October 27th, 2008

I’ve been working with the prison fellowship ministry for three years now and I enjoy getting information about the men and women inside who have changed their lives for the better. In spite of the horrific setting, these individuals have managed to turn it around. One man I read about yesterday was in jail for more than 10 years when a benevolent minister dared to spend time with him. The minister gave the man a dictionary and a thesaurus and challenged him to learn. With a new focus on education, the man threw himself into college classes offered at the prison. He gave his life to God and began working with PFM. He taught himself how to play piano using a keyboard made of cardboard! It’s an amazing transformation and an example of how only God could have conquered his heart and made things better. After 20 years in prison the man is out now and a productive member of society. There is hope. With memories of my visit to Tombstone still fresh in my mind, I got back to work on the Buffalo Bill Cody piece today. Think I found the perfect person to write the forward. He was actually in the movie Tombstone and has portrayed Cody on film. I got to visit with a friend from high school while I was in Tombstone. I had lunch with him and his wife at Big Nose Kate’s. It was fun! I don’t miss high school. It’s interesting to find out what some of the people you knew grew up to be though. My 30 year reunion is coming up. I guess I’ll know more about those people then. I’d like to know what my ex-husband grew up to be. I was so naïve in high school. Nothing I learned in school prepared me for life on any level. My first book should have read, “See Dick balance his checkbook. See Jane leave an unhealthy relationship. Run, Jane, run!”