Christmas Visit

     Beverly and I decided that we needed to get up to see Russell before Christmas, because it had been over a month since our first visit, and we knew with the holiday approaching and the new year beginning, it might be a while before we made it back. This time, we asked our friends, Barbara and Robin, if they wanted to journey to east Texas with us. Although Barbara and Robin wouldn't be able to get in to see Russell, since he can only have two visitors at a time, we thought it would be fun to make it a little girls' day trip. Robin had to be back in Ft. Worth by early evening for a friend's Christmas party, and we assured her that it would be no problem since we made it home before 6:00pm after our first visit. Little did we know when we set out early that Saturday morning, that our seven hour trip would turn into a 12 hour trip...and Robin missing her party.

    
     When we reached the prison around noon, our plan was to have Barbara and Robin drop us off at the entrance, and then let them take the car to do some shopping and sightseeing for the two hours we were visiting with Russell and then come back to pick us up. So imagine our surprise when we reached the guard gate and the guard motioned to a long line of cars also waiting to get in for visits of their own. Unbeknownst to us, the weekend before Christmas is always a crowded time. We asked the guards how long they thought it would be, and one of them told us it could take anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours to get in to see him.

We are the white car with its doors open. There were about four cars in front of us and three behind us.

We were so upset, because we knew if we stayed it meant Robin missing her party, and if we left, it meant not getting to see Russell for another three months or so. We apologized to Robin and told her we could leave if she wanted to. She was so gracious and told us that we came this far to see him, and we were not leaving until we had our visit. Beverly and I are so grateful to Robin for the sacrifice she made for us and Russell.
     For those who know the four of us, it doesn't take us long to meet and get to know people, and the prison guards were first on our list. We figured if we had to wait for a couple of hours, we might as well meet some new folks! We walked over to the guard stand and started talking to the guards. They couldn't believe that teachers were coming to visit a former student who was in prison. One of them told us that it was the first time in his years as a prison guard that he had ever seen that. We also met and visited with a precious couple who was visiting their son as well. They were ahead of us in the waiting line, and as soon as the guard gave us both the okay, we hopped in our cars. Bev and I told the couple that we'd see them inside. Barbara and Robin dropped us off at the front entrance, and Bev and I went all the way through security when we realized that we left our bag of quarters in the car. If you remember in one of my previous blogs, I shared that it is such a treat to be able to buy the prisoner you're visiting treats from the vending machines. Well, with no quarters, and no way to go back to the car since Barbara and Robin had already left and we had no way of calling them, Beverly and I about started to cry when we remembered the sweet couple visiting their son. We asked them if there was any way they could loan us some change since we left ours in the car, and we would gladly pay them back. Since we would all be leaving around the same time, it wouldn't be a problem to pay them back immediately. The lady told us that as soon as she found out what snacks her son wanted and bought those, she would give us some change. About two minutes later, she returned and told us we could have the rest of the money. We thanked her profusely, and we introduced her to Russell when they brought him out. 
     I think God purposely sets up little roadblocks in our lives from time to time, because Beverly and I realized that had we not had to wait the two hours or so to get in to see Russell, we wouldn't have met and visited with the guards and that darling couple, and we wouldn't have had any money to buy snacks for Russell, and I know it sounds silly, but that would have been devastating to us.

     We had such a great visit with Russell! We laughed about some of the penpals he's been communicating with via a prison website a friend of his enrolled him in, and how with one of the girls, he's become quite the  mentor/couselor to her! The three of us couldn't stop laughing at some of the things he was "helping" her with. We also learned more about Russell's childhood. He told us when he was younger, around nine or so, that his mother was on crack. He would take newspaper and go to the carwash to see if he could clean windows for a couple bucks or so. He said he always gave his mom the money he made. The last letter he got from her was almost a year ago. We are also learning more about prison life. Everything is a fight in prison, and Russell certainly isn't immune to that. For now he is rather safe because he's still in "seg" and doesn't have direct communication with other prisoners, but once he gets out into "population" in March, he won't be. He'll have to fight his way in population to prove himself and make his mark in an environment where no one remains invisible. He told us that where he is, the guards will allow them to fight it out for about 45 seconds, and they won't suffer any repercussions from it as long as they don't have any visible marks on them when they're done. It is a life Beverly and I could never imagine or understand, but it is Russell's life for many more years to come. All we can do is remind him that he is loved and continue being a source of positivity in his life. When the guard came to give us the ten minute warning, we got Russell another soda and tried our best to wrap up our conversation.
      Before we made this trip, Bev and I sent Russell Christmas cards. I sent him my family card we had made this year, and I enclosed a short letter telling him that my husband was a really good chess player and that Mr. Edmunds wanted me to tell him that he would love to play a game against him. Russell had mentioned in a previous letter that he played chess, so when Jim found that out, he asked me to ask Russell if he knew the algaebraic notation form, and if he did, he would love to play him. I reminded Russell about playing chess against my husband, and I told him that I would have Mr. Edmunds start the game. He said, "No way am I giving him the starting advantage. I'll make the first move against him!" It was so funny the way he said it. Bev and I still laugh!
     The guard came back and it was time to say goodbye. Russell got up and we all placed our hands on the glass. He then placed his hands through the slot of the door so they could handcuff him. We waved bye and watched him be led away. Once Russell was gone, the guard came back into the little visiting room and motioned for us to pick up the phone. When we picked it up, he said, "I want you two to know that it means the world for you to come see him." We thanked him and told him that we would see him next time too, and if he could just keep an eye out for Russell for us in the meantime, we'd appreciate it. 
     Right before we turned to leave, Beverly looked at me and said, "Lisa, we are invested in Russell." You know...we really are, and that's okay, because this is one investment in which Bev and I will gladly continue making deposits.