PRISONER EXPRESS

As I excavate through the relics of my past the very first adventure of digging deep can be credited to playing pirates I was sure buried treasures existed in our backyard. And I can still picture myself knee-deep in the crater or sifting through the dirt looking for trinkets. Occasionally, I'd hold a rock towards the sun, squint an eye, in hopes of discovering a sparkle of a diamond or gold nugget. Ancient bones and Comanche arrows or axes were never to far from my fancy and fleeting imagination. At school somebody mentioned that if you dig and dig and keep digging that you can tunnel your way to China. Needless to say that I plunged into the pit with renewed energy! I didn't dig up all of our backyard nor did I find any secret treasure or artifacts much less reach China. In retrospect, looking for treasures and trying to tunnel to China along with the childhood wonderment involved in that early age still cheers my heart today.

Many years have since passed and time now finds me imprisoned and segregated from the general prison population. Segregation in Texas offers no congregated activity nor educational in-cell programs or televisions and if they can think of a way to make our stay more gloomy they will. Inside this piss-hole we are left to make the best of our situation or be bitter and let the abyss pull us into its darkness. Reading is the official prison escape and at the same time it allows you to learn and think as well as ask your own questions about the puzzles of life and self. At times the soliloquy may be profound and our wonderment confusing. Digging deep is like pondering soliloquies and trying to discover that rare and elusive philosopher's stone. And sometimes no amount of digging will change what is though it can affect what we can be.