A Good Friday
Sticky, of San Diego, California
Written on Good Friday, March 25, 2016
As
much as I love my job and what I "get" to do on the daily, there is one
aspect that frustrates the hell out of me. My supervisor is one of
those typical state employees who finds an excuse to take all or part of
most Fridays off. If it is not a funeral or speaking at one, it is
some online college course he has to go use a specific computer to do an
exam, an event at his kids' school or any number of "the dog ate my homework"
type of excuses. All of these things seem to pop up, conveniently,
on Fridays. Most of these days, I go in at 8 AM and the class leaves
by 10 AM. Big secret revealed here: This is so students can
sign in for the day and the state can take credit for a full day of class,
ultimately shortchanging the taxpayer.
On
those days, I usually go to my volunteer assignment in the library, as
I did today. For once, I am happy he decided to leave early because
things were much more interesting at my 2nd job. On this day, the
Parole Board had set up shop in the library back room. When I arrived,
many of my peers were already there, on the edges of their seats, chewing
fingernails to the quick. As I did my porter duties there was plenty
of time to speak with many, as each waited his turn.
My
six-fingered cabinetmaker friend, whom I've known for about seven years,
did not fare so well. Sixteen years ago he decided it was safe to
drive home from the bar with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit.
All was fine until he rear-ended that special education bus, killing the
kid in the back seat. My friend was convicted of manslaughter and
sentenced to 15 to life. This was his 2nd parole hearing where, this
time, he was denied and told to return in seven years.
Another
guy I've known from around the yard told me his story for the first time.
To me, parts of it were humorous but I'm sure he doesn't think so.
It seems he wanted to rob the local liqueur store but didn't have a weapon.
His roommate had a terrarium with a rattlesnake in it. He put the
snake in a burlap sack, went to the store, plopped the bag on the counter,
and told them to put all the dough in a paper bag or he'd let the snake
out. The cashier called his bluff; out came the snake.
The plan backfired when the snake reared & bit the robber. I
can understand why he's been so tight-lipped about his folly. He,
too, was denied. I don't remember his exact conviction but it was
something like "wildlife mayhem."
The
best one I heard all day I have saved for last. Another friend I
have not known long has been down for twenty-seven years for a string of
twenty-nine armed robberies. In speaking with him, I've a feeling
there were many more and those were the ones he was caught on. Almost
three decades ago, the jury sentenced him one life for each, all to run
consecutively. Today, after all this time, the board finally recognized
a mistake had been made. Those convictions were supposed to be run
concurrently.
This
afternoon I saw my friend with his first genuine smile, ever. He
reported that they'd dropped 28 of the life sentences and told him to come
back next year. Also, they said, they saw no reason why he would
not be released at that time. I guess it really was a Good Friday,
for him.
I
absolutely LOVE to hear about guys getting out, especially the ones who
have more than served their time. It's gotta be a great feeling going
from thinking, one minute, that you are going to die in prison, to realizing
you'll be a free man when the day comes you meet your maker.
God
Bless.
Stray Thoughts
Sam Aurelius Milam III
•A
computer disk named Untitled isn't an untitled disk because Untitled
is a title.
•Any
time that the truth is offensive or insulting, the problem isn't with the
person who's presenting the truth. The problem is with the person
who's offended or insulted by it.
•The
universe is analog, not digital.
| June 2016 | Frontiersman,0c/o
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