27 Years Behind Bars: A Story of Faith, Redemption & Purpose

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Welcome back to Conversations with Karen

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and Kat,

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the podcast where we connect with powerful

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changemakers, visionaries,

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and everyday heroes who are shaping

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culture and community.

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I am Karen Scott Green.

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And I'm Kat Hardry.

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And today we are joined by Jamison

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Charles.

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He's an author, playwright, minister,

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and nonprofit founder whose life is a

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powerful story of transformation.

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At just eighteen years of age,

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Jamison was faced with eight felony

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convictions and a fifty-year prison

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sentence.

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At a time when it seemed that everything

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was lost, he said,

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God showed up and changed the direction of

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his life.

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What could have been decades behind bars

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became twenty seven months and the

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beginning of an entirely new journey.

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Today, Jamison is married,

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active in ministry,

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taking his message to the stage through

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his plays and giving back through his

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nonprofit.

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We're going to talk about choices that

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changed his life,

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what happened during those twenty seven

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months,

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and the role that his faith

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played in his transformation and how he

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turned a powerful path into a purpose.

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Jamison, thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Um, so this is powerful.

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Take us back to being a team.

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They seem fifty years.

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What was going on in your life at

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eighteen that had you facing fifty years?

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Well, actually,

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it wasn't so much a life thing,

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but a night thing.

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It was one night.

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It was literally one night.

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Friends of mine,

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it turned from being a walk to turning

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into me being involved in a whole robbery.

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And me not knowing any better,

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I thought that if

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Well,

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if I don't have the gun and if

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I don't actually physically take anything,

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if I'm just here, I'm like, yeah, yeah,

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yeah.

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I won't really be charged with it.

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Not so true.

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There's a thing called the law of parties.

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And if you are a part of any

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crime, whether you're the driver,

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the lookout man, the gunman,

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you all get the same counts in the

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same time.

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And so they, man,

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I actually had walked right into it.

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And my mom had predicted this months

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before.

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She said, you know, you're a follower.

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And I didn't understand.

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I didn't understand.

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I was just hanging with my friends.

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No, you're a follower.

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And I followed the crowd straight to

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prison that night.

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Wow.

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What city?

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Where did all this take place?

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In Beaumont, Texas.

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Nineteen ninety four.

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I went to I went to prison.

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I went to.

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Well, first of all,

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they put me in jail first.

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And that was that was enough.

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Actually, that was traumatizing.

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I had never been in that type of

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environment.

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And the very first thing they ask you

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is,

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are you thinking about hurting yourself?

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And I was so young and dumb.

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I laughed.

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I laughed at that lady like you crazy.

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Why would I ever do something like that?

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And sure enough,

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as soon as I was sentenced,

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the very first day I walked on the

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prison yard,

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someone had killed themselves.

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And I said, well,

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why would somebody kill themselves?

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He's like, well, if you had forty years,

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you probably kill yourself, too.

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And I said, well, I got fifty.

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Wow.

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And the look on his face told me

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you you blew it.

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And so at that time, I was nineteen,

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I'd gotten fifty years,

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and I was sent to Leavenworth, Kansas.

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I was the only teenager in the whole

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yard.

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They said that they were supposed to

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change that law.

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That's federal time.

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Yeah,

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I did federal because out of the robbery,

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it was eight charges connected to it.

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One of them turned out to be carjacking.

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And that carjacking was a federal crime in

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nineteen ninety three.

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I wasn't the driver, didn't have a gun,

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didn't take the car,

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was alone for the ride and got the

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exact same amount of time as the older

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people who are orchestrating this whole

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thing.

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And it was just a massive heartbreak to

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my family, my my mom.

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And my mom,

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I went from being in the room,

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sleeping in the bunk bed to sleeping in

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a prison bunk bed four states away.

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And she, to her credit, man,

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she could have said, I told you so.

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She could have did all that.

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Instead, she said,

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one day you're going to come home and

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you're going to come home preaching.

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And that was it.

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And it actually came to fruition.

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Yeah.

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So you're standing there in that courtroom

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looking at the dais and that judge is

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sitting in that chair and pronounces,

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goes through your counts and gives time on

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each count and it comes up to fifty

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years.

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What's going through Jameson's mind?

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Well, actually,

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I just knew that something was going to

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change.

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Everybody kept saying, oh,

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they're going to come with another deal at

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the end.

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Something's gone.

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Just stick to your guns.

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I'm like, well,

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I really don't have anything to stand on.

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I went at a public attorney.

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She said, so what's our defense?

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I'm like, isn't that like your job?

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She's like, what are we gonna do?

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I had seen her one time and then

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we were at trial and she said, well,

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you were there, you were kind of in,

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there's no way I can,

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I don't know what to say.

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And I said, well,

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what am I supposed to do at this

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point?

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We're picking jurors.

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And she said, well, she said,

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if you were my son,

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I'd just take the time.

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I'd just take the time and just tell

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him, hey, whatever y'all got,

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whatever deal I got,

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get me out of here.

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She went and talked to the DA.

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The DA came back.

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He said,

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you got a brother that's involved in this

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case.

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Because when we came home,

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we came home with like jewelry,

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nothing major.

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I gave it to my brother because I

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wasn't even old enough to,

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I didn't have an ID.

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He did.

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So when he went to pawn the stuff,

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he got caught up.

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And so they said, man,

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if you just take the charges,

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we'll let your brother go.

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He wants to go to the Navy.

