Book Journal - Lions of Lucerne, The Black Ice

When I first got moved here, I was pretty bored.  I had my new Bible that I was reading and learning how to use the study material.  I was pretty happy to have received this just the day before my transfer, especially as it had been delivered over ten days prior to that and I was asking for it every day!  But, I was also needing some other reading material so I asked a CO if they had a book I could read.  They had three books sitting on the desk, but two of them were in Spanish so asked for the one that was in English 😊

It's called “The Lions of Lucerne” by Brad Thor.  I knew it was going to be good just by the author’s name. 

The story follows an ex-Navy Seal turned secret service agent.  When the President is kidnapped while on vacation, Agent Scot Horvath must do what he can to protect the President’s daughter – and protect himself from being killed in the process.

As agent Horvath goes on his own investigation to find the President and to find who is responsible for the death of so many of his fellow agents, he discovers that nothing is as it seems.

He has to flee the country as multiple people are trying to kill him, and he gets framed for a murder and for being the inside man of the terrorists who did the kidnapping.  He teams up with Claudia Mueller in Switzerland to find the President and find the truth of who is really behind the kidnapping.

This book is really good and I’m glad that I was able to stumble upon it.  

I recommend this book and I’m looking forward to finding more from Brad Thor. 

                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The Black Ice” is another book in the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly.  It’s the third book from him that I’ve read now.  I actually had finished this one right before I was transferred.

As Harry gets cut out of a murder investigation of a fellow detective, he is given a couple of other cases to investigate. 

He starts to uncover the hidden life of the murdered detective as his new investigations start to overlap into the case of the murdered detective.

After another homicide detective is taken out, Bosch has to put it all together before he becomes the next victim of The Black Ice.

It, just like the other two in this series that I’ve read is pretty good.  Again, I can do without the amount of cussing, but I thought it was great otherwise.  I enjoy reading through this series.  All three books so far have been able to capture my attention and I get drawn in for hours at a time.

Out of County

After my sentencing on June first, I knew that I could be leaving the county jail at any time and likely with short notice.  On Monday, June 15th I was moved out of Brown (segregation) along with two other Federal inmates.  We were moved back into the infirmary area which was a nice break after being in solitary for so long.  One of the other guys (Cook) and I had both already spent time together there, so were excited.  The third guy, Andrew, was nervous though. 

The first time that I was in the infirmary, I was in one of the two 6-man tanks, cell 235.  This time, they put us in the 6-man tank, cell 232.  There were three county inmates already in there.  Cook had spent ten months in 232 before being moved to Brown and he knew all three of the county guys.  Although they were not big into cleaning, and the tank was gross, we were still excited about it.  The next day I was able to talk the three county guys into turning the TV from Ice Road Truckers and Shipping Wars over to The Big Bang Theory 😊.  

Then on Wednesday afternoon the CO came to the door to inform us that the three county guys were going to move to 235 so that they could separate the county inmates from the Federal.  So, we spent the next few hours cleaning after they left.  That evening was very quiet and peaceful.  We no longer had to listen to the same stories told over and over of how one guy was innocent.  We also didn’t have to worry about messes left behind from one of the other ones that I will spare you the details of, lol.

At about 9PM I went to use the phone to call my wife and kids to tell them goodnight, but the phones were not working because the voice verification was down.  Andrew and I kept trying to call our families until 10:30 when the phones shut off.  I went ahead and laid down and thought to myself that I hope I don’t catch chain (get transferred out of the facility) in the middle of the night.  My hope was to still be there until Monday so I could call my youngest for her birthday on Friday and then talk to all three of my kids for Father’s Day.

I fell asleep fast and was sleeping great until Cook woke me up.  As I uncovered my head and looked up, our CO, Ray, was standing in the room looking at me.  He said “hey, you’ve caught chain”.  My heart sank as I sat up and asked what time it was.  It was 3AM and when I asked how long I had to get ready, he told me that they were already out in the hall waiting for me.  They were supposed to call about 30 minutes early so that I could pack and get ready, so as fast as I could I got everything packed up and ready to go.  It took me about 15 minutes.  I wanted to be sure to have my teeth brushed and flossed and have deodorant on because I didn’t know when the next time would be that I’d be able to that again.

The walk from the infirmary to booking was pretty nice.  There were twelve of us walking together, hauling our stuff, not knowing where we were headed.  I enjoyed the walk because it was the first walk to booking in almost three months that didn’t involve having my hands cuffed behind my back and my feet shackled.  It was also really nice out too.  We made it to booking and they split us up between two holding cells.  We were told that it would take about three hours to process us out and that the Marshalls would be there about the time they were done.  This was about 3:30 am and we were allowed to have a mattress so we could lay down and go to sleep, but that was impossible.  We had five guys in the cell that I was in, the other four were up talking and giving the staff a hard time.  I decided to use my time to do my Bible reading in the brand-new Bible that I had just received the previous afternoon. 

One by one we were pulled out to change into the street clothes that we were wearing when we had first arrived there.  Then, we went back into our cell and they brought some breakfast at about 5AM.  I ate as much as I could stand; I knew it might be a while before we had a meal again.  By 6:30, everyone else was asleep.  I stayed up and explored my new study Bible – besides that, I had my CPAP machine and some stuff that I wanted to leave there in my property for my wife to pick up.  One of things in that was my radio that had helped me through some pretty hard times, and I kept my eye on that so that I could keep track of the time.

