36 Years Is A Long Time When You're 16

... especially if you spend those 36 years in prison.

One of my Cursillo buddies* who's active in the prison ministry told me about an inmate who is about to be released from prison. The guy is 52 and has spent the last 36 years behind bars. At a recent meeting of their Kairos group, he told my friend that when he heard the authorities had decided to release him, he couldn't stop crying. He'd been in prison from age 16 to 52. Unreal.

When I was 16, I had a paper route. I was in high school and had an innocent crush on a little cutie named Louise. When my friends and I got out of school, we'd go to one of our houses and watch Monkees reruns and do goofy things. It's simply mind-boggling to think that if I had been that guy, I'd have gone from that point to age 52 in jail.

Say a prayer or two for the fellow. I can't imagine how he's going to be able to adjust to life as a free man. It's for people like him that some of my Cursillo friends started Rise Up Industries.

* - Cursillo is a Catholic group whose primary aim is to hoard wedding cakes and only give them out to people who meet our strict, judgmental standards.