Author Archives: mjwayblog

” A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn no other way” Mark Twain .I wondered why he was laughing and he informed me he was two classes away from receiving his certification in Heating and Cooling from the same community college. He said it wasn’t easy because heContinue reading “Prejudice”

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.” William Shakespeare .I am giving my prison stories a much needed break, and hope to rejuvenate my creativity in a much different way. In 2025 I want my writing to reflect a transformation that helped me begin viewing life, and continue to do so,Continue reading “My New World”

.The last day of my employment was difficult for me. As a teacher I felt I could still teach this new curriculum, and provide my students the opportunity to be certified. However, the administration seemed only concerned about their safety interests, and not of the teachers. I spent a day and a half on aContinue reading “The Aftermath”

.By the end of the year 2020 over 350,000 people had succumb to the covid -19 virus in the United States as reported by the Center of Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. Another 30, 000 people would die from other diseases with covid 19 being the contributor in the progression of the disease that killedContinue reading “Reckoning”

. I didn’t really know her, but she seemed really pleasant. The tutors that were kept to run the Horticulture program thanked her for taking the responsibility of overseeing what was left of the program. The school principal, like many of the managers in the MDOC, acted perfunctorily when informing me of her passing fromContinue reading “A Culling”

. Before the Covid pandemic started, I was requested by our school principal to travel to another prison facility and help a program staff person decide how to run the greenhouse. The principal had eliminated the Horticulture program, but he still wanted the greenhouse to operate. I did not agree with his decision to eliminateContinue reading “What He Wanted”

. The land of nod is where drug addicts find solace. It was no different here in this prison. Drugs were being smuggled in and the potency was an unknown variable. The unknown variable eliminated the lives of many a prisoner who were addicted. They would never leave the land of nod, and would becomeContinue reading “Dreaming”

Matthew 16: 13-16 . I got to meet an interesting person who was working for the Oakland County Livingston County Human Services Agency in Pontiac, Michigan. I was introduced to him through our Facility Coordinator, and I found him to be unbelievably talented. He wasn’t just another bureaucrat looking to see where he could getContinue reading “Enlighten Me”

.My experience teaching in this prison would be down right hilarious, if it wasn’t for the constant unexpected threat of violence. The school was always filled with activity. That activity could be a variety of classes, both academic and vocational, as well as programs. The program staff taught inmates being paroled a number of subjectsContinue reading “Theater”

.He didn’t know. How could he. She wasn’t clear on her instructions. She never was. I believe she was flying by the seat of her pants and had no idea what she was doing. She was a rookie but would never admit it. She had the backing of all the people who mattered. They didn’tContinue reading “Obliged”