He had gone home, or should I say, got released from this correctional facility during the spring of last year…
He was paroled back to the Bronx (a borough of New York City) from whence he came to prison about nine years earlier.
When JayBee got ready to leave the last time, he and I said our goodbyes. And the evening before he was scheduled to go out the front door the following morning, the Christians in our fellowship all gathered to pray for him at the end of a chapel service. Now, here it is a little more than one year later, and whom do I see in the recreation yard this past Saturday morning? It was JayBee. In the crowded yard I was able to spot his unique smile a hundred feet away. We saw each other about the same time. Then I ran over to him.
JayBee has returned to this place, perhaps the only safe world he knows. He told me he was violated by his parole officer for drinking and for breaking “lots of rules.” He was so happy to see me. I was disappointed to see him, as I had hoped he would succeed on the outside. But this was not to be. However, he and I walked together until we caught up with several other Christians who went outside this hot morning, too. It was a mini reunion for all of us.
JayBee is forty-one years old, although he looks as if he's in his fifties. He has been in and out of prisons and mental institutions for nearly all his adult life. Also, he is almost completely illiterate. At best all he can do is to slowly, and with great effort, print his own first and last names.
When JayBee was getting ready to leave here the last time, he told me that he was going to rejoin his brother in the Bronx. But looking at the situation now, I realize that his brother was not glad to see JayBee return to him. For JayBee really has no relationship with his brother, his only “official” family member, other than in title. In reality, they're strangers.
You see, before JayBee came to prison for his last nine-year sentence, his home was a cardboard box at any available spot in New York City. He’d plop his box down at places where he thought he'd be least likely to get harassed by police, or by intolerant people in the neighborhood who had little sympathy for the struggling and destitute.
During the long cold winters, JayBee rode the subways from one end of the City to the other in order to stay warm, kill time, and simply survive until the spring thaw began. He is a survivor. An alcoholic. A struggler who somehow managed, by God's grace, to live as long as he has. JayBee went in and out of crowded, filthy shelters. He wandered the streets not eating properly.
I first met JayBee at one of our chapel services after he accepted the Lord. This was a handful of years ago. He was happy and seemed content. He would also attend all the Bible studies. Many times, he would sit next to me. He couldn't read, but he would listen and ask questions. And when it was time for him to get out of prison, as I see now, his chances of “making it” were nil. He had no one out there. No job. He has emotional problems as well as problems with booze.
Now here he was in the yard sporting a big smile with the same crooked teeth, and his ever-present two-day beard stubble, on a small boned 5 foot frame. I could see, too, that he had lost at least thirty pounds out there. Now he looks thin and ghostly. So I'm going to have to nurse him back to health.
Last year JayBee had what many of us have in here, a “prison potato paunch” from the daily diet of starchy foods like potatoes, rice and white flour. But for JayBee, releasing him to the streets was more like sentencing him to a daily struggle for survival. He left here to starve, to have to live off handouts, and occasional meals from soup kitchens or the Salvation Army.
Always soft-spoken so that he barely talks above a whisper, I know that JayBee is now in good hands with the Christians who are at this facility. We will encourage him as the Lord has encouraged us.
On the outside JayBee lived in the shadows of society. He had no friends. And if anyone ever showed him any kindness, it was because they felt sorry for him, the way they might take in a stray cat for the night. But JayBee is going to be fine. He has Christian family in here. His roots are here. And his best friend is Jesus. The Lord will help him. Jesus will keep him safe.
D.B.
When JayBee got ready to leave the last time, he and I said our goodbyes. And the evening before he was scheduled to go out the front door the following morning, the Christians in our fellowship all gathered to pray for him at the end of a chapel service. Now, here it is a little more than one year later, and whom do I see in the recreation yard this past Saturday morning? It was JayBee. In the crowded yard I was able to spot his unique smile a hundred feet away. We saw each other about the same time. Then I ran over to him.
JayBee has returned to this place, perhaps the only safe world he knows. He told me he was violated by his parole officer for drinking and for breaking “lots of rules.” He was so happy to see me. I was disappointed to see him, as I had hoped he would succeed on the outside. But this was not to be. However, he and I walked together until we caught up with several other Christians who went outside this hot morning, too. It was a mini reunion for all of us.
JayBee is forty-one years old, although he looks as if he's in his fifties. He has been in and out of prisons and mental institutions for nearly all his adult life. Also, he is almost completely illiterate. At best all he can do is to slowly, and with great effort, print his own first and last names.
When JayBee was getting ready to leave here the last time, he told me that he was going to rejoin his brother in the Bronx. But looking at the situation now, I realize that his brother was not glad to see JayBee return to him. For JayBee really has no relationship with his brother, his only “official” family member, other than in title. In reality, they're strangers.
You see, before JayBee came to prison for his last nine-year sentence, his home was a cardboard box at any available spot in New York City. He’d plop his box down at places where he thought he'd be least likely to get harassed by police, or by intolerant people in the neighborhood who had little sympathy for the struggling and destitute.
During the long cold winters, JayBee rode the subways from one end of the City to the other in order to stay warm, kill time, and simply survive until the spring thaw began. He is a survivor. An alcoholic. A struggler who somehow managed, by God's grace, to live as long as he has. JayBee went in and out of crowded, filthy shelters. He wandered the streets not eating properly.
I first met JayBee at one of our chapel services after he accepted the Lord. This was a handful of years ago. He was happy and seemed content. He would also attend all the Bible studies. Many times, he would sit next to me. He couldn't read, but he would listen and ask questions. And when it was time for him to get out of prison, as I see now, his chances of “making it” were nil. He had no one out there. No job. He has emotional problems as well as problems with booze.
Now here he was in the yard sporting a big smile with the same crooked teeth, and his ever-present two-day beard stubble, on a small boned 5 foot frame. I could see, too, that he had lost at least thirty pounds out there. Now he looks thin and ghostly. So I'm going to have to nurse him back to health.
Last year JayBee had what many of us have in here, a “prison potato paunch” from the daily diet of starchy foods like potatoes, rice and white flour. But for JayBee, releasing him to the streets was more like sentencing him to a daily struggle for survival. He left here to starve, to have to live off handouts, and occasional meals from soup kitchens or the Salvation Army.
Always soft-spoken so that he barely talks above a whisper, I know that JayBee is now in good hands with the Christians who are at this facility. We will encourage him as the Lord has encouraged us.
On the outside JayBee lived in the shadows of society. He had no friends. And if anyone ever showed him any kindness, it was because they felt sorry for him, the way they might take in a stray cat for the night. But JayBee is going to be fine. He has Christian family in here. His roots are here. And his best friend is Jesus. The Lord will help him. Jesus will keep him safe.
D.B.