What do you see when looking into a mirror
Your reflection; past or present
What do I see when looking into the mirror
My reflection; past and present
I close my eyes and it’s still there
I can’t escape, I can’t change it
Since it always, always catches up with you
Stop, and change direction
Open your eyes and see your new reflection
Archives for January 2009
Improvements to Visiting Room Kid’s Areas
The San Quentin visiting rooms have undergone much appreciated renovations.
“It was a valiant group effort, and all are to be commended and recognized for their humanitarian act of generosity,” said Sammy Johnson, the North Block MAC chairman.
Prisoner G. White, the Visiting Room MAC representative, was highly involved in the project.
The many contributors included D. Sheldon, who donated art supplies for the mural and facilitated the project and donations. PIA provided the kids tables and chairs, Center Force donated toys, the San Quentin Education Department supplied books and toys, the Carpenter Shop anchored the shelves, Project Reach and Marin Literacy provided books and a $500 donation, and Steve Emerick and various prison artists painted the murals.
The San Quentin Visiting Room staff were very cooperative, with appreciation for Lt. K. Evans, Sgt. J. Carlton, Sgt. D. Moor, and Sergeant D. Smith.
“A special thanks to Warden Robert Ayers, Jr. and his administration,” said Johnson, “for his vision which sparked the beginning of a wonderful project.”
Much effort came from the prisoners who devoted their heart, sweat, talent and skills in bringing this about.
Another Lifer Goes Home
Russell “Rusty” Trunzo paroled on Jan. 01, 2009 to his wife Diane and family. Rusty entered the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in 1978 during a turbulent time of life in CDCR. Despite the struggle, Rusty diligently pursued a multitude of self-help, therapeutic, academic and spiritual programs for over 30 years. Throughout this journey, he remained grateful for the positive opportunities and experiences that impacted his life and those around him. With Rusty there was a deep sense that he achieved self-discovery, healing, and reflection. It helped him transform into a man of compassion, kindness, growth and service.
Rusty has a B.S. degree in sociology, a California State Certification as a Brothers Keeper Counselor (Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention) and was a guiding spirit of Addiction Recovery Counseling (ARC) as well as a California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Counselors. He will continue to make a positive impact on his family, friends and community.
On New Years Eve, Rusty shared an emotional farewell with many men in North Block, sharing, “I feel so blessed. I made the very best of my time, I love all of you guys.”
Living behind bars since 1978, his parole parallels the science fiction story of H.G. Wells’ time machine. The world he returns to is going at a much faster pace. Some of the issues confronting him will be: high tech innovations, higher cost of living, better medicine, gains in science, a greater awareness of our environment, wider selections-choices, less tolerance; the list is staggering. As with all of us, there are many challenges that we face in this world. With no exception, Rusty will continue to turn lemons into lemonade.
Rusty loved his peers. He championed the cause of their misfortunes with eagerness and compassion, and always had time to lend a helping hand or to listen quietly. He showed us how to not give up, to persevere, and to continue the fight until victory is achieved. In the end it was Rusty’s own writ that won him his freedom. He did it so that the rest of us who remain incarcerated will have a beacon of hope. “Combined with the accomplishments you’ve worked for, some serious time spent in the law library and with the help of some of the legal beagles in the ‘Q,’ you can prevail,” said Rusty. He would undoubtedly followed those words with: Never give up, never look back, and work towards the greater good and you too will be so, so blessed. Rusty was last seen talking on a cell phone, wearing some pretty decent street clothing, and smiling ear to ear about having his first free meal of plain yogurt, old twigs and brown rice. God bless the little fellow!
H-UNIT MAC MEETING
Present for the Administration: C.O. Ceja (Administration representatives normally in attendance were absent due to ‘Farewell To Warden Ayers’ party.)
Time/Location: H-Unit Chapel, Fri., 12-19-08.
Topics of Discussion: new healthy-foods items on the canteen list (heart healthy oatmeal, unsalted cashews, brown rice, and pop tarts are being added having been selected by inmates) • new American Indian representative on the council introduced (R. Bennett) • start-up date for new semester of Patten College noted (Jan. 20 start, Jan. 5 orientation) sign-up lists going up in all dorms • wearing of gloves on the yard discussed (gloves purchased thru packages are approved) • new medical services trailer (trailer to be placed in Jan. near Tower 9) • new press liaison voted onto council (D. Marsh) • possibility of special privileges for STAND-UP participants in dorms 4&5 (issue will be taken up in up-coming STAND-UP steering committee meeting) • ‘A’ days were discussed (‘A’ days are still charged against inmates) • overdue work orders in dorms (Pretty hopeless!!!) • heavy bags on the yard (pending installation of third pole, bags are ready)
Centerforce Offers The Life Project
- What is the LIFE Project? The Centerforce LIFE (Leaders in Future Environments) Project is a mentoring program for youth ages 11-18 who have an incarcerated parent of family member. The goal of the LIFE Project is to provide mentoring, support, leadership building activities, and events that help each youth to develop his or her full potential. The LIFE Project also provides specific support to help youth deal with the unique issues surrounding incarceration of a parent or immediate family member.