At around 10AM I began to wonder if someone had gotten their wires crossed. Then, about half an hour later the Marshalls finally arrived.  They brought in about ten inmates that were going to be booked in there.  We were able to find out from them that we were headed where they had come from, which was Eden Detention Center in Eden, TX.  One by one they pulled us out again, this time to be strip searched by a Marshall and then change into an orange uniform made out of extremely thin fabric.  It was at this point that I was able to talk the county people into letting me turn in my stuff to my property – thanks Mrs. Dukes!  I was very concerned about making sure that my CPAP machine would be loaded up in the bus with us, and the Marshalls were great about it.  Then my street clothes and Bible went into a white trash bag that would also go along with us to Eden.  I was then cuffed in the front, with my cuffs hooked to a chain around my torso and the blue box of death covered my cuff’s key holes.  I was also shackled and then attached to another inmate by a chain. 

At about this time, one of the inmates that had come from Eden was walking by me and I asked him how it was there.  He said that it was trash, that the Mexicans ran the yard.  This didn’t really worry me much though.  

I think that just means that if you’re in a gang or get involved with them or with racial politics that you have to be careful.  I’m not into either of those so I wasn’t concerned.

Now it was time to load up, so in a double-file line we were marched out of the booking doors of Johnson County.  I hope to never see the inside of that jail as an inmate again.  I even told my CO, Ray, who is one of my favorites that I really appreciated him but that I hoped to never see him again.  He said that well, he hoped to see me in the world someday.  If it were allowed, we probably would have shared a bro-hug, lol.

As my travel buddy and I were about to climb up the bus stairs, I was trying to figure out how we were going to accomplish this being shackled at the ankles and being attached with a chain to each other.  When it was our turn, he went first, and I followed close behind.  Both of us slightly turned sideways so we wouldn’t pull on the chain that connected us.  As I took my first step up, I heard my paper-thin pants rip, lol.

We started to walk through the first caged-in area of the bus.  One officer was handing out Johnny Sacks (brown paper bag lunch) and another one was handing out bottles of water.  I couldn’t help but feel intimidated by the officers’ stern stares and also the shotguns that were behind them.  The second caged area was the seating area for the inmates.  We found the last open seats that were together and sat down.  The seats are small and solid plastic.  I thought to myself that it was going to be a long four hours, but then I noticed the TV screens that were mounted throughout the seating area.

Also on board were about twenty inmates from Parker County who were going to Eden with us.  We were told that we had about 15 minutes before the officers were going to come through and make us throw out anything from our lunch that was leftover.  I pulled out four pieces of bread, one piece of bologna and one piece of cheese.  I wasn’t sure what to do with the two extra pieces of bread, lol.  I put the “meat” and cheese on the bread and ate it as fast as I could.  I drank about half of the water and then ate the orange which was included.  Just in time for the officer to come take everything else and throw it away.

While doing all of that, a new movie was starting on the TV screens – Aquaman.  It’s a pretty good and long movie so I was OK with it.  We were off finally, but then they decided to stop and get Whataburger for the four Marshalls.  Two of the officers were locked between our cage and the front.  They had a locked cage door between us and them and an unlocked cage door between them and the other two up front.  The two up front were the driver and the one to watch the cameras.  Once they secured their Whataburger, we pulled out and headed out toward Eden, TX.

Once Aquaman was over, they switched it out for Shazam.  After about 30 minutes, some of the inmates complained that it was too boring, lol.  So, when we stopped for gas the officer put in Grand-Daddy Day Care…teaches them to complain about Shazam being too boring?!

As we got closer to Eden Detention Center, we hit construction and the last 30 minutes was pretty miserable.  My back was hurting worse than its ever hurt, and my rear was begging my legs to stand up.  We finally arrived and we were all relieved to get off the hot bus.  There were a lot of officers waiting to remove all of our restraints when we got off.

From there, we were directed to walk inside where we were split up between two large cells.  These cells were directly next to each other and made of steel bars.  So those who wanted could talk back and forth.  Most of the inmates are hardened criminals who are most likely drug dealers and are in gangs.  Some of these guys are a part of rival gangs, but in a situation like this they get along.

I took advantage of the space and found my own little corner and attempted to sit down, but my backside hurt too much so I decided to stand for a while.

I purposely had not drunk much water before we left so that I wouldn’t have to use the restroom, but now when the line got shorter, I decided to go wash my hands.  Washing my hands made me realize I was thirsty and I was tempted to lean down and get a drink….but knowing how much urine probably splashed onto the faucet of the toilet/sink, I decided that it would be worth waiting a while longer to get a drink from a cleaner source.

They called us out by 2’s and 3’s to once again get strip searched and changed into this facility’s duds.  After I got dressed, I noticed that these clothes were a much higher quality and a lot more comfortable than any I have received prior to this.  I had on new socks, crocs, underwear, white t-shirt, pants, and an outer shirt.  It was nice to feel comfortable clothing on me.

Before returning to the cell, I asked the CO that I was with if they have separate housing for SO’s and he said yes.  This really helped to ease my mind, and he told me to talk to the counselor about it when it came time. 

