Meet Michael…

In my fourteen years of incarceration I’ve had two visits.

Incarcerated: 14 years
Housed: Texas Department of Corrections, Daniels Unit, Snyder

In my fourteen years of incarceration I’ve had two visits. The first when I graduated from college and received my bachelor’s degree. The second, a video visit, I got today. The reason for the sparse visits is I’m from out of state. Consequently, though, it’s affected my mental state, and social intelligence. As I say across the screen from my visitor I realized how much I must have aged. For my baby faced cousin had her first signs of crow’s feet. We are the same age.

I was also made aware of how trivial – no, not trivial, surface or superficial – our conversations have been. They can never be seen as trivial because they have sustained me. My awareness came as our conversation moved forward, and we traversed from shallow waters into the deep. My first time calling her, phones for prisoners didn’t exist in Texas when I came to prison, I nearly had a panic attack. Before our video visit that feeling intensified. Mercifully, it subsided quickly after a couple awkward moments. I’m rejuvenated. I had a great visit today. I look forward to the next.