Musings

 " It ’ s crazy man…you literally woke up early this morning and drove to prison.”                                        – Huggy Bear, San Quentin State Prison inmate               This quote was said to me by Huggy Bear, a jokester and one of the inmates at San Quentin, who was flabbergasted that I decided to wake up early on a Saturday morning to travel to California ’ s maximum-security prison to spend time with him and some of his inmates. Huggy could not stop giggling and shaking his head saying,  “ you woke up early to drive to prison!” There are times when I shake my head in disbelief too and think…what am I doing here? But I wouldn’t have it any other way.   Playing Basketball at San Quentin State Prison             It was a cool Saturday summer morning and I woke up, got dressed and headed out the door to go play basketball with some friends from Seminary, except this was not your normal basketball game. I was heading to San Quentin State Prison to play basketball with s

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” -         The Pledge of Allegiance, 1954 I don’t know about you, but every morning from grade school through high school we recited the Pledge of Allegiance (with our hand over our heart) before starting our school day. Anyone else? I have no problem reciting the pledge of allegiance, so I am not here to dissect it as much as to point out the last three words… “justice for all.” Our current racially-charged climate has all of us reflecting upon those words. We’re asking questions such as “what is justice?” “What is injustice?” “How do you regulate an injustice?” “Who can rightly judge what is right and wrong?” Just read the comments on any social media site and you can see the plethora of opinions out there. It is interesting how the word justice has produced so much emotion within us and out of us…and sometime

The murders of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd have brought the attention of many to racial injustice, systemic racism, and discrimination towards the black community in America. Many of you have reached out and wanted to check-in on me and hear my perspective about what is going on.             I will share my perspective in four different blog posts, each with a specific focus. This specific post will highlight my thoughts through my experiences, by encouraging conversation amongst races, and promoting advocacy. My Experiences             I remember this night like it was yesterday. I just had a fun dinner date with my girlfriend, Heather (who is now my wife) and we decided to drive to the Marin Headlands and sit in my car in a parking area to take in the view of San Francisco at night. It was a clear summer night where you could see the skyline, Alcatraz, Coit Tower, the TransAmerica Building, and the Palace of Fine Arts clearly.             We sat in my car and took in th