For the next ten days, I will be in the wilds of Michigan's Upper Peninsula where, every year, I take a trip to get my head and heart back from the treachery of modern life.
By the time you read this, I will have crossed the Mighty Mac and service on my phone will have gone spotty until, moving further north, will have completely dropped off into oblivion—back to the sensibilities of 1800s, old mining towns, and (gasp!) no Starbucks nor Walgreens nor Big Box stores for hundreds of miles.
I am somewhere walking along vast shorelines, towering forests, eating thimbleberries and picking wild blueberries, gathering heavy pockets full of rocks and watching out for bears.
This is the farthest thing from prison one could imagine.
Except, it's not.
The U.P. is also home to five of Michigan's twenty-five prisons, two of them the MAX of maximum security. I will have passed more MDOC signs and transfer vans than I care to count this week—billboards featuring attractive female models posing as nurses advertising “competitive” employment within the department of corrections. Bumper stickers and flags will remind me I'm in the Land of Lock Up, of thin grey lines, of an America seemingly proud of its punishment machines.
I have many memories of standing outside on this vacation trying to get a signal to accept a pre-paid call from my son—me, in the free-est place I know, envisioning him trapped in roughly 70 square feet for 22 hours a day.
I somehow mastered the art of the quick cry during these years, learning to grieve in open spaces and keep going in spite of the gnawing stomach and pressing heartache.
Speaking of which, I was part of a spoken word slam event last weekend where ten fabulous women offered unique 4-minute chats on something they related to Freedom or Fear. We got to choose what we spoke on, and I bet you can guess what I might have picked.
I'll leave you with the recording, for your viewing ‘pleasure.’ I'd tell you to enjoy, but that's a stretch—it's hard to enjoy claustrophobia. Oh, and sorry about the reflection on my glasses. How annoying.
Please leave me a comment if you watch it. I'd really love to know what you think. See you in a few weeks! 🖤
