Redemption Songs

     The funniest things happen to you on the Metro. I guess its just one of those places where the unexpected should be expected. Or maybe its just me. Since as far back as I can remember, the metro has been a sort of a gathering place for the unlikeliest of people to have the unlikeliest of encounters. Just try sitting on a bench there for ten minutes and you'll see what I mean.
      One time I saw an elderly woman doing chin-ups on those bars you hold onto when there aren't any seats left.  Another time I saw a little girl standing at the Metro's entrance, sadly sucking on her thumb. In one arm she held an over sized stuffed bunny, in the other, a sign that read, in rather crudely written letters, "I'm Running Away," or something of the sort. But that's another story
     Today I'd like to focus on something of a more extraordinary nature that occurred to me very recently. On Wednesday I was taking the metro to L'Enfant Plaza in D.C. when I saw a yellow piece of paper laying on the platform. Naturally, being the snoop I am, I slowly picked the letter up and opened it very discreetly. It was addressed to a person named Delilah. I guess she'd forgotten it there. Before I go any further I'd like to remind you that this actually happened. For some reason most every teenager I know has a really difficult time taking much of anything seriously. When something gets uncomfortable, we laugh or make a surprisingly inappropriate joke to ease the mood. Much like Chandler Bingh. But this made me stop and reconsider. Mrs. Cullen taught us that a good writer can stop and make you say "Hey, I never thought about it that way" even if you still don't agree. Well this good writer happened to be a current inmate in a detention center somewhere in Maryland.
      Getting back to the story, I began to read the letter and learned it was written by an inmate named Joseph. He was to be released from jail in two months. Although he did not disclose what he was being held for, he went into immense detail about an epiphany he had had in prison and what he planned to do when he first got out. "I got the first day all planned...Imma catch the train in Baltimore. Imma go to Lucas' day care and try to see him. They probably won't let me but Imma try. Then Imma go surprise my Mom at work. Then Imma go spend some time with her. Imma tell her everything." Joseph references this "she" several times in the letter. He says, "I want to take things slow because I have a lot of trust issues when it comes to her. She and I are going to have to rebuild our foundation. But I love her and would like for us to be together. But I wanna do it right." Most of the letter isn't sad though, surprisingly enough. In fact, Joseph has it all planned out. He wants to go back to school and become a social worker. He also hopes to visit some juvenile detention centers when he has more time to make sure that young kids are set in the right direction and can have a better life than he did. Most of all though, he wants to spend as much time as he can with Lucas and hope he can forgive him. That was pretty much it. I'd like to go into more detail but didn't want to say anything more that might give away too much information. I would have scanned the letter and posted it but it had some vulgar language worked in there. It was also unnecessary to get the point across. I was just inspired by how this guy managed to get such a positive perspective on what had happened to him and was so focused on fixing things rather than lingering on the past. Some of the things he said were cheesy, but they came from the heart. Its nice to know that its never too late to change yourself. As Bob Marley's song goes, "None but ourselves can free our minds." So I wish you luck, Joseph, whoever you are.

*Names of people and places in the letter were changed to protect the privacy of these individuals.