MJ-Way

. . ..Corinthians 14:33….

.It was going to be a great spring/summer break as I got ready for my nineteenth birthday. I decided to take care of one of my two physical education requirements and picked a beginners tennis class to satisfy one of them. I was not disappointed in doing so. Tennis as a sport I should have played in high school. God gave me the opportunity and I was just to stupid to see it. The coach, who was also the Special Education Instructor, pleaded with me to join the tennis team. My vocational teacher also quite frankly told me to get rid of my girlfriend, car and co-op job. He felt I was missing a great opportunity. I didn’t listen. I was enjoying everything my co-op job brought me in terms of experience with people in the “work world.” I was earning a paycheck and I was going to be graduating high school.

.To this day I still don’t regret my decision not to play high school sports. I felt I needed to get on with a real life. However, what I do regret is that if I played, was coached by our school Special Education teacher, he would have noticed my hearing deficiency, and could have helped me. By God’s grace I completed undergraduate and graduate school without knowing I had a hearing deficiency. I recorded all of the lectures on a cassette player so I could relisten to them as many times as I needed to. So playing tennis now for the fun of it and completing a requirement toward my Associates Degree was a no brainer. Picking the time was easy as well. They offered only one class at 3:00 PM Monday through Friday. I jumped at the chance this time.

.I was back at the factory welding ball joints to A frames and enjoying it. No one was bothering me and I had plenty of work to do so I thought. God’s plan was once again different then mine and before I left work that morning I was told by my foreman that I had been laid off. This was the second time I had been laid off here and I have to say that it did upset me. I would have to wait two weeks before filing for unemployment and sub pay. I knew I was going to have to find another job. This totally stunk, but there was no other recourse for me. I began to believe David was right. Somebody here doesn’t want me here. I thought my welding skills would keep me here for awhile but that was wishful thinking on my part and once again I would pray: Where should I go now God? Looking for some direction please. ….My Life’s Journey continued…..

..”The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.” Euclidean mathematics was not the way my life’s journey could be described. I had a tendency to bounce towards light. I felt more like Tigger than Winnie, and displayed an ever insatiable quest for knowledge. Looking back, I can only hope the fulfillment of my desire did not crush the happiness of others. I was back at the factory welding A frames which never seemed to be in short supply. That was my job for the past two months, and I had not been harassed either. I was getting used to the routine and finished the winter semester at school as well. Going to the student union after my finals I ran into David who I had not seen for quite awhile. He looked happy as he informed me he was now working as an apprentice at Johnson Controls.

..He no longer worked for the TRW corporation. He said he also completed his Heating and Cooling Certification and was picking up the certificate of completion. I had informed him that for the past two months I have been doing nothing but spot welding A-frames, and no one seemed to be bothering me anymore. He did tell me that United Parcel Service was hiring part-time package handlers and I would only have to work 5 hours a night. I would be making more money than my current job working 8 hours a day at TRW. I thanked him for the information. He felt that even though I wasn’t being harassed now, he thought someone just didn’t want me working there, and the “accidental gassing” was targeted. I told him I’d have to think about it, but I did appreciate the new job lead.

. Before he left he gave me a new phone number telling me he was living with a girlfriend now and things were getting serious. He informed me that I might be invited to a wedding, and wanted me to stay in touch. I took it and thanked him for his friendship. He helped me stay centered at the factory and school. I knew I would miss seeing him but he was exiting my orbit to accomplish his goals. I was happy for his success. Johnson Controls was a very good company to be working for. I just knew he would be successful there as well. I was tired and headed home to shower and sleep before going to work later tonight. David always had the ability to see what was happening at the factory before me. I would miss his insight for sure. I was debating if I should take a summer class, and if I did, it would have to be something I enjoyed. I’d have to sleep before making that decision not realizing it had already been decided for me. My Life’s Journey Continued… Matthew 16: 15-16

.The company nurse seemed happy to see me. She asked how I was feeling, and I informed her I felt great. She had me sit on the end of an exam table while she checked my blood pressure, and listened to the pulse on my wrist with a stethoscope. She then put the stethoscope on my heart and listened to it’s beating. She smiled and then put the stethoscope on my back asking me to take deep breaths, hold them for as long as I could and exhale . I did this four times at her urging as she moved the stethoscope over my back. Her last instruction was to cough as she held the stethoscope in the middle of my back. She began writing something down, and I wanted to know if everything was okay. She noted my concern and informed me everything sounded normal, but If I experience any of the following symptoms I was to come back to the clinic: 1. blood in a cough that produces phlegm. 2. Sudden dizziness. 3. Headaches that won’t go away with an aspirin.