- Who is eligible to participate in the Centerforce LIFE Project? Youth with an incarcerated parent who are 11-18 years old and live in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, or San Francisco County, are eligible to participate in Centerforce’s LIFE Project.
- What if the youth that I am referring does NOT live in the Centerforce LIFE Project Counties or is younger than 11 years of age? There are Mentoring Children of Prisoners (MCP) programs throughout California and the United States, including MCP programs that serve youth from 4 to 18 years of age. If the youth you are interested in referring for mentoring is not eligible for Centerforce’s LIFE Project, the LIFE Project staff can refer you to programs in your area and/or programs that serve youth who are younger than 11 years of age.
- What kinds of activities do the Centerforce LIFE Project offer? While mentoring pairs communicate and work together weekly, the LIFE Project plans and hosts group events about every six weeks. Activities and events are fun and educational with a focus on leadership skill development. Events range from pro-football games to rock climbing, concerts, plays, and college tours. Events may include special guest speakers, art projects and community service opportunities.
- What will my children get out of participating in the LIFE Project? Youth can benefit from participating in LIFE by having another caring adult in their lives, in addition to their parents. LIFE youth participants and their parents have reported improvement in grades, greater involvement in school and community activities, increases in self esteem, better relationships and more.
- How can I get more information or refer a youth to participate? If you are interested in your child participating in the LIFE Project, you can write us a letter with the following information about you and who you are referring.
Please include: Your name, address, and CDCR number. Youth and caregiver name, youth and caregiver address and youth and caregiver phone number.
Centerforce Information: Centerforce, Attn: LIFE Project, 2955 Kermer Blvd, 2nd Floor, San Rafael, CA 94901
Hope….
Namaste my brothas….I hope this article finds you well and in good spirits. I have been feeling hopeful of late- and it feels good! It feels like it has been a very, very long time, since I last hoped. What power lies behind our hopes. The power to facilitate change in our lives and in the world around us.
On January 20, 2009, we will witness another historic event in this country…..Barrack Obama will be sworn in as the president of the United States. His win in the November elections gave voice to my hope and that of so many people, not just here in the U.S., but all over the world. In the days leading up to the election, I found myself feeling increasingly fearful of hoping….Every time I would feel that hope start to rise up inside of me, I would stop myself in an unconscious effort to protect myself from the pain and devastation that would surely follow were he not successful. For many of us know the cost of hope unrealized. But I could not stop the hope, no matter how much I tried. My spirit took flight and when my hopes were realized, the joy was incredible. And it continues to carry me forward. For the first time, when I see the soon-to-be president-elect, I smile. When I see the soon to be “first family” my heart smiles. The displays of love and affection I see between the president-elect and the soon-to-be first lady brings me joy. What is being reflected to me in these images speaks to some very deep woundings; woundings that are far greater than in this lifetime alone.
“I Have a Dream”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
1968
The Dream Came True!
Barack Obama elected
President of the U.S.
2008
For the first time in the history of this country, a country built on the attempted genocide of the indigenous peoples; off the backs of chattel slavery; and the continued unacknowledged and demonized use of immigrant labor, the leader is someone who has an understanding of what some of my experiences have been like. Though there are no doubt many differences in our experiences, for the first time, I feel there are some common understandings we share that previous presidents never could. And my heart smiles in hope. President-elect Obama embodies hope for me. And in that hope is a re-emergence of spirit and energy that I have not felt in a very long time. In this country where the race debate is often limited to black and white, with not much acknowledgement of the many shades of brown that lie in between, I have hope that the president can one day be of South Asian descent. Growing up, that was never even on my radar; but it is now. And for many, many children of all the different descents in this country, it is a tangible, realizable hope.
On election night I received the following text on my mobile: “Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Obama could run. Obama’s running, so our children can fly”. And for the first time, “our children” felt inclusive to me. As we come to the beginning of a new year, I am hopeful, that hope carries over into all areas of my life. What do you feel hopeful about for the New Year? In what ways can you allow hope to take flight in your own life, even when the circumstances don’t feel very hopeful? Not an easy question I know, but one I hope you may spend some time reflecting on.