Next, the PREA (Prisoner Rape Prevention Act) counselor called me into her office.  I let her know that I was a SO and she told me the same thing that the CO told me, but she also told me that I would be in a 14 day quarantine with the inmates that I had come in with.  She told me just to lie and say I’m in for drugs.  I explained that I know very little about selling drugs or that lifestyle.  They have their own culture and even language that I don’t know well enough to be believable.  Also, my charges are very easy to find due to media coverage.  So, she suggested that I be put in PC (protective custody).  I was OK with that even though it meant fourteen more days locked in a small cell with limited contact with anyone. 

I went to have my fingerprints done and had a new mugshot taken, and I waited my turn to see the case manager.  After the mugshot that Arlington police took, I have taken it more seriously.  Just a little disclaimer for those that have seen that first mugshot: it was taken about an hour after in intense interrogation where I was very honest and was accused of horrible things that I did not do and where I was lied to in order to try to get me to say things that weren’t true.  So, that mugshot was taken at the lowest point of my life.  The one that was taken here is actually much better.

I also want to take this opportunity to remind you that if you ever find yourself being questioned by police, GET A LAWYER!  By not having a lawyer present and answering honestly, it probably cost me close to ten years of my life.  When they tell you that it will benefit you to not get a lawyer, they are just kidding you.  Don’t lie, just get a lawyer; a lawyer will help you be quiet and not say things that will be used out of context later.  Also, the police/FBI are actually allowed to lie to you so don’t believe everything they say.

OK, back to my story.  I was looking forward to talking to my case manager so that I could find out what security level I was.  After he asked me a few questions and processed my paperwork, he said that I’m low security.  Wow, that helped my anxiety level again!  However, he then informed me that the low security designation is only for this facility and that the BOP has a completely different system of determining what security level I will be housed in.  He also has no way of finding out what security level the BOP will assign me to, or what prison I will be headed to.  This is not a BOP facility; it’s a private facility that the US Marshal Service contracts with as a holding facility.  After I talked to him, dinner showed up.  It was chicken nuggets, beans, rice, bread, and cabbage.  The nuggets were a little soggy from sitting on top of the beans, but overall, it was pretty good.  Or maybe it was just because I was really hungry.  (Proverbs 27:7)

They also brought a jug of lemon-flavored Kool aid (it’s actually sno-cone syrup and water).  I drank about five cups of that and took even more trips to the water fountain to fill up my cup.  It was definitely better waiting a couple of hours for a drink!

At about 6ish, they started calling names to line up to be housed in C-unit.  My name and the names of two other inmates (both of whom had come from Abilene) did not get called.  After everyone else left, we were told that we would be quarantined in the SHU (Special Housing Unit/Segregation).  They cuffed us in the front so that we could carry our bedding and our property.

I was originally housed on the second floor in cell 201.  I had a view of the entrance door, the CO desk, and a digital clock.  Anytime that I needed something, I could get their attention pretty easily.

Later the next day I was finally able to use the phone to call my wife and let her know where I was.  Once you’re told that you’re catching chain, they do not let you use the phone at all.  But I had given my friend Cook a phone card and my stepmom’s phone number, so he called her that morning and told her that they had come for me during the night before.  Although my family figured when they didn’t hear from me that I was being moved, I was glad that he made that call for me so they would be less worried and know that nothing else had happened.

On Monday, I was pulled into the safety officer’s office where I signed something saying that I wanted to be in PC (Protective Custody) and was told that I was moving to a cell with a cellmate.  I was not excited, but he told me that if he though it was an issue that he would not do it.  So, I got my first cellmate in a 2-man cell.  He was a very low-key man who is about a year older than me.  We got along just fine.  He came from Mansfield, where I had spent two weeks, so we had some stuff to talk about. 

On Thursday morning they woke him up and told him that he was headed out.  He was pretty confused because he had just got here two days before me.  I think they took him back to the DFW area where he still has to go to court and be sentenced.

The Tuesday before this, a nurse brought me my CPAP machine and told me that she would be bringing me an extension cord, but when she came back she said that the Captain had said no because it’s a safety issue and the warden would have to approve it.  I explained that the day nurse had told me that she already had it approved through the warden.

Every night after that I would ask about it and was told either that the Captain saw it as a safety issue or that they didn’t know anything about it.  Finally, on Saturday night one of the COs in charge came by and I asked him.  He was very surprised that they hadn’t already been bringing the cord to me because it had been approved.  At about 8PM he came back to my door and said that I would be moving cells so that I could be close to an outlet.  So, I moved from 115 to 112, he plugged in the cord and put it under my door for me and I was finally able to use the machine and sleep better!  And no one was even killed in the process 😊

So, now I’m laying on the bottom bunk in my cell without a cellmate.  Once I’m done with writing this I will be writing letters to a few people who might not have my address and then I’m going to start a book that my sister sent to me called “The Mandalorian Armor”.  It makes me think about and miss a friend who has read every Star Wars book there is.  I’m sure I’d have a lot of questions for him.  Maybe I’ll use this to try to get back into contact with him.

One thing that I’ve learned through this is to not be afraid of contacting people.  I actually feel guilty for judging people by thinking that they don’t want contact when actually they do.  I’ve only been rejected by a few people and it’s been by ones who I didn’t think would do that.  I have been able to give this over to God and have a little bit of peace about it.  We can’t let the fear of rejection stop us from reaching out to people that we care about.  We also should not focus on those who do reject contact, they have their own reasons for it and that’s between them and God.  We should focus on the positive side, on those who will stand by us in our darkest times to help us back up.  Those are my people and I’m always open to adding more! 

