Hope is a Good Thing

I am continuing my effort today to write about something other than Scotland. My trip has inspired many different topics of thought like uses for haggis, proper kilt etiquette, and does the sun truly shine in Scotland. Another idea that is going through my head and keeping me moving is hope. I mark off a day on my calendar every night before bed. The declining number of days left gives me hope. Arica does not see the numbers as hopeful so I don’t share them with her, but there is something reassuring about a decreasing number of days remaining. It gives me hope.

One of my favorite movies of all time is “The Shawshank Redemption.” In it Andy Dufresne says a line that I absolutely love that really sums up his feelings on his imprisonment. He states, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

I may not be serving time in a Maine prison, but I am biding time in a less than favorable situation. The same type of hope empowers me every day. Granted I may not need to “crawl through a mile of s&#t smelling foulness the likes of which I can’t imagine,” but my escape will be no less celebrated.

As a parent I feel one of my biggest jobs is to provide hope for my son. I am often saddened when I see children that appear to be in a difficult situation. Their hope seems to be dashed before their life even starts. I want Braden to hope for everything as he is growing up. If he wants to go to the moon I want him to believe that he can do that. I want to help him grow up in a nurturing environment that will help his hopes and dreams grow.

I think I can keep his hopes high by showing him that anything is possible. If you work hard there is nothing to stop you from reaching any of your goals. I can reinforce that by showing him all the opportunities in the world. I can show him what many people from difficult beginnings have achieved. Most of all I can always encourage him in all his efforts. In that way he will always have hope for whatever it is he wants in life. He will never feel downtrodden. The sky will always be the limit.

I think this is a great gift to give your children, the gift of hope. Thank you Mr. Dufresne for your well crafted words. No matter if you are hoping for a return home, a new job, or even a nice big cheese burger, hope is indeed a good thing.

A Baby in Prison

It seems to me that a lot of regular folks have a morbid fascination with prison life. I fall into that category. Of course my fascination is nowhere near the level that would prompt me to get thrown into prison just to satisfy my curiosity. I guess that is the fuel for the interest. The knowledge that I am never going to prison means there is something out there that I will never know about.

I am willing to visit a lot of crazy places to get first hand knowledge of things. I am not willing to get tossed into the slammer to see if all those rumors are true. I will leave it up to TV to fill in the blanks.

Prison movies have always been out there. Probably my favorite movie of all time is "The Shawshank Redemption." While I am here lets get some wisdom from Andy Dufresne. He says, "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

I also like "Cool Hand Luke" and "Escaping Alcatraz." How can you go wrong with Paul Newman and Clint Eastwood. There are tons of other prison movies and TV shows like "OZ" and "Prison Break." All these successful efforts must mean people really want a glimpse of life in prison.

Before I lose everyone I should tell you what got me off on this crazy topic. This picture led me down the path to a blog post about prison.


Maybe a baby is the best reference we have outside of hardened criminals to what life in prison must be like. As you can see Braden has spent some time behind bars. Both babies and prisoners eat slop. Sure baby slop is in a jar with a cute little baby on the label, but that doesn't fool me. Liquefied chicken and beef is probably in the same culinary category as jail house grub. Both babies and prisoners have designated fenced in places to play. Prisoners have the yard. Babies have the play yard. Babies don't face the danger of being shanked, but that's only because they've been sentenced to solitary confinement.
While being a baby might be humorously compared to prison life there is one big difference. As a baby the warden loves you more than anything in the world, and you can manipulate them with some whimpers and big sad eyes. Try that at the big house and see what you get.