Two Weeks To Go

I finished reading “The Last Juror” by John Grisham yesterday evening. I was a big fan of his novels when he first started writing, which was probably over 15 years ago. I remember picking up “The Firm” in the Seattle airport and reading this nonstop on the flight from Seattle to Newark. I couldn’t put the book down and did finish reading it on the flight. After reading this, I found his first published novel, “A Time to Kill” and read that very quickly. By the way, in my opinion, (which really only means something to me!) “A Time to Kill” was his best novel of all of his novels I have read. Back then, I was on a roll and couldn’t get enough of his novels. Somewhere along the line, I stopped reading altogether and sort of lost track of Mr. Grisham’s novels. Upon entering my current situation, I once again resumed reading with veracity. I have filled in the books I hadn’t read previously by Mr. Grisham, and unfortunately, I am losing interest in his novels. “The Last Juror,” which was published in 2004, was one of the worst books I have read from start to finish. It had such a good storyline, but it wasn’t cohesive at all. I kept waiting for the action to start, but it never did. The characters were fascinating on the surface, and it never seemed to go any further than the surface. The ending was horrible and certainly not a textbook happy ending. I think this will be the last John Grisham novel I read for a long time.

Essentially, yesterday seemed like the second Sunday of the week due to the holiday. The only differences between this past Sunday and yesterday was there weren’t any visits yesterday, and the mail did arrive yesterday as opposed to never on Sundays. The mail delivery has been a bit sporadic as of late, and in the past seven days, the mail only arrived on four of those days. The camp is located on a windy road about eight miles from civilization, so I can’t blame the mail carriers for blowing off that drive. I am appreciative of the fact that the mail was delivered yesterday, and I received five pieces of mail. This journey is coming to an end very shortly (incidentally, two weeks exactly from today, Yay!) and so are the wondrous letters. My communications presence presumably will advance when I am out in the free world, and I suspect letter writing will move into e-mail and telephone correspondence. I am so grateful for all the letters I have received all through this journey. I have a garbage bag full of these letters, and these are the letters I have received only here. I have a large box at my good friend’s house filled with letters. Receiving a letter may seem inconsequential to most people, but to us inmates in here, it is a valued commodity. It is unfortunate because not everyone here receives mail, and some folks are envious. I do my best just to collect my mail and move on. There are others who make a big production of it, but nonetheless, the mail has been a huge blessing for me.

Later on today, I will answer these letters, and that will mark my final correspondence to these incredible friends and family members. In one of the letters was a letter from my wonderful nephew. Through all of this, I have gotten to know him so much better than I ever have. It seems that every step of the way a miracle seems to happen, and this correspondence with my nephew is one of those miracles. Hopefully, if I do receive permission to travel to New Jersey for my daughter’s communion at the end of April I will get to visit with my nephew. I have always known I have an exceptional family all the way through, but in this journey, I continue to learn how exceptional everyone truly is. The blessings are bountiful and beautiful.

It is starting to sound like a broken record, but here I go again. The early morning arrived, and with it, I now officially have two weeks to go! In two weeks at this exact time, I will be a free person. I still have 13 days and 1 wakeup day to get through, but I will get through those days one at a time. I was somewhat concerned before this journey commenced, but now as I near completion, I believe it has worked out exactly as planned. I am so grateful for how it has worked out which I attribute all to recovery. Life (my life) is so much better in recovery, and instead of fighting, I am thriving. “Let go and let God” does have a profound meaning in my life and has become a way of life for me. I did things that put me in this position, and this had to happen the way it did. I learn something new every day, and every day continues to get better and better.

This morning was the usual with the early morning workout with my roommate. Today was a better workout than yesterday, and the rest of the day was the usual. I hiked the hill for an hour before lunchtime, enjoying the fantastic weather. The temperature wasn’t as warm as yesterday, but with the high temperature reading 70 degrees, it was again a Chamber of Commerce day. I was looking at my face in the mirror just now, and I have to comment that I will most likely depart here with a tan. I almost feel guilty looking at my face because it hasn’t looked this healthy in a long time. I have made the very best of the past 19 months, and I fully intend to make the best of each and every day one at a time!