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The fog just never cleared for him. The corrections officers administered four narcan epi-pens before they got a heartbeat. In the last few years of teaching at the prison overdosing on what they believed to be fentanyl started becoming a weekly occurrence. There was a whole new protocol on handling suspected overdoses. This just addedContinue reading “Drugs & More”

Some of my student’s heroes were not sport’s stars. It didn’t surprise me. Gold chains, large bankrolls, gold grills, large diamond rings, expensive cars, designer clothes and what they called “hot babes” were the makings of successful drug lords who employed them. They were easily led. Many were parentless at a very young age andContinue reading “City Drug Wars”

I was out of the loop. I hadn’t been keeping up with the outside world or what was happening in the streets just outside of this hospital for over three years. I had taken a promotion at Grace Northwest Hospital in Detroit as a manager in their Facility Administration. They were part of the Harper-GraceContinue reading “Detroit’s Cocaine Wars”

Psalm 46:10 I had the opportunity to work for five different prison wardens in my twenty five year teaching career with the Michigan Department of Corrections. Each had their own style of management and vision of how the prison should be run. Each would hire their own personnel included in their inner circle. The innerContinue reading “Persistence”

“Everybody has to have a buddy working behind the fences of this prison”, said our school principal. He believed the teachers needed to check on each other between classes making sure we were ok. The academic teachers watched out for each other and the vocational teachers did the same. We still carried our body alarms,Continue reading “Buddies”

One of the worst situations in prison is a full blown riot. I did not experience the riot at The Southern Michigan Prison in Jackson in 1981 but I had worked with colleagues who had. They had informed me that there was a big riff between the prison administration and the corrections officers, and thatContinue reading “A Storm Is Brewing”

Psalm 139: 23-24 I don’t know where he thought he was. He was in the middle of our garden just picking everything he could get his hands on and stuffing them inside his state issued prison uniform. The out of bounds signs didn’t register with him, the orange snow fencing that separated the walkway fromContinue reading “What’s this?”

ACTS: 1-12 A week had passed by since I wrote the tickets on Mr. Obscenity. I was working with two of my students in the flower gardens next to the healthcare building and the segregation unit. A corrections transportation van had been parked next to the segregation unit where they normally bring prisoners in forContinue reading “So Long…”

My Spanish student was able to get reenrolled into my class, and I was glad to have him. His English had improved considerably, and he was eager to begin were he left off. After a two year hiatus he seemed relived to be here. I was curious as to why he had to go toContinue reading “New Beginnings”

PROVERBS 3: 5-8 I ended up hiring my student who had received the forgiveness letter from his victims family. He was a work horse and had completed the Horticulture class in six months time. I let my students work at their own pace but they had to finish the course within in a year. ThisContinue reading “A New Day”