After 29 years, Marlon is going home. If he can figure out where and what home is. Prison “never felt like home. You have to be thinking, be aware of your surroundings and the people you are around at all times,” he says. “You really have to bob and weave in here to miss the madness.”
Good to read and think about this, David. Thank you.
Best wishes to Marlon!
It won’t be easy, but getting angry won’t help. There’s so much unfairness in the world for a person with a record, but stability and patience are the answer.
I’ll be thinking about you, and wishing you success!
The answers to deep questions are never spot on. I like clicking one’s heels as a way to go home – there is a kindly sense of humor behind the notion!
David, Nice story and so true. Toni
Seems to me that the expression about not being able to go home has more to do with the passage of time and the changes which are inevitable making the idea of retreat to a world we remember fondly, and often erroneously, a fantasy we all indulge in when times get tough. It is a longing for simpler, more gentle times seen through the perspective of one’s imagination. Simpler, gentler times for one may have been hell for people such as your friend Marlon. The road back for Marlon will be very difficult, and I wish him all the best on his strenuous journey back to the world that never showed him much mercy or kindness. I know you will be his true friend, David – nice article.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and Marlon’s story as you have David. I hope so much that he can find the kind people waiting out there who were not available when he was younger.
Your insights into people’s lives and our human experience is always something that moves me deeply. There is a sincerity and laser integrity in your writing that has a way of going straight to my heart. Thank you so much.
a thoughtful piece, thank you. Marlon stands for a lot. big quandaries he faced up to and found personal route through to finding himself. finding that assurance that we are alright in the midst of pain and fears and worries is exactly what we all need, want, deserve. we all have that potential, too- no matter what. finding our way toward and into it is our life journey. there is a force outside and inside us — how to tap it is what our lives are about. life opens new, clean, and full of possibility when we can do that. i’m working on it! salome
Very nice read, david. Thank you for sharing this writing piece. Love the parables. Your writing resonates with me. It answers questions, and helps me as I am finding home through living sloe to and spending time in nature, through providing service to others.
David, thank you for sharing your insights and wisdom.
Your essay reminds each of us to live more mindfully, and to reflect on, “What is Wisdom?”
I feel grateful, David, to read your essay.
I kept the notice of your current blog post in my inbox for days like a special gift to open only when I had the time and quietude to fully savor. It did not disappoint, and is so relevant to the journey I am now on. Wonderful reminders. Thank you for touching my heart yet again.
Nice piece, Dad.
I don’t know if this fits the theme, but I’ve been feeling more at home in The Mission by accepting the changes, honoring my memories of the past, and relaxing in the fact that I’m still a part of the neighborhood.
If I have to leave, it will be a pain in the neck, but building a new home is possible too.
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