The time is now to forgive

Why do we wait for a crisis to make amends? Do it now.

From inside my wing of the D.C. jail, even more isolated than usual due to pandemic precautions, I watch story after story on the news about people who weren’t able to be with their loved ones as they lay dying from COVID-19, alone in hospitals all over America. And they remind me of how finite life is and how absolutely essential is the support of friends and family.

I mentioned in a previous post a special experience in which I was privileged to participate, just before the novel coronavirus swept in and eliminated visits: Family Reunification Day (something we never were granted in federal prison, in part because we were so far away from our relatives). I relive that memory here, in honor of the special people who shared it with me and who have stuck by me through adversity. I hope it brings some cheer or love into your heart during these trying times.

On February 29, the Young Men Emerging community was blessed with the opportunity to gather in the gym of the Central Training Facility with relatives, friends, staff members, former YME mentors and outside guests in a celebration of the family unit. I witnessed fathers who…