.She informed me they were all symptoms of the type of exposure I had unfortunately experienced. She wasn’t really sure how long I was in the chamber before anyone found me. I wanted to know what time did she’d come to the chamber. She informed me she was called to the chamber and I was already out of it laying on the floor sleeping. It was 4:45AM. So I told her at best I probably got gassed and passed out immediately. The gas was being removed by a vent in the chamber. I probably took a direct hit to my face. She agreed with that analysis. I told her I felt great and wasn’t suffering any side effects. I am sure being 18 years old had a lot to do with that. I agreed to come back and visit the clinic if I should experience any of the symptoms she mentioned. Right now I was only concerned about showering, loading up my car with my fishing gear, cashing my check, picking up my fishing buddies and heading to Canada to go fishing. She smiled at that.

.It was great to see my friends. We had planned this trip for the past week and would spend three days camping and fishing in Canada over the Memorial weekend. I went to and graduated from High School with both of them. I had helped one of them get a job where I worked as a co-op student, and the other, we were friends throughout Junior High and High School. Later we would share our college friends as well as we struggled to complete undergraduate degrees. We shared laughs, fishing, drinking Canadian beer, and deciding what we would eat if we didn’t catch any fish. God always seemed to provide and we ate fresh fish, baked over a campfire. We had a great time being in the outdoors, the fresh air, the river, the openness of the landscape was inspiring. Our shared camaraderie of a space in time that can never be repeated, but was beneficial to our spirit, I still remember. I forgot about the factory and that was a good thing… My Life Journey… TO BE CONTINUED ……….. …………………………………………………………PSALM 103 ………………………………………………

… 1 Samuel 16 : 7 ….

. I was on cloud nine as I left campus. I aced my public speaking assignment, and my other class work loads I was on top of. I would actually get some sleep when I finally made it home. The ether gassing last night finally caught up with me and I slept sound. I felt rested as I got up to dress for the factory. My jeans, t- shirt and tennis shoes was all I needed to work there. The benefits of working there, I didn’t need much of a wardrobe, and it was close to my home. There was a note on the kitchen table reminding me to see the company nurse before I left work in the morning. That wouldn’t be a problem. I grabbed what I had made for my dinner to be eaten on my break at the factory, and headed there. The guard checked my bag as I entered the factory, and perfunctorily waved me through. A note was stapled to my time card reminding me to see the company nurse before the end of my shift today as well.

. Once I clocked in my foreman wanted to know if I knew how to weld. I informed him I could arc weld, and spot weld. He smiled and brought me over to a container of A-frames and ball joints. He then plopped the ball joint into the A-frame and asked me where would I put the welds? I showed him where and he smiled again. Handing me back the A- frame and ball joint I welded the ball joint into the A-frame. He shook his head yes, and asked me to finish these containers. They would bring me more when I completed this load. I was once again isolated and wondered if the “throwing of things at me” would begin. I seemed to be in the clear. I completed my shift with no problems, and ate by myself as usual. Not too many people ate lunch in the factory on the midnight shift. Most did whatever got them through the night in their cars or vans.

.I finished my lunch and went back to my work station. The inspector had given my work a green tag which meant he checked the welds on the A-frames and they passed. The foreman made sure I would be busy for the rest of the night. I would fill two more large containers with welded A-frames before I left for the day. The welding was natural for me. I would lose my train of thought pondering my “ether dream experience” while making my production. I was constantly questioning the experience. What exactly had I seen? What exactly did I feel, and was it really a city I was standing in? The more I thought about it the more confused I became. So I decided to stop thinking about it and just praise God. For good measure, I would continue to wear my Cross and St. Michael medal on a chain around my neck. Something I still do to this day, but realizing that I am protected because of my belief in Jesus Christ. My medallions are only for identification of that truth.

