that sign exorbitant contracts
with the states to provide “prison services” make great profits for their
shareholders and they pay huge contributions to politicians’ campaign
funds. It’s a vicious cycle of money,
ignorance, and crime and I’m beginning to realize it’s more powerful than
mercy, common sense and real justice.
Falsehood. I heard a
former NFL coach make the following statement as the news about Lance Armstrong,
or Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o, or some other athlete broke. He uttered the old adage, “The truth will set
you free.” “We all mess up; some worse
than others; but the lie, the lie does you in.”
He’s right, so very right.
I know in my own situation I lived a lie rather than face
the fears – the truths really I knew deep down about myself and my
relationships. And, the lies caught up
to me. So I came clean, landed in a
place I abhor, but now sleep soundly at night.
The funny thing is, I see guys all around me pretending to
be something they aren’t Every small
drug dealer wants me to think they’re Tony Montana (a/k/a “Scarface”) or Pablo
Escobar; every two-bit thief wants me to believe they stole the Hope Diamond. They
can’t admit they can’t read, can’t admit they had nothing. They lie, and they keep on lying, and they
stay imprisoned forever.
I’m not a schadenfreude guy anymore. I don’t relish another’s short comings. I felt for Lance Armstrong. And, I see and understand a lot more about
the folks “outside”. They really aren’t
that different from the guys in here. We
all keep secrets, things that would embarrass us if they got out. The truth is, they have nothing to do with
who we really are.
It struck me in an ironic way, all these celebrities and
athletes with their mea culpas, and the lies the government peddles about
prisons, and crime and punishment, and then I hear Stan “the Man” Musial died.
Stan is a Baseball Hall of Famer. Twenty-two
seasons with the Cardinals. One of the
greatest players ever and yet, because he played in St. Louis instead of New
York, he never got the notoriety he deserved.
But that was OK with Stan.
He loved his wife of seventy-one years; he loved his family, St. Louis,
and baseball. By all accounts, he was
one of the most decent men you could ever meet.
He passed away at age ninety-two, a year after his
wife. A few years ago, a baseball writer
asked him to tell his secret for baseball longevity and success. He said he jogged one mile every day. He occasionally smoked cigars so he didn’t
have to inhale. And with a twinkle in
his eye added, “And it didn’t hurt to hit above 300 all those years.”
I love that. Two out
of three times he came up, he never reached base. But, he stayed the same – consistent, decent,
hardworking. There’d be less need for
prisons, less public embarrassments, if more of us emulated Stan Musial. And, I think Mr. Musial would tell you not to
be like him. Be yourself. Be honest, and kind, and try even when you
make an out.
I started this blog bemoaning Virginia’s short-sighted
approach to educating the incarcerated.
I was ticked off and discouraged.
But, thinking about Stan Musial’s advice, I know these guys will get
another time at bat. And, they’re due
for a hit.
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