So, I’ll be in the SHU in PC until my quarantine period is done and then I’ll be transferred over to H-unit which houses people who would not be welcome in general population.  I’m a bit anxious about it, but I know I’ll be OK. 

“Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” – John 14:27

Out of Seg!

On Monday, June 15th I had a busy morning.  After I finished my morning phone calls, I started to clean up my cell a little bit before I finished my Bible studying.  At about 9:40 I was about done and about to lay down and open back up to Isaiah, but my CO, Anderson, came to the door and asked if I was ready to go to rec – and I said of course I am!

When I came back in from rec it was about 11:00 and because I had walked for over an hour outside, I decided to work out since I was already warmed up and sweaty.  After about twenty minutes, Anderson told me that I was one of the next people to get a haircut, so I decided to stop and take a shower so that I wasn’t all gross when the trustee barber cut my hair.

As I got out of my shower, I could Anderson say something about “14 cell”, which is me.  So I asked what he was saying….he came over to my door and smiled at me through the window and said, “You, Cook, and 18 cell are headed back to the infirmary.”  After I did my victory dance, I hollered out through under my door, “Look out Cook!”; he responded with some words that I won’t repeat here, but he was pretty happy, lol.

After I ate my lunch, I packed up all of my stuff in my mattress cover.  

I currently have a lot of books on me, so it was really heavy.  I told Anderson that I wanted to leave one of my mattresses for the guy in 11 cell who was needing an extra one, and that way I wouldn’t have to carry two of them either.

At a little bit after 3:00 they finally came to get us.  I had to have one of the trustees carry my mattress cover full of stuff so that I could carry my mattress, blankets, CPAP machine, and two gallons of the distilled water that I use for the machine.

We were all in good spirits walking down the hall towards the infirmary, knowing how good we were about to have it.  We were told that all three of us were headed to 232, which is the other tank in the infirmary.  I had spent three months in the other six-man tank, 235, before spending 77 days in Brown.

I had gotten used to being alone in that 8 X 12 cell, so being back here is great!  It’s a big room with only six guys sharing it, I get to watch TV and get on the phone whenever I want.  As far as jail is concerned, it’s the place to be if you have to be here.    

Sentencing Day

Monday, June 1, 2020 started pretty early for me.  I got up at about 5:30 am.  Breakfast would be here by about 6, so I wanted to already be cleaned up and ready before it got here.  I don’t remember what it was, 

or if I even ate it.  If they bring cereal and/or biscuits and gravy then I’ll eat, otherwise it’s not worth it.  The cereal is usually generic corn flakes and it’s pretty good.  I will use half of my milk on the cereal and the other half for my instant coffee.

I was able to do my daily Bible reading before the transport officers showed up at about 7:30 am.  They patted me down, shackled me, handcuffed me, put a chain around me, and connected my handcuffs to that chain.  Then they slipped a blue box over the chain of the handcuffs that covers up the keyhole on the cuffs.  The blue box of death as I like to call it, this prevents inmates from being able to unlock their handcuffs during transport.  It is also very uncomfortable as it usually makes the inmate’s hand bend out at the wrists and causes the handcuffs to dig into the outside of the wrists.

Luckily, the officer didn’t have my cuffs tight and she had a small box which made the wait and the ride out to the courthouse easier.

I am housed in the building that is the furthest from where we have to go to get into the transport van.  So, the walk takes a little bit because of the shackles.  I didn’t mind though because it was a beautiful Spring morning.

When we made it up to booking, I found out that there was one more inmate coming with us.  He is housed in the Blue West, which is another seg area.  As he walked up, I realized that I knew him as he was my neighbor in Brown for about a week.  He is on a lot of medication, so we had to wait for the pill lady to bring him his meds before we could leave.  We were supposed to leave at 8:00, but because of the delay with medical, we were about 30 minutes late in leaving.  We were able to use a nice minivan with sliding doors and lower, more comfortable seats.  It made for a nice ride up to the courthouse.  It was really good being able to see other people on the road, trees, fields, buildings, and normal everyday things.

Arriving at the Federal Courthouse in downtown Ft. Worth brought me back to reality.  It’s an old, ugly, white building and we enter through a back gate into a parking lot.  We have to wait in the van until the US Marshall in charge of transport comes out to escort us in.  His name is Robert and he is very well known among the Federal inmates here.  Robert ushered us into the building, up a small flight of stairs, and into an elevator to go up to the 2nd floor.  Once there, we are escorted to a holding cell behind the courtroom where we are both about to be sentenced.

In the holding cell, there were four other inmates from other facilities in the area.  I recognized one of them as an inmate who was with me in the courtroom when I pled guilty to my charges.  He was there today to get sentenced for being in the country illegally.  He got ten months, most of which he has already done.  It’s likely that he is now just waiting to be deported.

I’m not in the cell for very long before my name is called, so I get up knowing that this is it.  But, it ended up just being a lawyer visit before the hearing.  After a quick visit with him, it was back into the holding cell.

When the actual time came, the Marshall came up to the cell and called out my name, saying, “you’re up”.  Now it was time.  As I walked into the back of the courtroom, I immediately glanced to my left to make sure that my family was there.  I was told to sit in the first chair in the back row of the jury box to wait my turn.  Once I was in my chair, I was able to find everyone’s face except for my wife’s.  I had a momentary panic attack until the person standing between her and I moved, and I got to see her beautiful face for the first time since December 11th. 