. The inspector checked the welds and green tagged them. I looked at my watch it was 6:30 am. The foreman smiled at me and was impressed with the welding. He reminded me to clean-up and go see the company nurse before I leave for the day. I felt good. Even though I was pretty much isolated welding, no one was throwing anything at the large metal bins near me. I was in the back of the factory and even the general factory noise sounded distant. I went to the locker room to clean up before seeing the nurse. Taking off my leather gloves I noticed a red cross on the palm of my left hand. I must have been holding the A-frames way to tight while welding was my thought. I quickly finished washing and went to the company clinic. …My Life’s Journey To Be Continued....

… Hebrews 1: 1-4 …

.Once I got home, I showered quickly, had an Instant Breakfast drink, grabbed my book bag and headed to campus. I went to the library to prepare for my first class, but instead of preparing for that class, I started thinking about what had happened to me in the factory. I didn’t want to start feeling paranoid, but David’s words, “watch your back” had me wondering. He must know or sense something about the people working there that’s just not obvious to me. The experience left me awestruck. In what I thought was a dream, I traveled, I felt very aware of everything I was seeing, some kind of city, and then I touched a marble column of a building in front of me. I wanted to make sure this was real. Touching the column I was overwhelmed with the feeling that this marble is indeed real, I am in a real place, but I am no longer in the factory.

.I wasn’t afraid but I knew something must have happened to me. I was again overwhelmed with the feeling that everything was known, all the wisdom in the world was known by God and the people who loved him. Knowledge was used for good and not evil. While standing in that place I understood there wasn’t anything I didn’t know either. My mind was unveiled. Everything on earth and throughout the universe was God’s creation. God was not chaos and everything was made for his glory. The universe and earth moved as he planned. To emphasize that thought, I witnessed three wheels spinning in space each on the same axle but not concentric. I understood one circle to be past events, the second circle was present events, and the third circle future events. I understood everything about them at the time of my viewing them. They eventually all stopped in alignment, and I understood why.

Celebrating Black History Month by listening to the music of a very good African American jazz artist. Good Memories. My father had Benson’s early albums and my younger brother Greg and I would play the music. Me on an old Spanish guitar given to me by my brother Greg and him on a white Fender Stratocaster. Sit back and enjoy.

.Our conversation continued: David informed me that he was finishing his classes this semester and with any luck he would be leaving the factory to serve an apprenticeship with Johnson Controls. He was really looking forward to leaving TRW, and believed they showed an interest in hiring him. He would know for sure after this semester. We couldn’t talk long but agreed to meet at the student union in a week. Once again he told me to watch my back at the factory. I just couldn’t figure out why he said that. As a utility worker no one was pranking me anymore. The other workers didn’t say much to me, but they weren’t throwing anything at me. I was wrong as usual.

.The foreman asked me to clean a production paint station that was shutdown and in need of maintenance. I prepared a solution and began wiping down one of the spray nozzles when all of a sudden the doors closed behind me. I succumbed to the fumes and woke up sitting on the factory floor with my back against the wall. I was wearing an oxygen mask and what looked to be a nurse and a medic at my side. She was monitoring my breathing and seeing me awake she asked, “how are you?” Through the mask I informed her I was fine, and wanted to know could I take the oxygen mask off?. She shook her head no and directed me to keep it on for the next ten minutes. She motioned the medic away.

.I wondered what had happened and I looked at my watch for the time. I remembered looking at my watch when entering the paint station it was 4:15am. It was now 6:30am and my shift would be over in a half hour. The nurse took the oxygen mask off and I immediately stood up. She asked if I was dizzy. I informed her I wasn’t, but I had experienced what I believed to be a very intense dream. She informed me that I was overcome by fumes, and had been sleeping for awhile. The station was supposed to be turned off but someone turned it on not knowing I was working inside of it.

.She escorted me back to the company clinic, signed some papers for the medic who was waiting for her, and returned to me. She asked me to sit on an exam table where she took my blood pressure, temperature, and listened to my heart beat with a stethoscope. She said I had inhaled a combination of ether and laquear fumes which made me pass out. Every thing seems to be fine now and I believe she noted that in her medical log.

