Author Archives: mjwayblog

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”

I was informed by our Business Technology Teacher that she would begin doing the GED Testing in our school. It was a great relief for me. I had been giving the General Education Development exams once a month for the academic school for the past 5 years. The paper exams were difficult to administer. TheContinue reading “Our Neighbors”

Preparing for our graduation event in our school was always an activity I enjoyed. The academic school whose graduates consisted of General Education Development completions and the Vocational School’s certifications were celebrated annually. One of our guest speakers was the councilor I had advised on finding the paper trail for his lost computers. He hadContinue reading “The Elusive Truth”

This was our biggest surprise! We were contacted by an agency that had heard we were donating plants, and vegetables to nonprofit organizations and after a brief description of their “Head Start Program,” we were more than happy to help them. They had a kitchen in their school building and a creative chef who wouldContinue reading “Our Community”

Mathew 6: 25-26 .Our garden began producing immediately after being planted. In the first year we delivered vegetables on a regular basis to the prison chow hall for both officer and inmate meals. Our immediate community food banks could not believe the amount of produce we were donating to them. I thanked my coworkers whoContinue reading “The Garden”

It took us three days to complete the manure excavation. We filled eight dump trucks and I was able to empty them without incident into what would become the main prison garden. What I learned from the maintenance mechanics who had been involved in the construction of the prison was that the developers took allContinue reading “The Excavation Completed”

We had agreed that we would need to get the facilities dump truck and back hoe tractor to do the excavation. I would let the warden know what are plans were and get his approval for use of the facilities equipment. We figured that it may take us about 3 days to complete the project,Continue reading “The Excavation Begins”