I did a quick head count and saw that they had let all ten of my family members in the courtroom.  My judge is allowing ten family members into the courtroom at a time, which worked out good.  I had nine people either fly or drive in from Colorado.  Seven of them would be either driving or flying back to Colorado by that evening as well since visitation at all jails is still shut down due to the pandemic.

As it became time for my turn, I was nervous yet confident as we started.  My lawyer wasn’t sure if the prosecutor was going to have anything to say, but she quickly revealed that she had a lot to say.  She brought up things that I had hoped would have stayed confidential in my court records.  I’m very sorry that everyone had to hear all of it, but I also already knew that it would not change anything for most everyone.  The details of my case are shameful, and I am hoping someday to leave it all in my past.

She called the lead investigator on my case to the stand to use him to reveal details in dramatic fashion.  I’ve never fully trusted him after my interrogation, but I’ve always felt that he knows that I am not the stereotypical sex offender.  I could tell that he did not appreciate being used the way that she was using him.

I was grateful when she was done trying her best to make me look like a monster.  At a couple of points, she twisted my words around and even tried to dispute the favorable report from a forensic psychologist.

When my lawyer got up, he pointed out that my interview with the forensic psychologist lasted six hours, and that although he didn’t put everything that we discussed in the interview into his report that the doctor was well aware of the details of the crime and is a respected specialist.  I really appreciated that. 

After he made his arguments, including reasons for a ruling of the minimum sentence, he had my dad come up to make a statement.  I was also very appreciative of what he had to say.  I know it was not easy, and I hate that I put him in that position, but it meant so much to me.  Next, my sister was able to make a statement as well.  She was very honest and encouraging to hear. 

Then it was my turn to make my statement.  I had spent a couple of weeks putting it together and memorizing it.  I couldn’t get two words out before I started to lose it.  I prayed really quick to be able to focus on what I wanted to say and was able to continue on.

This is pretty much what I said.  “I am sorry for what I’ve done.  I hope that everyone can forgive me so that they can have peace and healing in their lives.  I know that I have caused a lot of damage to all of the people that I love.  The loss of an active roll in relationship with my family and the loss of my freedom has greatly affected me.  It has motivated me to do whatever I need to do in order to get healthy again.  I have begun my journey toward this on my own and have already seen some fruit from this effort.  I am looking forward to getting help in prison as well as after my release. 

I plan on using my life, my mistakes, and this experience to help other people.  I know that I have the ability to achieve my goals and still become a successful, contributing member of society.”

My statement was longer and had more detail to it, but that’s the gist of it. 

I had barely enough time to sit down again before the judge sentenced me to 293 months of imprisonment and a lifetime of supervised release after that.

They quickly took me out of the courtroom.  I tried to make eye contact with everyone that I could as they walked me out.  It was so good to see every one of them!

Once back in the holding cell, I didn’t tell anyone about the time I got or my crime.  It was then time for the inmate who had come with me to go in for his sentencing.  He came back and told us that he got 25 years for his charges of controlled substance.  He is 55 years old and he took it hard.

After about 45 minutes, they called me back into the room to talk to my lawyer again.  It was a good meeting with him.  Overall, I was satisfied with everything that he did on my behalf.  The mistakes that were made were my own, mainly that I should have asked for a lawyer from the start and kept my mouth shut.  Well, I should have done a lot of things differently, really.

The ride back to the jail was a lot harder than the ride there.  Not many words were spoken.  When our transport officers showed up to pick up the two of us, they were dropping off two more inmates from our jail.  Robert, the Marshall in charge of the inmates at the court, decided to get me ready.  He pulled the chain around my mid-section tighter, tightened my handcuffs too and then gave me a bigger size of the blue box of death.  

By the time we got back, my hands were a little swollen and my wrists were purple where the handcuffs were digging into them.  But the community was safe, lol.  It’s actually not as horrible as it seems, it’s just uncomfortable for about 45 minutes.

I spent about an hour and a half on the phone after I got back to my cell.  

I was hoping to get to talk to my girls immediately, but my lawyer advised against that right away, but it will be happening soon. 

The sentence was much longer than I had hoped.  The mandatory minimum of 15 years would be more than enough time for what I did, 

in my opinion and in that of my lawyer.  But we’re not in charge.

The day before the sentencing, I was going through a book I have called “The Names of God”.  As I go through the book, I will use my Bible and look up the verses.  At one point, I looked at 1 Peter when I was supposed to look at 2 Peter.  I stumbled across verses 13-16, which basically say to submit yourself to ordinances and the government.  That was very humbling to read.  But I guess that I hadn’t fully submitted myself yet because on Tuesday God had me read Romans chapter 13.  The whole chapter is about submitting ourselves to authority.  I am still working on it.

So now, I wait for the knock on my door and the instructions to pack up my stuff because it’s time to “catch chain”.  This could happen at any time now.  I am very nervous about this part of the journey, but I am also aware that I will be OK because it’s only temporary.  The Bible teaches us that our trials and heartaches are but for a moment, only as long as they need to be according to God’s plan.  He humbles us and teaches us to develop strong character; through all circumstances we have opportunity to grow in faith. ❤

I love you all and I am so thankful for your love, support and prayers!