. She asked me to follow up with the clinic tomorrow, and that I was free to go home. My shift was over. I told her I had an unbelievable dream, but was still trying to make sense of it. She informed me that “ether” would do that to a person. It wasn’t unusual. At that point I just wanted to leave and I did just that. I punched out at exactly 7:00AM I needed to sort this out, and I went home to shower. I was due on campus at 10:00am.. …My Life Journey…TO BE CONTINUED… JOHN 10: 23-30

.It was hard for me to imagine that the pranking was intimidation, but David believed it was. I looked at it as just another day at work and with the down time, young guys goofing off. I was able to complete one full semester at school and knocked out three class requirements. I felt on top of my world, but ended up taking a tumble when just before Christmas I was laid off. I was not expecting it. The wind was taken out of my sails for sure. .I had to collect unemployment, and because I was with the UAW, I got sub pay.

. Being laid off didn’t effect me taking classes, but how my schedule changed would. After collecting unemployment for a month I was offered two positions by the company. One was on the day shift at my current pay grade. The other, was on the midnight shift but at a lower pay grade. It was an easy decision for me to make at the time. I was attending full time classes during the day. I had to choose the midnight shift. I had a full schedule now.

.My social life, or what was left of it, went out the door quickly. I was loved, lied to, played and betrayed by friends as I completed my second semester. Some felt I had changed. Our orbits would never be the same from this point on. I was very much on a learning pilgrimage, and wanted to enjoy the journey. I would be unfettered. Making new friends was not a problem for me. Having the time to enjoy that friendship was. What I didn’t realize then was my life’s journey was being directed. God had a plan for me. I was just too immature spiritually to recognize it.

. I ran into David on campus and told him what had happened at work and how I ended up taking a job on the midnight shift so I could finish my classes during the day. Even though it paid me at a lower rate, it was still more money than my unemployment, and sub pay. I was being used as a utility worker and would work where ever the foreman needed me. I even got to see the employees who I believed were pranking us. They were waiting on parts to fill their production quotas.

. The first thing they asked me was how I knew you? They were hanging out together at one of the large milling machines. I just shook my head and kept walking ignoring what ever they were saying. I really couldn’t hear them because of the stamping presses, but by their facial expressions, and gesturing they didn’t seem happy .The foreman motioned me to another area. I was glad to follow him. He told me they were “assholes” but I really didn’t know why he was saying that, and I didn’t ask him. It must have been derogatory. I thought oh well, another day, and another dollar. At the time I was young and I didn’t care what others thought of me. ... My Life Journey continued.. JAMES 1: 19-27

” 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 he kept being bumped from shift to shift It seemed because of his low seniority every time he seemed to be making progress on his classes somebody was bumping him for his shift. What saved him he believed was the fact that he could collect unemployment if the job they wanted him to bump to was at a lower pay grade than the one he was working.

.He was smart enough not accept anything lower in pay, received unemployment, and got to finish two full time semesters at the college. He then had to accept his current job on the afternoon shift. He was a wealth of information. Having worked all the shifts in this factory he was quick to point out who was who. The foremen, the union stewards, and floor inspectors. He believed, although the pranking continued, the afternoon shift wasn’t as bad as the midnight shift.

. He told me the midnight shift workers were unbelievable. They were always pranking him.. There was a lot of down time and horse play. He was glad not to be working on that shift. Unfortunately, not long after our conversation I was bumped to the midnight shift. I found out exactly what David was talking about. It wasn’t uncommon for workers to throw bolts at the storage bins next to my work station, and the clanking metal sounded like a gun shot. Our work stations were separated by these large storage bins so you would never know who threw what.

.I remember seeing one of the foreman speaking with one of the floor inspectors being hit, but he had on a hard hat. He just laughed and kept talking. He didn’t seem to care. I did. I wasn’t given a hard hat to wear while working. That morning I actually ran into David on campus and he wanted to know how I liked the midnight shift. I informed him it was as crazy as he said it was. What’s worse, you can’t tell whose doing it. He said, “exactly.”

.We agreed to meet for lunch where we continued to talk about the factory. Our classes were in different buildings but ended at roughly the same time. We met in the student Union. He pointed out that like work, there were not many African Americans here, but he felt welcomed here. I questioned why he didn’t feel safe at work. He felt that all the pranking, bolt throwing, and machine sabotage was directed towards him. I had informed him that it continued even worse on the midnight shift. He shook his head in acknowledgment but he added this caveat; watch your back.

