Posts Tagged ‘#orphans’
Giving Back
“I want to start an orphanage,” I told Laura over dinner one evening. “Not necessarily an orphanage, but something like that.”“That’s real hard, Honey,” Laura replied. “Let’s just give to them.”That didn’t seem like enough to me. I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened to me without Buck and the other cowboys who…
Read MoreThe Past Comes Calling
I stood in the pasture with my heifers one morning when my cell phone rang. Looking at caller identification, I answered with caution. The call was from my parents’ phone. Since Dad had never called me, I assumed it was Mom. Somehow I always held out the hope that they would say, “Son, you’ve made…
Read MoreOn The Road Again
I thought my heart was going to jackhammer its way out of my chest that blustery spring day in 1991 when I was released from High Desert State Prison. I knew without a doubt that it had been the grace of God that had kept me alive and protected for five years and seven months.…
Read MoreFree At Last
A chill rippled down my spine as I put the prison vehicle into gear and drove toward the guard tower. My mouth felt dry knowing that I was in the crosshairs of several rifles.I stopped at the gate and showed the guard my papers. He inspected the vehicle and then waved me through. A mile…
Read MoreToo much time to think
I felt like a wounded animal that someone had kicked in the head. Back in my cell, I dropped onto my bed and closed my eyes. Pain throbbed from a place so deep that I couldn’t feel it most days. Being in prison had left me feeling vulnerable – a dangerous situation where my family…
Read MoreTumbling down
Crystal champagne flutes clinked amid conversation on the terrace of the country club where lights twinkled in the trees. We’d taken Luann’s parents to dinner where, following a round of toasts, my mother-in-law slipped her arm around me.“I’m so proud of you,” she said. I smiled, but in truth I almost passed out.“That means a…
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