A Cradle of Just Us

Explanation – A Cradle of Just Us

So yesterday’s post garnered some discussion…and a few questions.  So in order to answer them I will offer the following explanation(s).

My first response to the question…What were you in jail for? Is simple…read other posts in the blog and you’ll find out.  In the upper left hand corner of the blog page there is a search bar….type in the word jail and several postings will pop up.  Scroll to the last one called a “Fathers Part” and you will get a glimpse of what I went thru 12 to 13 years ago.  To better understand read “Bipolar Disorder and You.”  But to get to the point I was cut off while driving by what I perceived was a drunk driver.  I proceeded to follow, flash my lights, beep my horn and try to get this person to pull over, which they finally did, at the emergency room entrance to a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.  I got out of my car and walked up to the open window and my “attitude” immediately changed.  Inside the car was a single lady in her twenties fearful for her life on the phone to 911.  She was afraid of me and my actions, which I guess I can’t blame her.  As I said my whole attitude changed from aggression to compassion…she was crying for God’s sake…what would you do?

Well, I immediately apologized, that I thought the driver was drunk or something and I said if you’re scared of me roll up your windows…and she did.  So, I got back in my truck and as fate would have it, couldn’t find my keys.  So there I sat…and that’s when the police showed up.  One thing led to another and I was charged with impersonating a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon and involuntary unlawful restraint, all of which are serious charges.  I was hit with a massive bond which I could not pay and had no means to hire a lawyer.  So in jail I sat for my case to wind its way thru the system, which by law can take six months.  The whole time your public defender is merely a messenger for what the State throws at them as a plea deal; if you don’t take the first one, then in another month they lower the sentence and hope you’ll bite on that one.  The only problem is that when you feel you're innocent, no option of guilt is acceptable; and that’s where I was at with my case.  After six months the charges were dropped, I agreed to an evaluation period that really had no time limit…but all the charges were dropped and I have no felonies on my record and was cleared of the evaluation period in 10 months.  

There’s a lot more to this story, but I made a promise to several inmates at the Duval County Jail and that was that I would never ever forget the cradle of just us that exists for many people trying to navigate a legal system that requires you to prove your innocence.  When you do not have the resources of proper legal advice and are exposed to a corrupt money making machine also known as our criminal justice system, you’re just another head in the count, just another number adding to the state and federal funds these county jails receive.  And trust me unless they’ve changed, Duval County Florida has the highest bond rates in the country and the worst record of extending jail times of those waiting on a trail.  They do this by convincing inmates that can’t bond out to waive their right to a speedy trial…once that happens you’re stuck like Chuck…they can keep you for years, and it happens every day in Duval County AKA Jacksonville, Florida. 

I would not waive any rights…and it pissed them off…that’s why they had to settle for my plea bargain…innocent.

I tried to help my fellow inmates…many could not read and write very well much less understand their cases.  I couldn’t  get them the help they needed then, but I promised some of them I would tell their story, in the hope of instituting change in a system that cherishes the dollar more than another man’ s freedom.  It is just one more injustice that has creeped into what once was a noble endeavor…now it is corrupt with laws, regulations, procedures, red tape and money grubbing.  I know I got off track there but its perhaps the most important part of this story…the realization that there are different standards for wealthy and poor and the poor suffer for it…well at least until the scales are balanced.

So that’s a couple explanations…but the one I really want to share is this:

Why does the third from the last line of the poem “Jail House Music” not rhyme like the rest of the poem?

Answer:  That line stands out on its own…no other words can describe the horror of that day. 

A deeper answer is this:  I had been in jail for almost six months fighting my case at the time I wrote “Jail House Music.”  I know the tragic story of Eric’s son oh to well.  And on that night when I needed consoling I found it…I found it in a beautiful but sad song.  And it made me realize that my troubles were insignificant to what Eric and his family suffered and continue to do so.

You see one of us experienced the lowest time of their life in a jailhouse….the other from a penthouse.  But in both cases it was music that had a common thread…a thread listened by one and created by the other.  Eric Clapton experienced true heartache and depression over his son’s death…anybody would.  But he used that tragedy to create something that he hopes will somehow help others who have suffered the loss of a loved one…especially a young and innocent child.   

I don’t know if “Tears in Heaven” has accomplished that…but my gut tells me it has more than Eric will ever really know.  All I can say is it helped me realize my troubles are minor compared to losing a young child…and it also helped me realize that if others out there can overcome their problems, I can overcome mine.

Thank you Eric for a wonderful heartfelt and soulful message.  It is the only explanation worthy of words.

“He dances with the birds, he soars with the eagles and he watches over his nest…day and night.”