MyTimeToBlog
I spent the better part of my day in a seminar for becoming a CEO. This was a unique experience due to my decades of incarceration and never being offered an opportunity like this one.
The flyer arrived via mail, sharing that I was offered a chance to attend the seminar Monday morning. This was after my locking down for the night. I read the flyer, grinning, but stopped. Why? I didn't see the time I'm supposed to attend. This wasn't good for me.
A friend paid me $10.00s for a cheesecake for his celly's birthday. He wanted it at noon, which might be the time I'll be in the seminar. I closed my eyes for the night, formulating a plan of action:
1- I needed to find an aide that'll be in the seminar, so I could learn what time I'm supposed to attend.
2- I needed to get a milk bag from chow so I could use it to make the cheesecake.
3- I gotta inform my coworkers that I won't be dumping trash while I attend the seminar.
4- I gotta figure out how I'm going to make sure I get the cheesecake to my friend...if I'm at the seminar.
The early hours arrived, and I was out the door. My first stop was telling my coworker, Chino--who lived on the bottom tier--I was going to the seminar. He said he would cover for me while I attended the service. Good.
I departed from my housing unit, rushing for the chow hall. I was scanning the sea of men, searching for one of the two aides I knew would be in attendance for the seminar. I found Brown Bey--one of the aides--and asked what time I needed to arrive for the seminar. He said 8:30 AM. Damn, it was 7:50 AM.
I shoveled down two dry biscuits and my cup of milk. I even got a bag of milk from a friend, then raced back to my housing unit. As I did, I ran into Mickey J, another coworker, and shared that I wouldn't be working with him today. He was cool with it, and I thanked him for holding me down.
In my housing unit, I grabbed the supplies to make a strawberry cheesecake. I didn't want to rush because I wanted repeat customers. So, I dazzled that cheesecake with M&Ms and a cookie crumble topping that would give it that crunch when eaten by my friend and his celly. I placed it on ice, then cleaned up and changed my clothes.
I grabbed a pen, a writing pad, and a folder to hold whatever paperwork I would receive. The march in the rain had me praying this seminar would be awesome, like showing me how to grow my online presence.
When I arrived at the gymnasium, I handed off my identification card to a correction officer. I shared what I was there for, and she told me where I needed to go. It was a small room with a wall-mounted monitor and numerous seats for us (the incarcerated) to occupy.
I arrived early and took a seat. People began piling in, and to my surprise, every seat was occupied. We were speaking in hush tones as they set up a virtual meeting. As they worked on getting things situated, I had a chat with a friend I was housed with at another prison. We discussed the fact that nobody with a short time showed up; everybody in the seminar was doing double-digit bids. Oh well, I'm in the seminar, so thank you very much.
The monitor came alive, where we were looking at other incarcerated men from different prisons. Everybody was professional as Mr. Short came on and introduced himself as the instructor for the seminar. He then clicked off and began showing us videos on how to get a loan and what it would take to attain one.
He spoke eloquently enough for us to grasp what he shared. It went on for 30 minutes, then another prison joined in. They asked a few questions to catch up on what they missed, then Mr. Short began asking us if we wanted to ask him any questions.
The men around me were asking questions on small business loans, and being incarcerated, what should we come to the bank with? Interestingly enough, Mr. Short said this: "As someone formerly incarcerated, start small, growing your business as you build your credit and your money." He meant that it wouldn't be easy for someone formerly incarcerated to get a loan as soon as we walked out. So, we should save our money, and build our credit score.
The seminar ended for the day, and we also learned it would run for the next two weeks. So, I headed back to my housing unit, thinking about what I wanted to ask tomorrow: being incarcerated, what would be a smart way to grow $2,000 dollars, with five years still on your sentence?
When I returned to my housing unit at 10:00 AM, I made a call, then headed to my cell. My mind was on getting the cheesecake to my friend. We locked down for institutional count, and while on my bunk, I relaxed. I had my mind on the seminar and the next 9 days attending it.
I wanted a business for myself, and being offered this chance, I wouldn't squander it. That remained with me as they counted me in my cell, then my coming out and getting the cheesecake to my friend. He thanked me, then I took a shower.
The water was so cold that I couldn't believe it. Even as the water was freezing my butt off, I started laughing. Why? I just spent my morning in prison learning how to become a CEO. That never happened in prison before, and fortunately I'm in the seminar. Me.
I've been in prison for 27 years, and all the prisons I have been at have never offered me anything to utilize when I get free. This was a new day. A new day indeed...and I'm a part of it. Wow. I can't wait to see what will come next because I'm signing up for it.