Until next time my brothas, peace and blessings….Meeta
‘The Blues Brothers’ Season of Football
The season ended November 15, 2008, for the San Quentin Blues Brothers, with a record of four wins and two losses. We faced our share of challenges this season, and most them we overcame. We developed new relationships, a rivalry, and more experience. We guarantee you, next season, will be exciting and entertaining. We’d like to give a special thanks to some of our outside competition: Benicia Baptist Boys, Golden Gate Seminary School, and No Soup 4U.
On behalf of the team, I’d like to thank a few people: Warden Robert Ayers Jr., for indulging us, Kent Philpott, Stan Damas and Lieutenant Sam Robinson, our Sponsors, Monica Knox, Tom Egan, Kairos Fellow, and Sunny Campbell of T&B Sports, for their support and donations, and Principal Ted Roberts and Coach Don Denevi for their continued supports. To our families and fans, we extend special thanks.
We hope we did everyone proud, and looked forward to the years ahead. To all of the Blues Brothers, it was an honor.
Warrior Report Basketball Wrap-up
The Warriors concluded our season on a low note losing our last game and three out of our last six to end the season with a record of 19 wins and 9 losses. We didn’t quite meet some of our goals and had a year filled with some great highs and some low lows; but overall our season was a success. There were some setbacks, personality conflicts, administrative challenges, trips by some key players to the “hole” and all the rests – oh! Not to mention attitude problems and a “J-Cat” or two; none the less a winning a season is a good season. The games were competitive for the most part and all the games were enjoyed by many. We as a group of men were challenged in many ways and some times at the same time which was cause for a few gray hairs that I didn’t start the season with. I trust that we all grew from our shared experiences. As a coach I learned some things to do next season and some things not to do; but that’s kind of how life works anyway, so it’s all good! We are all hopefully better for having completed the journey. The coaching staff contracted with each other at the beginning of the season to ‘build men’, and we believe that we accomplished that goal, at least in part by at least improving the quality of man that some of the team members are, only God knows! The greatest challenge was taking guys who had decent ‘street ball’, games who never played organized sports and teaching them the game. The season was highlighted by our leading scorer and offensive dynamo Shaun “SP” Payton at 22.5 points per game. However, the Most Valuable Player went to Adrian “Onion” AKA “Bell Pepper” Hay, averaging a double double and, more importantly showed the most consistent growth over the course of the season, good job!
We had a wealth of support from the outside community, which included one Division I school, William Jessup University, one Division II school Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, 2 men’s league teams and 2 church league teams. They were all very supportive and generous with their time and resources. We received the donations of sports equipment uniforms, basketballs, headbands, wristbands, knee and ankle braces. We also were given some very good quality team and individual photos and at the end of the season received our customary annual donation and this year’s are considerably better in quality than last years. These blessings came to us from Bill Eppling and Big Don of Prison Sports Ministries, Steve Irwin SQ Sports Ministry’s General Manager, Shaun Hurley of Imagio Dei an East Bay men’s league team and Justin from the Golden State Warriors marketing department who donated the Warriors practice uniforms from this year’s training camp and has committed the new ones from this season.
There are some home team haters and home team supporters who are looking forward to next season as much as we are. This season will not start until mid April. Strength and conditioning camp will begin the week of March 9th through the 20th Try-outs will commence on March 23rd and first cuts on the 27th. and final cuts on April 3rd. There will be scrimmages on April 4th and 11th, with the season opener on April 18th. This season will be 7 weeks shorter than last year and total 29 games, consistent with a college season, and concluding the last week of daylight savings, October 31, 2009.
My New Year’s Resolution
With the dawning of a New Year I will embrace each day, fresh and clean, with no mistakes in it. I will continue striving to learn, to grow to become a better man than I was the day before. I will use the power of my voice and actions to spread messages of hope and encouragement. I will be brave enough to admit whenI am wrong; when I fall I will rise up and persevere in the face of adversity. I will not allow my past of current circumstance determine my state of mind. I will never forget how to dream, nor will I be deterred from the destiny that awaits me. I will seek out and seize upon opportunities to live and to love, as a brother, a friend, as a contributing member of my community. I may be out of sight, but I refuse to be out of mind. I will shine like a ray of light in an effort to transform the darkness that surrounds us into a place where healing and restoration can begin. Will you join me?
Do Not Limit Yourself to Fundamentalism
The mind’s possibilities are limited by its concept of its potential. Moreover, human potential is also broadened or limited by the concept of God. Thus, if God is anything finite (that is, limited), to a person, that person has already limited his or her mind. However, if God is looked at as infinite (without limits), without boundaries, without deficits or definition, and always seem as “greater than” you have already expanded your mind to reach for the limits of all things. Such a consciousness of God puts us into the proper field to grow to our greatest height.