· The arrival of--The Prison Anthology: Freedom of Vision:
Just One Look--Is All It Took.
I experienced rebirth one magical spring morning, as I picked up the baton from my first teacher and friend of my youth, Henry David Thoreau, and ran the lifelong wilderness trails he urged me to run: He promised me If I advance confidently in the direction of my dreams and endeavor to live the life which I have imagined, I will meet with a success unexpected in common hours….And if I have built castles in the air, my work need not be lost; that is where they should be.
Now put the foundations under them.
With the spring birth of our Prison Anthology, Freedom of Vision, and your help, we will take each copy, brick by brick, and fashion foundations for the castles built out of the dreams of all the Voices From Behind Prison Walls.
My daily going forth to teach in prison on a small scale mirrors a deployment on a training mission in a foreign country. In a twenty year career similar to the military, I address a platoon-sized contingent of my natural enemy, and during the process of education, I train them to become my spiritual friends. I clothe myself in vigilance--a form of body armor, I learn another language, I employ incident management techniques to keep the battlefield environment safe. How inspiring and gratifying for me to go forth from and return home to Beautiful Wife Betsy, whose angel radiance warms our home, nurtures our children, and lightens my days in so many ways.
The beams of love from her eyes, soul, and heart— traveling at the speed of light--are the windows of the landing tower beacon to send me on my way and to bring me home every day.
