Well into my late 50s . . . . (61)

Today is my birthday, which doesn't trip me out as much as it does some people. I got this card from my wife:

Via Leanin' Tree

THAT started my day with a laugh! Ah, getting older. It's not for wimps!

Happy Birthday Robert Zimmerman

Bob Dylan turns 67 today. Whoa! He looks about 20 in this clip. "I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours."

One day at a time:

According to this, I am 20282 days old today.

No cakes or candles, please! That's just how many days old I am, but it's not my birthday.

On the Road like Jack Kerouac

On the road today to join my step daughter and grand daughter for the step daughter's birthday. I may post while there---we'll see. Anyway, I'm gone for the weekend!

Happy Birthday to Me . . . .

Well, it's here! I turn 53 years old today. And what a long, strange trip it's been. I feel pretty good to be here, actually. My life has gone down some fairly dark detours, but that lies in the past now. Today I am very grateful to be where I am.

I got a call yesterday from a guy I know who is in prison. The call starts with the recorded message ("This call originates in the California Correction System. If you accept this call, your number will be recorded, and this call will be monitored . . . .) It always gives me a real sense of gratitude to be on the receiving end of calls like this. I was on the other side of the line for a while myself about 8 years ago. I don't ever want to go back.

My friend described the over crowded conditions, the fights, the lack of support for recovery on the part of both inmates and the system. It sounds even worse than it was when I was there, and THAT was none too good. Our so-called "corrections" system is a farce. If you think that prisoners are coddled or that the people in there have it easy, you have never spent any time in there yourself, I am sure. But God knows no politician wants to be called "soft" on criminals, so let's not try any of that namby-pamby rehabilitation crap.

If I sound angry, or self righteous, I guess I am. It breaks my heart to hear from someone in that warehouse of souls, knowing that their crime came as a result of alcohol abuse, and that their punishment's severity came as a result of poor legal representation. Think of it this way: most people in the prison system with be released one day. Would you rather have them treated shabbily or even brutalized while they are there, or would you prefer that they be released as rehabilitated and productive members of society? It seems like a no-brainer to me, but a lot of the folks spouting off about this aren't displaying a lot of critical thinking.

So there's a birthday message from me. A society can be judged most accurately by how it treats those in its custody, be they criminals, mentally ill, physically sick, or others in need. How will our society be seen? And what is our responsibility to make it better?