Book Journal - Hayduke Lives!

I finished the sequel to “The Monkey Wrench Gang” the other day, “Hayduke Lives!”

The author, Edward Abbey definitely has own writing style.  He likes to take different characters, in completely different circumstances and stories, and bring them together.

Edward Abbey is a famous environmental activist from the ‘70’s and ‘80’s.  In the first book he explains that the characters might be loosely based on real people.  I wonder who these people are and how much of what is in the books is true.

In this book, Hayduke, who is a former Green Beret, has become legendary among environmental activist anarchists.  Now the evil empire is moving a giant mining machine referred to as “Goliath”.  This machine is heavier than 150 Boeing 727’s, wider than six Caterpillar D9 tractors lined end to end, and it has enough power to supply electricity for a city of 100,000.  It leaves a path as wide as a football field as it moves through the Utah desert.

The story follows all of the heroes from the first book as they all meet up with each other, along with a few new activists to take on the task of stopping this massive machine.

The character named Bishop Dudley Love is determined to mine carnotite and build his empire no matter the consequences to people or the environment.

The author is good at using witty humor, especially with the banter between the main characters.  “Hayduke Lives!” starts off slow as it introduces new characters and updates us on the ones we know from the first book.  But the action at the end was pretty good.  One thing that I did not like was the amount of adult content in it.  Abbey was not shy about it in the first book and it seems like it was ramped up in this book.

I did appreciate the story of Old Man Turtle that started and ended this book.  My uncle who sent this book to me also sent a picture of a real life Goliath mining machine, it almost seemed unbelievable!

Book Journal - Tripoli Pirates

When I made my book list, I left out a pretty cool book that I read.  The same inmate who let me read the Tom Clancy novels, recently sent over a book called “Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates”.  He was with me when I was housed in the infirmary here and he was moved over to the segregation area with me as well.  While in the infirmary area together, we talked about a lot of stuff and I had told him about how my favorite type of book was non-fiction military.  So, after we were sent over here, we started to trade our books back and forth.  The CO’s are not supposed to pass stuff back and forth between the inmates, but most of them have enough compassion to break small rules.

A few years ago, my pastor at the time was talking about the Marines’ Hymn and how it mentions the “shores of Tripoli”.  He explained a little bit about the history of that statement, and it stuck with me.  Ever since then I’ve wanted to learn more about that part of our history.  So, when I got this book sent over to me, I was pretty excited to read it.  I don’t want to get too far into the history of it because I hope that you decide to read this book and/or do some research on this part of the history of our country.

The story takes place at the end of the 1700’s and the beginning of the 1800’s.  George Washington is passing off the scene, while people such as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are heading the way.

After the Revolutionary War, George Washington decided that America should not have a navy or even a part in world conflicts.  So, building a navy was not a priority for him.  At the time, America was a baby nation who was trying to build her economy through foreign trade.  This caused us, like most other nations at the time, to have to travel the waters north of Africa through that trade route.

Just as it is now, Northern Africa was controlled by militant Muslims who wanted power and money.  And just as they do now, they would harass merchant ships, taking some of them captive and holding them for ransom.  Unless of course the ship belonged to a nation who would pay tribute to these nations that controlled the waters.

Thomas Jefferson and some of the other leaders had enough of this kind of barbaric behavior toward our nation and decided to take action.  Read this book to find out how we were able to build our navy and a reputation that has stuck with us ever since. 

The book also gives the account of the first battle that our Marines ever fought on foreign soil.  The Navy has been the Marine’s Uber for over 200 years now, lol. 

Book Journal - Patriot Games, Without Remorse, City of Bones

These next two books were both books that a cellmate of mine had me read.  They are both Tom Clancy novels and both are great reads.  He has written quite a few bestsellers, and several have been made into movies, including “The Hunt for Red October” and this first one that I read,

“Patriot Games”.

“Patriot Games” is about a CIA agent named Jack Ryan.  When I was reading this book, I pictured Jack and his wife as Jim and Pam Halpert from “The Office”, lol.  If you don’t get that reference then you need to get on Netflix and watch every episode of “The Office”, and then get on Prime and watch the Jack Ryan series.

In the first book, Jack Ryan has his wife and daughter with him in England when he thwarts a kidnapping attempt on part of the Royal Family.  This book has a ton of action and leaves you on the edge of your seat waiting to see how the terrorists that Jack Ryan stopped will try to get their revenge.

The second book is called “Without Remorse”.  The inmate that loaned me this said it was actually better than “Patriot Games” and he was right!  

It’s about a Navy Seal named John Kelly, aka John Clark.  He stumbles upon a young woman who needs a lot of help.  He, along with a couple of new friends help her to get on her feet.  What follows makes for a great story. 

This book is a bit darker than what I usually like, but I still liked it a lot.  I won’t go into detail, but there is a lot of action and the story sheds light on a dark side of our society.  This book really pulled me in, and I had a hard time putting it down.  I found myself getting emotionally involved with the story and its characters even though it’s a fictional story.

“Without Remorse” is a great title for this book.  Sometimes the only way to fight against people who don’t have remorse is to be without remorse as well. 

This is the end of the nineteen books on my list.  I have a new book that I have started and another that I just got today from the “book lady” so I’ll be adding these to my book journal as I finish them.

