One question often asked is if I have met any good guys in prison, and I have intentionally left this question in limbo until I could appropriately answer it. Plus, I waited until I had an actual picture that I could share of three guys that became a group of friends. Back in frigid November, I was new and so were two other guys. Actually, I believe we arrived to Morgantown on the same day, except I was able to self-surrender while Dan (guy opposite of me in the picture) and Talon (guy next to me) were on "diesel therapy" or transport from con-air to bus and across many cities. I hear nothing but horrible experiences from every guy that has shared their adventure in coming to Morgantown on diesel therapy.
Talon Copas & the OGs
Dan and Talon were held in the segregated housing unit (SHU) for a week since they had not been vaccinated for COVID, which was the standard procedure at the time. They shared the similar crime of intent to distribute a controlled substance (LSD). When they were cleared to join the rest of the general population, Dan and Talon were inseparable...you could tell the small cell and common criminal situation really helped them form a bond. While they were constantly together, they also bickered like siblings. It was entertaining to witness them poke each other's nerve to see who might show agitation first.
I began playing card games with them. We would exhaust a game, then one of us would teach another game (euchre, hearts, spades, casino, rummy, gin, farckle, and such). We began eating lunch and dinner together. We became an entourage of completely different people with one commonality - prison. After a few weeks, Jon (pictured in the middle of Dan and Talon) joined our group and became the standard fourth player - many of the card games we played required 4 people. Then, Jon began joining us for meals, until all of us became inseparable.
After 6 weeks in prison, I moved into a different unit, and these three guys remained amazing internal support to me, even though we were no longer playing games each night, but we always continued eating together. Of course during this time, I still had my guard up to be suspicious of every guy. After about two months, I was convinced that these guys were definitely quality and would actually be considered friends 🙂 We chatted like friends, argued like brothers, and just seemed to get along really well. As I was mentioning the little miracles that I experienced during those early days in prison, these guys were definitely one of them!
After being together nearly 6 months, last Wednesday was Talon's time to fly the nest...he was able to leave and go to a half-way house near his home. Since I will out-stay the rest of these characters in Morgantown, I'll contribute some information about them once they leave. Talon is the first to be closer to freedom, and I couldn't be more excited for him. He had been locked up for a year in a county jail before coming to Morgantown to finish serving a 24 month sentence (aside: being locked up in a county jail is extremely common for drug offensers until the evidence can be sent over to the Department of Justice for prosecution). When he arrived at Morgantown, he quickly earned the nickname, Jack Harlow or Hack Jarlow, because of the striking resemblance he has to a white rapper named Jack Harlow (Google search a picture and compare the similarities). Prior to Talon leaving, he granted me permission to share my thoughts about him and knowing that they would be put on this blog!
Talon has been my favorite inmate - this would be no surprise to anyone here. He's the epitome of a Gen Z'er (we joke with him all the time with stereotypes for Gen Z'ers). From quick observation, Talon just looks lazy and unmotivated, but appearances are deceiving. Talon is a 26-year-old white guy from Michigan City, IN. He's quite sensitive and a complete goofball. A self-described non-conformist hippie, Talon is bright, goofy, and extremely intuitive. He also is the luckiest guy that I met in Morgantown. We would constantly remind him on how lucky he is. "It's Talon" would commonly be a phrase that nearly anyone who met Talon would use. He could break a rule in front of an officer, and an officer might laugh or redirect him to stop doing whatever he was doing...any other inmate would have been written-up or reprimanded. One exceptional example of his luck occurred during his sentencing, Talon should have received 5 years for intent to distribute LSD, but after he gave the judge his allocution, he was sentenced to 2 years! This drastic difference of 3 years for a crime involving an illegal substance is never heard of! Talon reflected that he was remorseful and the judge had pity on him - this so rarely happens in federal court. Yet, Talon has quite the divine intervention even for a whatever Buddhistic sect he dabbles with...he's definitely a hippie!
We have had phenomenal conversations on life: from business aspirations after Morgantown to God's merciful forgiveness to the joy of the wildlife found at Morgantown. We would walk around the campus observing the various species, besides the geese and mallards. Talon almost always has some autistic fact about the animal. He loves birds and has two exotic fouls - one that speaks and sings. Talon lights up when he talks about his talking bird! I have mentioned that we have feral cats, and of course, Talon befriended one of these cats who would let him hold her. Never did he worry about fleas or cat scratch fever, but my germophobic self would remind him to wash his hands (at least before playing the piano).
On paper, Talon and I couldn't be more different individuals, but we recognized each other's unique humor. He likes to claim that I "troll" people albeit conversation or some debate, but knowing the outcome or answer to my own questions. A troll is his word for devil's advocate, which troll is probably a better phrase than having a demonic attribution to describe me. Yet, we share one common interest - love of music. We both love to play music and explore different sounds on different instruments. Talon was a member of the band, Sh!t Pickle, which was the jamming, improv one. He played the ukulele, guitar, and piano. He knew ukulele and guitar before coming to Morgantown, then spent the last six months tinkering with the piano. I encouraged him not conform to the rigidness of music theory after he took a guitar class. He innately creates musical progressions and songs that are beautiful and catchy. Forget the basics, he focuses on something he thinks sounds "interesting" and fixates on it... I enjoyed his ingenuity and appreciation for growing in his musical ability. We spent a lot of time co-teaching each other different things that we learned on the piano or guitar.
For months, Talon would speak about his tie-dye business, and how he would sellout his shirts at music festivals. In fact, he confided that he was no longer going to be selling LSD, since he had enough money to focus on his business with the t-shirts. His story took credibility when he finally made a version of a tie-dye shirt in Morgantown. He took an old, brown t-shirt and made an alien head and body from the bleach used to clean bathrooms. It was amazing to see one his creative designs...I was impressed at how well the shirt turned out.
Because of his nonconformity to prison culture, I nicknamed Talon, Tablerone...like the weird triangle candy that no one seems to know when they see it a Duty-Free store in the airport. Like the candy, Talon is just different, but the good kind of different. We spent a lot of time together from band practices, to playing cards and shooting pool, to learning hobby crafts, to playing shuffleboard and PICKLEBALL! We played a lot of pickleball. Like me, he was just learning how to play too! His presence really helped make these first 6 months in prison bearable.
Simply, Talon is just an incredible person. He was the person that extended compassion and kindness when I did not have any tennis shoes. He had an older pair of shoes that was repaired, but he found shoelaces and Dr. Scholl's inserts to create an very comfortable shoe - he just gifted me the shoe! I was beyond moved by his kind gesture - one that I am very thankful for today! Talon would literally give you the shirt off his back if it meant that you'd be comforted or cared for. It was miraculous that I encountered a great friend (sort of a little bro) in these first 6 months. I wish him all the best as he is reunited with his family, girlfriend, and kids. I look forward to a reunion beyond the confines of Morgantown. I know he will be a lifelong friend!
I can't wait to share about Dan and Jon - all in due time! Besides them, I have met a few other good guys here, but I wanted to introduce this group of guys, especially now that Talon has moved on - he certainly raised the benchmark for Gen Z'ers!