I had hoped to get an attorney request submitted to stay the sentencing imposed on me, but that was not to be.
After completing the Cal-Trans requirement, I must say that I received so much from doing so.
I am actually glad that I served.
I worked with an incredible group of people.
The 8 to 12 different people I worked with all connected like a team every time. I met new people.
The men and women whom I interact with in the Cal-Trans yard are really great people.
Man, they are so down to earth.
I really like them.
The first day on the Cal-Trans field, I was working along a landscape in Hawthorne.
I lost my footing, fell down, hit my head on the ground. Thankfully, I had my helmet on, so it was all good.
Then one of the men in the crew, a young black man, came over and helped me up.
Many of them are younger than I, and some of the people in the Cal-Trans crews are older than I.
They are really charming people, altogether.
Another day, I suffered light-headedness because of the rising temperatures along the freeway routes. For the past two months, we had enjoyed cool weather and light winds beacuse of the May gray and June gloom overcasting the South Bay and Long Beach area.
With the end of June, however, the sun began shining, unimpeded by clouds, and the weather started heating up again. I undeestimated the sunshine and the heat, and I thought I could push hard to finish some of the tasks ahead of me.
That was a mistake.
I got really woozy, light-headed. The Van supervisor told me to take it easy, to rest. One of the guys on the crew, his name was Manny, rushed up to me with some damp paper towels. He told me to sit down, take it easy. Another crew member, Tammy, urged me to sit in the van, get out of the heat, find some shadow to cool off.
Two other guys, Oscar and Herb, wanted to help, too. "Are you OK? Do you have high blood pressure or something?" I told them not to worry, since I was still kind of toughing through my health scare from three weeks ago.
One guy, Oscar, pressed me on the issue. "Are you OK?" He asked me a few more times throughout the day. The other guy, Herb, joked. "I hope you're alright. Just letting you know I don't do mouth-to-mouth!" and he laughed. "Don't worry!" I told him, laughing right back at him.
The next day, after we finished another day, our van driver brought us back to the main yard for us to get ready to sign out for the day. Oscar noticed that I had polished off the gallon of water I began bringing with me.
"Wow, you finished that off quick!" He told me.
Yes. "I nearly passed out yesterday. I didn't want that to happen again. I started getting spotty, seeing black and white dots."
"See, I told you there was something wrong," Oscar said. "We're criminals, but we care."
It really touched me when Oscar said that. It really made me so grateful, so thankful for these men, young and old, and even the women at the Cal-Trans yard.
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| Me at the Cal-Trans Yard in Long Beach |
It sounds crazy, but I really do thank God that I got to - rather than "forced to" - do Cal-Trans. This was a time for me to receive more of God's favor and love. He was really watching out for me out there in the field. I learned to meditate more on His love for me. I learned to experience His love for me through other people.
Over the previous six months, from when I was sentenced until the next court hearing, I resolutely refused to sign up for the community service. It was so unfair, and I just didn't want to deal with the hackling and heckling from my employer. He operated under the assumption that for me to carry out the sentence meant that I was admitting that the conviction was true.
That's not true at all, of course. Joseph sat in a prison for at least three years, but he had done nothing untoward to Potiphar's wife. Of course, during his time in prison, he still received God's favor, and was set up for greater honor and glory.
I both know and believe, and therefore believe and declare, that that is exactly what my loving Father is doing for me now. I even remember another day, while taking a break in the Cal-Trans van, and another crew member, Jack, was telling everybody: "This is the only guy who should not be here."
He pointed to me. Nobody disagreed. I had the chance to tell at least five or six other people why I was arrested, indicted, tried, convicted, and sentenced. "I am a political prisoner," I told them. Not one of them disagreed.
I really appreciated what Oscar had to say to me. "We're criminals, but we care."
Indeed. So many people prejudge, misjudge lots of people with criminal convictions. There are so many criminal statutes as it is, and the overcriminalization is unreal. Some people at the Cal-Trans should not be there, either (besides myself, of course!).
I wanted to say to him: "Don't see yourself as a criminal. You are not defined by what you did." Hopefully, I can say that to him before my days are wrapped up.
I want him to know that I care, too.
UPDATE:
Last week, I got to say good-bye to Oscar, because it was his last day at the Cal-Trans yard.
I found out that he works in the medical field, and he was keenly aware of health issues, how improper or inefficient treatment can harm a person for the long term. Lots of the younger men working in the Cal-Trans yard are up to speed on health and money issues. You really cannot make a judgment about someone--anyone--just by looking at them,
I let him know that he could call me if anything came up. I reminded him how he had said "We're criminals, but we care." I told him "Promise me one thing: don't call yourself a 'criminal' anymore. That is not who you are."
He smiled back, and he said "I promise."
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