I couldn’t believe this past week was the 20th anniversary of the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina! In 2005, I actually experienced Hurricane Katrina, the first time it attacked. Celebrating my birthday in Key West, forecasters alerted to the dangers of Katrina heading directly for Key West. In an effort to avoid the hurricane, I migrated north to Fort Lauderdale ending the birthday trip a few days shorter. Then, Katrina’s path changed, and the storm was downgrading in force. Katrina disguised as a tropical storm swung around Key West and made landfall right in Fort Lauderdale as a category 1 hurricane. The constant, powerful winds of around 80 mph felt like skydiving. Some residents lost power and lots of debris soured yards and vehicles. The streets along Fort Lauderdale’s beach were amassed with sand, and much like snow, the sand had to be plowed. The surreal experience for me ended there. I returned home to Columbus (on time). Then, two days later Hurricane Katrina unleashed to a category 5 and destroyed/ruined so many precious lives in New Orleans during its second and historic landfall. 20 years later, Katrina’s aftermath still remains today, not just in memory, but property damages are still visible.
This Labor Day Weekend offered me a great opportunity to reflect on the past and look forward to new memories, especially with the great news of my sentence reduction. A year ago, I was isolated, overheated, and mentally anguished in solitary confinement, all for a misunderstanding: being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I remember thinking that at least I’m being treated better in federal prison than individuals detained in ICE detention centers. I offered up my struggle to the abandoned, undocumented children lost in those ICE detention centers. I knew that I would be released back to the prison camp, but those children had an unknown future (and probably still do). While I enjoy the small freedoms of prison, like having a recognized holiday, I know this experience will be etched on my heart like that of Katrina.
In a brief highlight from this weekend, The Ohio State University Buckeyes had a great performance over the Texas Longhorns, which was fun to witness some Texan-bolstering inmates humbled by OSU’s victory. We had a great Labor Day meal of hamburger, hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad, and peach cobbler. The weather was very sunny and hot, so I played a lot of pickleball, which helped the time from the long weekend pass. As always, thank you for taking the time to check-in and see how my time in federal prison has been progressing, especially now that this will be my Last Labor Day weekend in prison! I appreciate all the continued support and love. I wish you a safe and wonderful week…and continue to be mindful of any little miracle in your life 🙂