22: Who is this guy?

Ever wonder how you might be viewed in prison?

I’d like to start by saying how much I appreciate all of you! I didn’t know what to expect when I started sharing my journey. I’d hoped to present a narrative of an American who cares deeply about the country, has thoughtfully examined issues, and drawn my own conclusions.  There are many who still insist there is a cult of Trump’s personality.  I guess in a country of 330 million, there could be those that have a cult-like following.  However, by exercise of reason, values, judgement, and discernment, there is a much larger group of Americans who stand for the principles of our founding.  We see through the bullshit we are asked to believe every single day by the establishment press.  We’ve become much better at looking at the hand the magician doesn’t want us looking at.

I have hesitated to share today’s post.  It’s not because there’s anything wrong with it, per se, but I don’t want this to come across as self-praising in any way.  I thought there were several humorous moments that show the humanity of life in prison, so, I trust we can proceed with that pre-amble, as I remain one’s humble servant.

I have spent more than 20 years of my career in a senior executive position, first at a large, publicly-traded advertising firm, followed by the launch of several marketing services firms. For me, this means I’ve learned to keep many cards close to my vest, reveal what is helpful, at the right time, and not get easily flustered. I care deeply about the people around me, but I can be a bit measured in my communication as I get to know people.  Ok, that’s the intro…

A few days after I arrived at Milan, I was chatting with the good Pakistani doctor.  I had just brought him his breakfast.  I went to my top bunk to eat mine.  After a few minutes, he said “you know, Brad, you carry yourself differently. Are you an executive of some sort?”  I said, yes, as a matter of fact, and we talked about my background for awhile.  I hadn’t really thought about how I would appear to others, or that I had an unusual presence.

Office Hours

About a week after that, I was reading in the hallway.  An older black man came out of his cell, looked at me, and said, “hey, are you a lawyer??”  I chuckled.  I replied “If I am, I must not be a very good one!”  He looked at my face, then broke into a huge smile.  “You alright!” he said.  I told him I’m a business guy, with numbers.  He said ok, good to know!

About 30 minutes later, a younger black man asked if he could sit next to me.  I waved him in.  He said, “I heard you know about business.  Would you be willing to talk to me about my business?  I’m leaving here in 4 months and am getting my plans together”.  I said sure, find me after lunch.

About an hour after lunch, both he and the older man approached and asked if this was a good time. It was just fine with me.  I asked about the business the young man was planning.  We had a great discussion as I learned about his background and his dreams. I talked about different business structures, and why it’s important to reduce your exposure to liability.  A few other points:

• Growing a business to be bigger, just to grow, often reduces profitability. At this point, the older gentleman talked about his lawn business, and that, yes, when he went from 1 crew to 3, he barely made the same amount.

• Also, there will be people who will ask you to do things that put cash in your pocket but may also push beyond the boundaries of the law.  Don’t do it.  Know how it is your business makes money, and stick with it. The older man looked at the younger man and said “that’s right – don’t be greedy. It takes hard work to do it right, but you don’t want to be back here!”

We talked for about 90 minutes, about online marketing, how to manage hiring, and many other things.  I enjoyed my time with them, and they did too.

Gunter, my favorite German, with a thick accent, asked me to look at his business plan.  He had secured the rights to a cove in a Caribbean island, where he is looking to create a destination for tourists on Caribbean cruises.  He knows the cruise business well, and had a good grasp of how to market.  I spent a few hours looking through his detailed plan, then asking him questions, things to think about, and where he could get the financing, perhaps from the tour operators themselves, since they would have an interest in the venture’s success.  He was enthused by our discussion, and went to making notes right away!

Are you a Fed?

One night, near the end of my time, I was talking with a few friends about some of the people we’ve seen.  We talked about the friendly Hawaiian, the troubled sex offender, and few others, some of whom came and went very quickly.  Scott spoke up, looked at me, and said “when you first showed up, we wondered if you were a fed. Like, maybe undercover.  You clearly don’t look like a typical inmate.  We watched you for like a day, then realized that, no, you’re not a fed.”

I said I’m glad that they figured it out, because I can’t imagine it would end too well for me to be thought of as a fed!

Leaving Milan

On March 22, at 8:00 AM, I was ushered out of quarantine, and into the administrative area to get processed.  I had the same officer process me out as I did going in.  I knew my wife would be waiting for me outside soon, so I was, of course, anxious to get out.  There were 2 others also being processed out, so we needed to take turns at different parts of the process.  I was given my belongings back (except my driver’s license, which I cannot understand to this day), as well as a visa gift card for my unused commissary balance.

The day I had waited for had finally arrived.  I was leaving for home, to figure out how to restart my life.  I looked out, expecting my wife to be there, but the parking lot was empty.  The other two men were being driven to their home towns in a van.  The driver of the van, as they were getting ready to leave, said “I see a black SUV driving around – I think that’s her.  She’ll be right here!”

The van left.  I waited for the SUV to appear.  After about five minutes, it appeared and parked in a parking place in the lot.  I walked outside towards the car.  Free.