Author Archives: mjwayblog

It was not supposed to go down like this. His hatred for his family because of his continued arguments with them (about his chosen life-style), led him to be tossed out of the house by his father. His mother and brother also agreed with the father’s decision. It was time for him to leave. HeContinue reading “Attempted Escape 4”

The Kinross four is how I remember this event. The story appeared in Esquire magazine in 2008 with an emphasis on the inmates who tried to escape, and how they were very successful at the prison manipulation game. Three had life sentences, and two even had past records of attempted escape, but yet they wereContinue reading “Attempted Escape 3”

The first two years of employment with the DMC for me was a whirlwind. I took my mentor’s advice and kept a low profile. I was trusted as an employee, looked up to by our current administration, and learned more than books could teach me about life working/living in the heart of the city. ThisContinue reading “A Rookie No More”

He was busted in Detroit with 972 grams of cocaine in the hey day of the cocaine wars in the city I was born. In the early 1980’s and 1990’s Detroit’s gang activity began sky rocketing with the drug trade. Crack cocaine became the demon for the working class when 5 dollars could by youContinue reading “Attempted Escape 2”

She worked her way up the ranks from a secretary to an administrator over the department of civil service making 57,000 dollars a year. He had been convicted of fraud and was to spend at least 15 years in prison. By answering his “looking for love personal” she would eventually share his distinction of beingContinue reading “Attempted Escape 1”

I was once again in uncharted waters. This was something I always enjoyed. Not having the slightest clue on what was around the corner but going around the corner anyways. The anticipation of having to ad lib for my own safety was what I had learned working in the factories. Here it was safe. NoContinue reading “Minor Leagues”

After speaking with the hospital administration about changing my major to Business Administration, I had informed them I would have to think about it. In the mean time I was having a great time working here. The employees welcomed me and I actually got a tour of the Brewster-Douglas Projects were I shared a lunchContinue reading “The Rookie”

This is where life began for me. The Detroit Medical Center, Women’s Hospital ,later to be called Hutzel Hospital, is where I took my first breath, in the early summer 1955. I would return there nineteen years later on an offer of employment. After working in several factories and not feeling safe in any ofContinue reading “From The Beginning”

I was trained in my early years as a percussionist. I understood the importance of rhythm and timing as it applied to music. What I eventually became aware of is that timing is universal. In the plant world it was a task my tutors and I took on to keep growing a variety of cropsContinue reading “The Timing”

I had visited a number of prisons in the DOC and could honestly say they were run like kingdoms. The wardens wielded ultimate authority over their individual facilities. Nothing was allowed to be accomplished in them without the warden’s approval. In my career I had worked for five different wardens, and visited with countless others.Continue reading “This Kingdom”