If you read any of these books, let me know what you think about them!

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I just finished another book by Michael Connelly called “City of Bones”.  This is the 8th book in his Harry Bosch series.  This book was even better than the first Bosch book, “The Black Echo”.

Although I found it to be a bit dark, it was still a very good one to read.

This story follows Harry Bosch as he investigates the murder of an unknown person after the discovery of bones in a shallow grave.  He must find out the identity of the victim and also the murderer, despite it happening more than twenty years earlier.  He finds an emotional connection with this cold case, along with a new police officer.  This murder mystery has a few twists and turns, some of which are predictable but some of them caught me by surprise.  Now, I’m looking forward to reading another book from the Bosch series that is on its way to me now 😊

Book Journal - Authors David Baldacci, Jack Carr, Dean Koontz

“Deliver Us from Evil” by David Baldacci is the next book on my list.  It’s a book that is getting passed between the seg cells right now.  It’s an action adventure about two different agencies – one private and one government from two countries who are both trying to kill the same man.  This is a thriller with different characters and plot turns.

This author has published a lot of bestsellers and some have been adapted for movies and TV.  He has also published some novels for young readers.

This book was a lot of fun to read and it went fast.  I love books where I can read for hours on end and get lost in the imagination that it triggers in me.  This is one of those books. 

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The next two books are both by the author Jack Carr, “The Terminal List” and “True Believer”.  He has a third book in this series but it’s not in paperback yet.  Maybe once I get to prison, I will be able to receive hardback books, and I should have a library available there too. 

Jack Carr is a former Navy Seal who has a gift for writing novels based on his experiences.  I believe that these are his first published books.  They both good stories to read and I think the guys I pass them on to will enjoy them too.

In “The Terminal List”, James Reece is a Navy Seal who is betrayed by a few people in the government.  I don’t want to go and spoil anymore than that.  It’s a wild ride as he seeks his revenge on those he has written on his “list”.

“True Believer” is the sequel that finds James Reece hiding out and trying to finish his life in the best way that he knows how.  That is until he is found by the U.S. government and given an opportunity to clear his name.

Both of these books were very entertaining.  I was able to finish the second one in two days even though it’s over 500 pages long.  I am definitely looking forward to reading his third book when I’m able to get it.

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The next two books are both by Dean Koontz.  “The Husband” and “Watchers”. 

“The Husband” was a decent enough story of a man whose wife is kidnapped for reasons that her husband doesn’t understand.  He has to figure out who has her, why they have her, and how to get her back.  All without tipping off the police.

It’s an easy read, probably written for young adults, but it was still pretty entertaining to read.  It does have a couple of twists and turn that I didn’t see coming, which was a lot of fun.

“Watchers” was better than “The Husband”.  It’s also probably geared for young adults but it’s still a good read.  It’s a bit of a science fiction/action adventure.  It follows several characters. One is a NSA agent as he tries to track down….well, I won’t spoil that part 😊.  It also follows an ex Delta Force soldier who has suffered nothing but loss in his life until a dog shows up and saves him from being killed on a hike.  The third character is a woman who was sheltered by her overbearing man-hating aunt and is trying to come out of her shell when she starts getting stalked by a sexual predator. 

All three of these character’s stories come together and none of them are ever the same again.

Book Journal - The Hiding Place

The next book on the book list in front of me is my favorite book.  This book was sent to me by my stepmom. 

My stepmom types up and sends me cryptograms in the mail.  If you don’t know what that is, you should look it up.  They are very addictive word puzzles and I’ve gotten really good at them.  My dad does them too and we’ve even made up some of our own.  One cryptogram that she sent me turned out to say, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God”.  Of course, part of the cryptogram is also figuring out the author of the quote and this one was by a woman author named Corrie ten Boom.

As I was talking to my dad about this particular one because I needed a couple of hints to figure it out, he told me that he and my mom had actually got to see her speak back in 1977 at a church in Denver.  So, my stepmom asked me if I had ever read “The Hiding Place” by Corrie and I said no, so she sent it to me.

I didn’t know what to expect with this book when I first started it, but I could hardly put it down.  Surprisingly, this book also just about fits into my favorite genre of non-fiction military. 

Corrie tells of her childhood in Holland.  Her house was always busy with people coming and going.  Her dad was a popular watchmaker and her mom was always making stuff for everyone in the neighborhood.  She had an older sister and brother, as well as a younger sister.  She and her older sister Betsie never married, but her younger sister and her brother married their spouses and moved on with their lives.  Their mother passed away, leaving Corrie and Betsie to take care of the house with their father. Corrie became a watchmaker and she taught Bible classes and Sunday school and was active in organizing Christian clubs for Dutch children.

Around 1940, the Nazis made quick work of The Netherland’s defense and their nation surrendered.  Very soon they were noticing many Jewish people and families disappearing; either taken to camps or fleeing.  

The ten Boom family could not sit idly by while a whole race of people was being hunted down.

Corrie winds up becoming a leader in the underground movement to hide Jews and get them to safety.  At this time, she was about 48 and Betsie was about seven years older than her, so they were not young women.  Their lives - and their faith - are amazing.

I won’t spoil anymore of this true story for you if you don’t already know it.  But I will tell you that the best character in this story is Betsie.  I believe that Corrie probably thought the same thing.

Before I read this book, I didn’t have a “favorite” book.  But without a doubt, “The Hiding Place” is now #1 on my list.

