Today was the graduation ceremony for all the vocational programs that were completed this fall and the choir was on hand for musical help. This ceremony was different than any I've been to but it was a great way to encourage the guys and recognize their accomplishments.
The ceremony was held in our grungy gym surrounded by all the weights. Chairs were set up in two halves of the room - one set for family and the other for the graduates - with at least 100 chairs on either side. The front of the gym had the podium and long tables for the officials with the choir set up before and to the side. Strewn about the gym were decorations and completed projects from the carpentry class, such as a rocking horse and a UT-themed inlaid table.
During the set up and short practice, we lost one of our soloists who was kicked out of the choir on the spot for holding up his pants while singing. One of the guards told the chaplain he was 'holding his crotch' and out he went. Ridiculous. The event started while guests were still coming in and a few of the officials hadn't arrived. The Star-Spangled Banner was sung by a guy who went at such a high speed and pitch that he stopped three quarters of the way through it to figure out how to continue. Despite the flaws in execution (and there were more than these I've mentioned). This graduation was the first one for many of these guys and it was worth it to see family and show them who they are growing into. There were many proud mothers and fathers who beamed as their grown sons walked the "stage". I'm glad that the prison put the time and effort into making the event happen. Even that small investment can make a huge difference for some of these guys.
It's coming close to Christmas. That means it's time to get to work on Christmas cards. Late last week I took out some books and magazines to find inspiration. After a few hours of searching, I came up with a few ideas that I sketched out. From the sketches, I drew up two templates - one fairly simple and the other a bit more fancy. Once the templates were finished, it was time to transfer them to the cards. The fancy template took about twice as long to transfer and finish up, so I decided to only do a few of those for family, and use the simpler one for everyone else. Even then, each card takes about an hour to make.Last year I put a poetic Christmas prayer on the back of my cards, but I had trouble coming up with anything worthwhile this year. When I saw my parents this weekend, we spent some time talking about advent, which spurred me to read the traditional advent passages of Scripture. The pattern is obvious, so I took the Scriptures and rewrote them as a short poem.
Now that the two elements are complete, I can move forward making and sending out all the cards. I'm planning to send out twice as many as last year, so I should be busy this week - in a good way.
* River - Joni Mitchell
"Was it better to be guilty of sin while knowing there was a power that had punished you? Or was it better to be innocent and feel there was no power? Was it better to be lost in a horrid storm at sea, knowing there was land, or be sailing peacefully with no certainty of land anywhere?"
"For myself, I decided I would rather be guilty."
- Sherri S Tepper, Shadows End
Tonight was my first practice playing guitar with the worship team here. After meeting people and getting my hearings on the unit, I told the guy who leads the choir that I have experience leading worship and, if he wanted a guitarist, to let me know.
Like at San Saba, I didn't want to play unless they really need someone. I am content to be out in the crowd praising without any pressure. The choir leader, Porkchop, told me to go ahead and request to be put on the team. Because they already had a guitarist and two keyboardists, I pretty much dismissed it.
During the next week, a friend of mine, Lelan, said Porkchop wanted me to join and asked if I had dropped the request yet. Nope, I hadn't dropped it off and wouldn't until there was a need for me. Yesterday I was met by both Porkchop and Lelan, who runs the sound board, and asked if I had put in the request. No. Come to practice tomorrow anyway. Alright. I guess they really want me in there.
I showed up tonight not knowing what they expected me to do since they already had a guitarist, so I asked. Just grab a guitar and put rhythm in. They went off into songs I didn't know and I stood lost with a guitar in my hands. I gradually picked out notes and started picking along on the guitar. I am a self-taught guitar player and know very little music theory, so it's tough for me to fit in unless I know what's going on. This first practice was rough for me but Porkchop said I'll be great and to give it some time.
Today was a day I had been anticipating for some time. I had the chance to finally meet two women - mom and daughter - that I have been corresponding with for at least a year. It has been really cool to get to know them through writing, but sooner or later I would have to see Sandy and Betsy face-to-face so I could put a voice and personality to the letters.
Moving to this unit so close to home allowed our introduction to come quickly. When I heard from my mom that they would be coming today, I was pretty excited. That excited feeling mutated into anxiety, then nervousness. This would be my first time to meet them, and it takes place in a prison. What kind of meeting is that? Also, I haven't talked with any women I don't know in years. After being around men 24/7 won't it be awkward? As the time drew closer I had all these thoughts going through my head and I wanted everything as perfect as it could be. It felt kind of like a first date with someone you've never met, except in my case it was two someones.
Okay, so I'm waiting in the visitation room for Sandy and Betsy to arrive through the door. Will I recognize them as the people in the photo sent to me? Yep, there they are coming in. Now, are they going to greet with a hug? Yep, arms out from Sandy and a wonderful first embrace. And Betsy, too. We sit at a table and Sandy goes to get snacks. Rumored to be a talker, I was hoping Sandy would get us through the two hours, but now she's gone. What do I talk about?
The first few minutes were strange but I settled into the fact that, yes, these are the same people who had been writing and, yes, they are both wonderful people. We talked all over the place - what prison is like, vacations, living overseas, family, music, on and on. It was as if I had been reunited with two old friends. The two hours flew by far too quickly. As we hugged goodbye, I couldn't help but hope to see them again soon.
After my time in discussion with my parents and prayer I've decided to turn down the parole board's offer of eighteen months of treatment followed by parole. There are a number of reasons for my denial and I've tried to meet with the parole guy and warden here to talk with them about my decision. Because I haven't been able to talk with them,
I went ahead and drafted a letter to be sent to many different officials (to make sure it gets into the right hands) denying the parole offer.
I had some great supporting material for my decision sent to me by my mom. These letters from counselors and fact sheets from organizations helped back up most of my reasons, putting credentials behind my words. Without those references, I would have a hard time convincing anyone that I had made a sound decision and may have seemed a fool, but God knew I needed help.
Once I finished the letter, I shared it with a friend to get his reaction. "I guess you're serious, huh?" he remarked after reading the letter. " After seeing all that, I probably would have done the same thing if I was in your shoes."
Now I pray that the people who receive the letter will be prepared and open-minded to my decision and that no ill effects come of it.
Usually my workout partner, Doc, and I will go outside to run for a bit after we finish hitting the weights, but lately it's been too wet for us to go outside. Instead, we've been doing a full workout - body and mind - on the chessboard.
I haven't played chess in about two years. I played a bit in the county jail but there was an unbeatable player who ruined it for me. Most everyone else I've seen since has had attitudes while playing. Doc has been playing for a while, so he figured I needed a handicap. He grabbed a medicine ball and said that for every piece a person takes, he must do twenty pushups on the medicine ball.
We started playing pushups chess a week or so ago and do different exercises with the ball each time - sit-ups, throws, one-armed pushups. I'm still not a very good chess player or strong guy, but at least now I'm doing both at once.
* Isaac Asimov
Today was the graduation ceremony for all the vocational programs that were completed this fall and the choir was on hand for musical help. This ceremony was different than any I've been to but it was a great way to encourage the guys and recognize their accomplishments.
