Chapter 2
Welcome Home
Chris Rock has a bit in his 1995 Stand-up "Bring the Pain" where he talks about college and jail, and how no one cares about the person who just got their masters, but how your dude who just got out of prison is the man.
(Chris Rock "Bring the Pain" 1995)
Believe it or not there is some truth to that bit. That trip to prison was definitely a learning experience and to survive it I had to grow up quick. It can get rough in the penitentiary, especially when your young, white and advised by your lawyer to not get into any trouble jeopardizing your chance for a Judicial Release. Wanting to be with my girlfriend, this for me wasn't very hard to do. Even with inmates attempting to extort me by handing me a list of items I am suppose to buy. With no Kool-Aid in my veins, being far from a punk and refusing to negotiate with terrorists I would decline all requests and later come back from chow to find that my box had been kicked and looted with nothing left. I did nothing except for what my lawyer advised.
September of 97 I was denied Judicial. I felt sad and free at the same time. I knew what I wanted to do and I knew what I had to do. After that phone call home as I walked back to my bay, I counted... I counted how many days had gone by with no commissary. I thought of all the items that had been stolen from me and the many times they tried to bully me. I thought about all of it...
I entered the bay and seen him at his bunk in the back left corner playing cards. He slept next to me on the left bottom rack. They called him Big, he was from Sandusky, he was fat and he had been down about 5 years pushing every bit of 500. He looked like a dark complected Jabba the Hut. I stopped at my rack, heart pounding, and leg twitching.
"You fat bitch!" I shouted aggressively. Big man jumps up which appeared to be in slow motion and muttered "See a bitch, slap a bitch..."
I obliged, slapping him with my left hand.
He swung at me with a right cross slipping in the process, taking advantage of a fat man off balance I shoved him into his bunk, spit on him and began hitting him with the tray inside his locker box. My arms got heavy and I was soon out of breathe after several swings. Exhausted, with beads of sweat dripping down my face, I grabbed his locker box and power bombed it onto his body. Eventually the C.O. found me and took me to the nurse for a check up before putting me in the hole where I would think about her more than I wanted to.
From there I joined the O.A.S.I.S program which was the design for what is now known as North Coast. I spent the rest of my time playing cut throat, working out and reading. I only received one letter from her the whole time I was down.
I will never forget the day I was finally released from prison. "Rose 340-599 pack it up" is what the C.O. shouted at 5:30 AM. I made my way to the Quartermaster turned in my state issued trash and hit the gate a little past 7:30 AM. I was in the best shape of my life rocking a brand new blue sweat suit with the all white Nike Cortezes' and an all white Kangol. My family waiting in the parking lot with wine coolers, I climbed into the car refusing to look back. The car ride home was different, I didn't think so much about seeing her, but thought more so about her seeing me...
It was a great day, my mom had even left the Christmas tree up and I celebrated Christmas Tuesday, May 5th 1998. Word had traveled fast out amongst my friends, as I tried to assimilate back into the world tripping out to the light that came on inside the refrigerator. Smooth Pimp Daddy was the first to arrive. We had both went to Ellet and packed groceries together at Acme. SPD looked like Jake from the Titanic.
He often drove my car and was at the house in the evenings after work and on the weekends. He was one of my moms favorites known for being in her kitchen making huge sandwiches and getting caught knocking off his girlfriend in the basement on the dryer. I had been familiar with only two penises upon graduating high school and doing a 1 year prison bid. Mine being the first and his being the second. That too is a story for another time...
Smooth pulled in with a red Ford Probe that winked at you, He had recently been staying in the Falls and going through some legal issues of his own. We hung out for a bit discussing his job, how I should put in an application and the things I had missed over the past year.
Through out that week I would visit with many other friends and even met the friends of my brother as well, including his girlfriend where he had been staying. Since it would be pointless to change his name and he carried the burden of being my brother for the past 40 plus years I really don't see the point in doing so. Cory whom I left behind to deal with the blow back from my actions changed schools and was now back were I had started. I was told, in response to me running down those two guys that there was an attempt to jump Cory at Ellet. My little brother isn't a punk either, and in most cases has more heart than most. In this particular case he attacked the situation head on and the school tried to make it seem as though Cory was the aggressor trying to fight everyone who thought about jumping him. Which in hindsight if you think about it doesn't make much sense. Cory now at the end of his senior year had established his own thing and had his own crew. (Shout out to GD who was violently murdered this past year. May he rest in peace.)
My dad let me drive this brown Isuzu Pup that he had to look for a job. I would stop in at were Smooth worked to fill out an application. and made arrangements to pick-up Jose from Ellet. Jose who still had the long hair was also at the end of his senior year. He is the actual writer of the bunch and has gone on to actually publish a book. Picking up Jose was something I thought about daily for the past 12 months and I wasn't quite sure how it would go. I hadn't seen her in over a year, she wrote me only once back in June and the last time I spoke to her was over the phone in Lorain when I first went in. Out of site, out of mind I guess. She knew when I was going to be released and had made no attempt to check in. I arrived early and aside from the rust bucket truck I was driving I looked good and felt even better. Fresh cut, fresh kicks, fresh fit ironed up with creases so sharp they would cut you. I looked immaculate bro.
The bell rang...
As I made sure to stand outside the vehicle so that I could be seen parked in the student lot I waited for Jose as well as the opportunity for her to see me. Before I knew it I was approached by a red Grand-Am with slightly tinted windows.
"When did you get out and why hadn't anybody call to tell me?"
It was her, my plan had worked flawlessly. She was naturally beautiful and allergic to most make-up so I noticed the eye-shadow immediately. She looked great, I was excited, nervous and angry.
"You knew when I was getting out, why haven't you called?" I replied. We talked briefly and she drove off. I spent the evening at Jose's with his mom catching up. The seed had been planted now and all I had to do is wait.
As the weekend approached Jesse would stop by with Brian. Jesse who had received a settlement from that accident had purchased a 1984 Cutlass with 4 JL Audio W-6 12" subs in the back, sitting on 120 spoke Player wire wheels. Chino Nino just released his Get Wet album. Listening to the AK-Anthem we headed over to the Brawlers on Reed to meet up with the rest of the crew. Doing a little day drinking Ren and the fellas said they was having a birthday/welcome home keg party for me and someone else that weekend. Since I was technically on parole I couldn't risk failing a drug test so I didn't smoke. We would hit the mall were I would black out drunk and yet still able to knock off the girl at the Piecing Pangoda. I had noticed were all of my friends were happy to see me free, Brian seemed mezmorized at the fact I had been in prison. I remember feeling like he was proud and even envious of my being incarcerated as he told everyone he came into contact with as if I was the man just like Chris Rock said in "Bring the Pain"
That weekend I spent hours getting ready for the party. Jesse picked me up and we made our way to Ren's. The house was jumping everybody we kicked it with or seen at Ren's was there. I had a great time it was definitely a house party, but one more ghetto than any movie Kid-N-Play ever made. Ren I would say was the wildest of the bunch. Though he and I were always more money motivated then the rest of the crew it would be safe to say he had a better work life, home life balance than I had. I mean this cat at the age of 20 had like the longest driving suspension in the history of man kind so you best believe he knew how to have a good time. As I sit here trying to reflect on that evening, I believe but not quite sure that may have been the night he and Dave Small Can were out on the roof and a brick fell onto one of Brian's friends head. I know that the incident did occur at one of the many parties we had at Ren's just as I am certain he got a new bed that weekend.
To Be Continued.....
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