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"Most mornings as I drive to work I pass
soon-to-be-released inmates picking up garbage along the highway. Most
mornings, the men are just a blur as I pass them in their bright orange
vests with the word "INMATE" blazed across their chest in bold black
lettering. This morning, however, I was stuck in the morning rush hour and
had the time to pay closer attention to these men who worked not 5 feet from
my car.
As I inched along the highway, I noticed that
most were, like myself, African-American. I wish I could say the men had a
look of sincere remorse or gleeful anticipation of their impending release,
but they were just working. The temperature this morning at 8 AM was just
over 70 degrees and made for (I assumed) pleasant working weather. As I
looked each of the 8 men over, I noticed that besides their orange vests,
they looked just like me. They were about my age or younger, nice haircuts,
and besides an occasional tattoo, nothing that would make society label them
as "different". In fact, the only difference between them and me was 5 feet.
Five feet, a car, a job, and freedom.
Forty-five minutes before I happened upon these
men on the highway, I dropped my eldest son off at his first day of
Kindergarten. Needless to say, his mother, brothers, and I were just as
excited as he was about the 1st day of his academic career. I have very high
hopes for the life of Oree Believe and academia plays an important role in
that vision.
Last night as Sharon was packing his lunch and
writing him a love note, I began thinking how blessed we are to have Oree in
our lives. If you know Oree, you know a man-child who is vibrant and full of
personality. He is extremely intelligent, loves to cook and eat, afraid of
bugs, loves cartoons (especially Jimmy Neutron), hates to be pinned down,
loves broccoli and okra, is loud, and loves to sing and dance. Oree loves
wholeheartedly and loves unconditionally. It is these qualities of his I am
most proud of and strive to emulate.
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