Preface to Book II of My Life
Basically when a Tornado is coming and will destroy anything in its path, there is little that a person can do other than throw themselves in a ditch, let it level anything and everything in its path, then climb out and begin to build anew.
Long time no update…for a variety of reasons. First, I was struggling with an undiagnosed health crisis causing extreme migraine headaches and vomiting on a daily basis during the Winter of 2023–2024. Second, I got arrested on a Felony A “Terroristic Threat Against a Public Servant with a Deadly Weapon” in January 2024 when confronting the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department and JPS Hospital that they knew about my health issue in December 2022 and hid it from me. Third, I signed a Plea Bargain and was released January 25, 2025 basically with an armful of writings, the clothes on my back, and little else.
Now I am in a stable, supported place doing my best to heal Body, Mind, and Soul to carry on. I can’t lie — things are bleak — so getting back to writing is very therapeutic. This post serves as a “checkpoint” for personal and public purposes: I’m beginning Book II of my life.
Thank you for reading and I hope you continue to check in on my updates.
An Inventory of Things to Come
My time away was productive in many respects. Unlike many around me, I developed a healthy appreciation for 24/7 solitary confinement in Lon Evans, pod 75C, cell #39. With just enough commissary funds to purchase writing supplies — Bic Pens at $0.89 each and 60 page paper tablets at $1.75 or so — there’s a reason I took a pencil and scrawled “Writing is my Job” on my cell wall.
There is a healthy variety in the types of writings I accomplished, and I look forward to updating my byline here with as much as possible. Can I eventually monetize my work? It’s a goal, but in a crowded market and so many other avenues for spending time and money other than on written content, I must admit that I’m “doing it for the love of the game” primarily. The following is a summary of the forthcoming materials.
Diary of a Bitch-Ass White Boy
Written all while incarcerated, this collection of works includes:
- Cartoons / Drawings (like Bumper Stickers and T-Shirts)
- Essays (each one page)
- Poems
- Song Lyrics
Though I have not sorted and prepared the material yet, I know there are several hundred total pieces to curate into a collection. It may be suitable for online or be better served in print — all are handwritten, easily legible, often with a illustration accompanying the title — but getting them published however I can is the initial goal. With some, you would be hard pressed to guess they were composed in a jail cell.
The Sheriff Who Cried Terrorist
This is an ongoing journalism project spanning years. While I have my outline and a large portion of documentation in hand, many of the most important elements are still being tracked down, organized, and fit into place. As a chronicle of misconduct, willful negligence, and manipulation of the court system by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department, it is fire.
The intimidation and dehumanization of a person in the US system is quite unique and this piece is a behind-the-scenes chronicle of how those given power and special privileges under the guise of “safety and security” may frequently engage in sadistic behaviors — and get away with it.
Reviving My Career (if that’s even possible)
Before my mental and physical health decline starting in October 2022 and finally resolved upon release in January 2025, I spent nearly 15 years as a successful Sales Support Professional in Corporate America. Now, with a gap in my resume and a record, obtaining a fresh role in my old expertise is seemingly impossible. It probably doesn’t help that I’m over 40 as well. In this series of entries, I will show my efforts and the corresponding results wherever possible. Do you like being ghosted? Me neither.
Screenwriting — Round Two
Thanks to a couple Shakespeare plays obtained from the Library Cart while in jail, I had an epiphany about how to approach screenwriting and set to work testing it. Writing by hand, I found an engaging new process that overcame many of the craft challenges I faced earlier transitioning from narrative prose to the industry expected style of a screenplay. These entries will include a detailed examination of my analog process, followed by “deep dive” overviews of how I actually composed the works while in jail.
The scripts are:
- Tempest Records Inc.
- The Inhairitance
- No Snitches Go To Heaven
- The Fellowship of the Living Word of Grace and Righteous Communion Church (across the highway from the Wal-Mart) DOT ORG
- The Ugliest Tree on the Riverwalk
- Arrest Me Red
Currently I’m in the process of transcribing them from paper into Fade In and have a long, long way to go. A few of them might be contenders for the Nicholl or Austin Film Festival screenwriting contests. For now, getting them digitized, then revising as necessary, for the purpose of sharing them with a wider audience is the main priority. Will any of these finally be my big break into becoming a professional screenwriter? Stay tuned!
