I am pleased to post a blog written by my close friend Michael Santos. Mike and I met shortly after my arrival at Taft Camp. With Mike's leadership and direction, I made my time at Taft Camp one of the most productive years of my life. I am grateful to both Mike and his wife Carole for their endless encouragement and support as I launch my career as a speaker and consultant.
Prison Journal: Day 8,041. By Michael Santos
I woke early this morning, at 1:07, invigorated after my wonderful visit with Carole yesterday. She looked radiant, and I can’t believe my good fortune to have married such a lovely woman while I still had so much time to serve in prison.
Carole brought some news from my friend Justin Paperny. Justin served a year with me here in Taft Camp, and we grew to be close friends during our time together. He transferred to a halfway house in Hollywood last May, and since July he has lived under strict restrictions of home confinement. Later this week, on 18 August, Justin concludes his prison and confinement obligation. He still must report to a probation officer for supervised release, but at least the prison system’s hold on him has come to an end.
Justin served his sentence with dignity, and worked exceptionally hard to use the time effectively. During the 12 months he served, Justin exercised daily, he read voraciously, and he wrote to document every day of his journey through a blog his mother, Tallie, maintained on his behalf. Besides all that, Justin wrote and published a book while he was at Taft Camp. The book is called Lessons from Prison, and it’s available through his web site at JustinPaperny.com.
Readers who may be new to the criminal justice system may want to contact Justin before they get too far into the process. Before he self-surrendered to Taft Camp, he made some decisions that cost him considerable amounts of money, and exposed him to a longer term in prison. He is an example of a man who not only survived prison, but truly thrived through prison, as his accomplishments attest.
This morning I resumed my work on the Earning Freedom manuscript at 1:36, writing the first words for chapter eight. By the time I finished my writing day, I reached page 330 of the manuscript. I ran 10 miles in the morning, bringing my running tally to 2,178 miles over the past 246 days.
