Wednesday morning, May 28, 2025.
I’m up early, need to meet with P.K. in the Education department to hand him a document he asked me a copy for. I am dressed and ready to go early enough to sit and read my daily devotionals before taking the 7:30 work call move.
“True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.”
[1 Timothy 6:6]
In this reading there are many things that stand out to me.
“Nothing good comes easily.”
“A man without self-control is like a city with all its walls torn down” [Proverbs 25:28]
“Once we learn to trust God with every outcome, we will find this contentment and be the godly men he wants us to be.”
“There is wealth in the waiting; we need only find it.”
1351 days incarcerated, has taught me very well to be humble, and be very patient. Every day, at the end of my phone call with a certain someone, they tell me, “Stay humble, be strong, be patient.” My trust is in God, and whatever He has for my future; I know it will be good, and with readings like this one, what more proof do I need that God is constantly there with me telling me to hold on a little longer.
As soon as I step into Education I see from afar that Nic is already in his office, so I head to the back to meet with him. Hopefully we can finish painting the Re-Entry classroom. Today my buddy Porky came by to help with the painting of the classroom, and thank God he did. He was a great help, and we were able to cover the four walls as needed, and all that is left is touch-ups, and edging which we will plan for tomorrow.
We paint up until the lunch recall, where we head back to our units.
Hamburger day, and Campos wants the fries, and will give me his burgers if I push him in the wheelchair to the dining room. Rivero is still having a lot of pain, it has been close to a month now, so he won’t be going to lunch. Once we get to the dining room, being the last unit to eat, on our trays, I had four burger patties, and Campos had three. Thankfully they are smaller than normal. I enjoy these little burgers, I had two at a time, sandwiching them with the lettuce and tomato they provided, no bread. I was able to eat six of them; Porky asked for one, as he was sitting at our table.
Back in our unit, I get what I need and grab my boots before the move. Manuel arrives at my room, “Can you calculate my time for me and let me know when I should be going home?”, he asks me. Once again I let him know we will not have a perfect calculation because he just arrived less than a month ago, and he doesn’t have enough information, but I do a rough calculation and let him know he should be out by July 2027 with the information he is giving me. I have been pretty good about calculating with what I do know from First Step Act, and credits that are given to eligible inmates, so we’ll see how his turns out.
I am on my way back to the Education department, with my boots in hand, so when I continue painting I could wear them and not get paint on my sneakers. Porky and I continue painting and making the classroom look “fresh”, and work all the way through to two-thirty where we show Nic what we have done, and how it is turning out, we clean the paint tools we used, and put things to the side. Nic provides me some papers to post in the units, and mentions he may not be in his office tomorrow, to take the day off, which is kind of a relief to rest, but also slows us down in the painting we want to get done.
In the unit, Campos is making some lentils with sausages, pork and more. I offer him a pouch of pork and a bag of rice for myself and my roommate. We were able to eat right after count, and took the 6pm move over to recreation to try and practice some songs in the music room, but as soon as we get to the music room and begin preparing, the officer comes by and let’s us know they are doing a recall, which means we all need to head back to our units for a possibly emergency count. We grab our things and head to the rec gate then head to our units.
Once again, I thank God I am able to still be in the Glasshouse. I was able to call family, shower and now relax and watch “Gutfeld” on Fox News to end my night. Tomorrow, commissary for our unit, hopefully we are not still locked in.
Thank you God. Thank you for my family, friends and loved ones. Thank you for all my family has done for me, and for allowing me this time to humble myself, build my faith in You, and become a better person all around. Thank you dear Lord for all the positive things you have done in my life and continue to do. Thank you again for all you do, and ask that you forever watch over me and take care of me, continue to guide me Father God. Amen.
Eduardo Luis Valdes
02499-506
May 28, 2025
22:10
