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Walls and billows of fire made it “hot” because he was promoting Lamar Institute of Technology future fire fighters training to douse industrial incidents. He spent the night behind a camera, but as a working couple, we make the most of rare time together.
The prison camp date was more relaxing. I actually look forward to being his guest at the annual volunteer appreciation banquet, where I know I’ll get a hefty meal and some darned good inmate entertainment. My husband volunteers with men of St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church to support and guide inmates. He’s not alone. The night draws dozens of volunteers from all faiths who get to hear the “men in green” share how they’ve been changing.
I enjoyed generous servings of fried fish and chicken and everyone’s favorite starches: corn, macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. Then I saw the dirty rice. My plate was heavy. There were grapes as big as I’ve ever seen. The men cooked and served the food, but there were several mentions — to taxpayers — that this is not how they eat every day.
A jammin’ choir and band provided soulful music with lyrics such as “God’s got a blessing with your name on it.”
As secure as I felt in the camp, there were ever-present reminders of where we were. I’ve seen servers wear hair nets, but these inmate waiters filling coffee also wore mini surgical mask coverings on their beards and mustaches. The sugar packets read IPS: Institutional Product Supply. A door is marked “bano de prisonero” and signs warn people not to stand in the corners of the room. I think that’s so cameras can catch them better.
Karios, Bridges to Life and other groups operate within prison walls. Free world people spend gas money and time away from their families to go to a world others don’t understand. They hear comments about wasting their time on criminals, but volunteers don’t know the crimes that these inmates have committed. They are working under the Biblical directive to visit prisoners and on the very real fact that these inmates will soon be walking our streets again, so wouldn’t it be great if they were more accountable to their faith and their families?

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