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." - Corrie ten Boom

Book Journal - Earning Freedom

A book that I finished just a couple of weeks ago is called “Earning Freedom” by Michael Santos.  It’s his true story of how he was able to overcome the many obstacles he faced while serving 25 years of a 45-year drug sentence in various Federal prisons.

This book had me stressed out, lol.  He decided from the very start that he was going to leave prison as a productive and successful member of society.  He has authored something like twenty books and has contributed to many other publications.  Some of his writing is used in criminal justice courses around the country.

He vividly describes his journey from starting out in a high security prison in Atlanta and making it all the way to a minimum-security camp.  He has many altercations, but mainly with the administration in each facility.  

He left prison without anything bad on his record even after the authorities of a prison camp tried to falsely accuse him of having a knife when they knew he didn’t.

He started a website while still inside to help others understand prisons, the people they hold, and strategies for personal growth throughout confinement. He wanted to document his journey, to show others the values-based, goal-oriented approach that he took to deal with the adversity in his life.  This was actually one of my inspirations to start my own blog/website.

 

Although many of the conditions in prisons are horrible and the wardens and staff fought against his many efforts to better himself and earn college degrees, he was released into the world as a better man with goals and plans.

He now has a business as an educator and shows clients how to make productive use of time while preparing for success upon release from prison.  Here he has a free download of this book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone facing prison time or who has a loved one in that situation.  It’s especially revealing about the realities of the bureaucracy called the BOP – Bureau of Prisons.  He gives an inspiring story of triumph and the dedicated steps he took to achieve that.  

I will also admit that I cried through the last paragraph of the book and am a bit emotional just thinking about it now.

Book Journal - The Bondage Breaker, David: A Man of Passion and Destiny

The first book that I read after I arrived where I am right now was 

“The Bondage Breaker” by Neil Anderson.  Neil is a former pastor who is now in a counseling ministry.  I can tell you that this book was an answer to prayer for me.  I knew I needed a book that would point me into the right direction in my life.  I needed a book with practical applications in it to help me form new thought processes and habits.  This was the first book I picked up when I got here.  It was laying on a pile of books in the common area of the 24-man tank that I was in.

This book helped to change me from the inside.  I don’t agree with all of his theology, but if you’re a Bible following Christian, this book is great.

We all live in the bondage of our own sin.  In this book, the author shows us how to break free of our enemies when they attack through our temptations.  I highly recommend this book.

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This next book is also a great Christian book that I’ve mentioned before.  

It’s called “David: A Man of Passion and Destiny” by Charles Swindoll. 

My dad sent this book to me and we have been trying to go through it together as much as we can.  It shows us many lessons from the life of King David.  The parallels between his screwups and mine are absolutely uncanny, along with the consequences.  Some of the chapters left me feeling on top of the world with encouragement, while some were so convicting that I wanted to stop reading.  This has been one of my favorite books that I have ever read.  I only have a couple of more chapters to go before I finish it, but I have a feeling that it won’t be the last time that I go through the David book.

                

Book Journal - The Monkey Wrench Gang, A Prayer for Owen Meany

An encouraging book on my list that I received from my Aunt Barbara is “The Heavenly Man” by Brother Yun. 

This is the story of a pastor in China.  As a teenager, he trusts Jesus as his savior in a tiny village in China.  It follows his life as a Christian in a land where it’s illegal to practice Christianity.  He spends a good part of his life avoiding the authorities while preaching the Gospel as well as spending some time behind bars.  It’s an easy book to read and is very inspiring.

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Another book sent to me by my Uncle Tommy is called “The Monkey Wrench Gang” by Edward Abbey.  The author was an environmental activist back in the 70’s and 80’s.  The story that he tells in this book is one that fits him well.  It’s about a group of people who are tired of the government turning the wilderness into concrete, so they decide to make it harder to do by causing chaos for the construction crews as well as make plans for a big splash.

There is quite a bit of action and even some comedy in this book.  It has a few awkward moments in it, but it’s easy to get past them.  At the beginning of the book I wasn’t a fan of the character Hayduke, but by the end he was my favorite.

Right now, I’m waiting on the “book lady” to bring me the sequel to “The Monkey Wrench Gang”.  Uncle Tom surprised me with it, but I haven’t been able to receive it yet because this jail has a three-book limit of what we’re allowed to have.  I have three books ready to give back to her right now, but she won’t be back by here for two more days.  I’d tell you the name of the sequel, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise twist in the first book. 

I recommend this book, but if you’re going to read it, don’t cheat – read it before you find out the name of the sequel 😊.

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Another of the first books I received is one that I had read before, but I enjoyed reading it again.  “A Prayer for Owen Meany” by John Irving.  

This was a fun book to read.  It’s written from the perspective of the main character’s best friend, Johnny.  Owen Meany is a very short, funny looking kid with a horrible voice.  But Owen believes that God has a purpose for everything, including the curses in his life.

The story follows these two boys from their childhood into being young adults.  It’s a fun but sad story of friendship, family, love, and honesty.  

I recommend this book to everyone – there are actually a few copies of it that make their way around to all of the guys here.  There was a movie made based on this book called “Simon Birch”, but the book is a lot better.

It is a long book that does have some slower moments.  But the author does a great job of pulling us into Owen’s world and his faith in the purpose of his life.