.He felt targeted and believed I was being targeted too because of my friendship with him. He worked longer there than I did. I believed he understood racism more than me. I was right out of high school coop, first semester at a community college, and really just beginning to understand what was happening at this factory. I told him I’d pay more attention to my surroundings, but it was difficult to see anyone doing the pranking. He shook his head in agreement. It would take me awhile to understand his concern. My Life Journey To Be Continued… Hebrews 2: 9-18

“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, in a much more God centered way. I wasn’t much of a spiritual young man. I was raised Roman Catholic but as I got into my latter teenage years I wasn’t that centered on my faith. I always believed in the Almighty but my faith was not the priority of my life then. I worked my way through high school Coop and took a production job with the TRW ( Thompson Ramo Woolridge) corporation once I graduated. The factory was a big difference from where I had been working in high school. The drugs and alcohol were rampant. I did not feel very safe working there, but the money was good. Once I had my ninety day probation in I was put on the afternoon shift.

. My work station was shared with another employee. He was African American and he was only a year older than myself. We didn’t get to talk much while we worked because of the noise in the factory, but I remember it being extremely hot. I couldn’t stop sweating and within an hour my shirt was dripping wet. Our work stations were right next to the heat treat ovens. He pulled a packaged sweat band from his pocket and handed it to me smiling. I put it on and it immediately kept the sweat from dripping onto my face and neck. We got a 15 minute on the spot break after three hours of working, and everything seem to stop in the factory except for the stamping presses. He wanted to know if this was my first time working here and I informed him I completed my ninety days probation on the day shift. It was such a short break but we had agreed to have lunch together. I thanked him for the sweat band.

. Once we were able to go to lunch he gave me a quick tour of were we were allowed to break. The lunch room was not as filled up as it was on the day shift, and he informed me that’s because the majority of the production workers on this shift have liquid lunches in their vans with a little weed as well before coming in to finish their shift. I was glad to just sit down after washing up to eat a meal. I felt like I lost a couple of pounds working and sweating. My new friend informed me his name was David. He had been working here for over a year, and on this particular job for the past three months. I told him my name, and that I had just enrolled in a community college hoping to complete an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts over the next two years. I was hoping to stay on this shift for at least three months. He laughed. ...My Life Journey To Be Continued…

1 Samuel 17: 32-58

.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 a ventilator after open heart surgery, and couldn’t risk catching covid. It would have killed me. However, I think some of the administration would have preferred that for me. I had testified in one too many Internal Audits in which their colleagues found themselves no longer employed. They didn’t hold me in high esteem. So it wasn’t surprising that three days before my last day of employment with the MDOC I was the target of an internal audit. I was sent a classified E-mail that only I could open and respond to. I was not to show anyone. It was on the GED testing I conducted at our facility. I could only laugh when I saw their questions.

.I was a stickler for cover your ass documentation. The GED testing process was anything but easy to administer. Once it became computerized we had nothing but problems with the software. Tests I would administer would lock up on students and the time would run out never giving them the time to finish. Needless to say this would happen to at least one student in a 15 student testing session, and sometimes even more. I filed complaints through the testing service, our administrator, and made a folder for the testing sessions as well. I know I documented well over a thousand testing irregularities. What I was being accused of was helping a student get a good score. He had been one of the students whose computer locked up in the past. I was told students whose tests locked up scores would not be counted. That was not true. They stupidly counted it. His next test he passed with a very high score because his computer didn’t lock up while he was taking the exam. Go figure.

. Being a stickler for documentation I just had to copy eight pages of problems I faced with the students I tried giving the exams to but the computers locked up, and they were not able to complete them. This administration was the worst. They never followed up with the problems. They were all too busy looking for their next promotion. So on my last day of employment I completed an eight page document, which I made a copy of, and sent it to our Internal Auditors. I never heard from them again. I did leave them a post script. I informed them I would probably publish their questionnaire and my answers as a retirement gift to myself. It would be my formal goodbye to some very lacking managers both in talent and integrity. I felt they deserved nothing better than the publicity of their maleficence. Ironically, that negative publicity would probably get them promoted. Go figure. Luke 2: 1-7

I hope you have enjoyed my prison stories as much as I have enjoyed writing them. I am taking a well needed sabbatical. I hope to begin the blog again in 2025 and I especially want to thank all of my readers. “Au revoir pour maintenant.”