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If you take the charges,

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we'll let your brother go.

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And I did.

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I took the charges.

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Then they came with six more charges.

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I could not understand how this could

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happen.

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But they said, oh, don't worry about it.

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We're just going to run everything

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together.

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So it's like you only have one fifty-year

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sentence,

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but it's just going to be a bunch

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of charges.

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But don't worry about it.

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We'll run it CC.

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I didn't know what that meant.

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They ran it.

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They let my brother go.

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I took the charges.

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I went to prison,

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not knowing that after my federal time was

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up,

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then the state would also come and say,

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hey, those other charges you had, yeah,

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that's us.

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He waiting on you.

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You have to come to see us now

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and you have to make parole.

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And so making parole on one fifty and,

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you know, it's hard, but not impossible.

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Making parole on eight fifties is

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different.

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And so that's what you say.

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concurrent.

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That means that even though you got eight

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felonies,

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we're going to run them all together.

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So it's like you got eight fifty year

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sentences on paper because that's what

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that's what the plea deal is.

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But you're actually only going to do one

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fifty and come up for parole.

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I'm like, bro,

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I haven't even been alive that long.

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And you're saying it's like these years

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don't really matter.

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All you got to do is feel you'll

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come up in half of that.

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You'll be able to be eligible.

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Half of another lifetime, you mean?

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Wow.

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Yeah, on the first offense.

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Just gut-wrenching.

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So how did you end up doing twenty-seven?

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No, no, no.

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That's not how it went.

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I did twenty-seven years.

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But upon my return to society,

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God made up for those twenty seven years

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in about twenty seven months.

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OK, OK.

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All right.

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That twenty seven was there.

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So you did twenty seven years.

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Twenty seven birthdays.

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I missed twenty seven Christmases.

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Twenty seven calendar years.

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I was in prison from the age of

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eighteen to forty five.

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So you went in what year?

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In ninety four.

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You went in ninety four.

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Came out what year?

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Came out February first.

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When you went in,

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you probably hadn't even had a cell phone

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yet.

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No, I hadn't had a cell phone.

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They had just came out with the big

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old phone.

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With the big one.

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Right, right, right.

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Yeah, I couldn't afford that.

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I left.

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Yeah,

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I had a beeper on my hip when

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I left.

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I had, yeah,

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I hadn't been on a date.

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I had, there wasn't, there weren't,

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it was a long time before cell phone.

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Cable TV was the, when I left home,

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we had bootleg cable.

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I had paid the guy ten dollars to

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go on the pole and hook up.

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Bootleg.

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And cable,

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our cable was still running after I got

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arrested.

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Cable was the one bill I was responsible

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for.

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So when I got arrested, now who, Lord,

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we got to let that cable go because

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I ain't about to pay for no cable.

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I said, man,

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you ain't got to never pay for cable

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again.

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She's like, what you mean?

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I said, before I left,

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I paid the bootleg cable, man,

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twenty dollars.

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We got HBO, Cinemax, and it's for life.

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She said, wait a minute.

00:09:55.130 --> 00:09:56.831
They changed the rules because not all

00:09:56.851 --> 00:09:57.312
that stuff...

00:09:58.192 --> 00:09:59.472
I think they changed it because of me.

00:10:00.994 --> 00:10:02.154
She said, wait a minute.

00:10:02.835 --> 00:10:05.356
You got bootleg cable on in my house?

00:10:05.376 --> 00:10:07.097
I'm like, yeah.

00:10:07.118 --> 00:10:07.398
She said,

00:10:07.457 --> 00:10:08.818
I got to call a cable company.

00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:10.379
I said, call a cable company?

00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:11.299
For what?

00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:11.821
She said, boy,

00:10:11.841 --> 00:10:13.321
I ain't going to hell over no bootleg

00:10:13.341 --> 00:10:13.721
cable.

00:10:13.741 --> 00:10:14.001
That's right.

00:10:14.022 --> 00:10:16.523
No TV that she probably not even going

00:10:16.724 --> 00:10:18.104
to watch anyway.

00:10:18.124 --> 00:10:18.965
Let me ask you,

00:10:19.105 --> 00:10:21.225
so when you were in jail,

00:10:21.265 --> 00:10:24.207
what transpired for you?

00:10:24.227 --> 00:10:26.929
Tell that story about your transformation

00:10:27.278 --> 00:10:30.278
during that time in jail?

00:10:30.298 --> 00:10:30.479
Oh, man,

00:10:30.538 --> 00:10:31.899
I was a part of the jail when

00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:33.200
I first got there because I had to

00:10:33.220 --> 00:10:35.480
morph into something else just to survive.

00:10:35.900 --> 00:10:37.822
Being young, you're really preyed upon,

00:10:37.861 --> 00:10:39.482
trying to be taken advantage of,

00:10:39.543 --> 00:10:41.744
trying to be, and it's just really hard.

00:10:41.783 --> 00:10:43.004
You really have, people don't,

00:10:43.043 --> 00:10:44.184
they don't show you that part in the

00:10:44.205 --> 00:10:44.585
movies.

00:10:46.085 --> 00:10:47.846
It's a real thing and it's continuous.

00:10:47.966 --> 00:10:49.626
And as soon as you let one person

00:10:49.667 --> 00:10:50.667
get by with something,

00:10:50.986 --> 00:10:52.087
everybody's trying you.

00:10:52.707 --> 00:10:54.429
And so I really had to morph into

00:10:54.470 --> 00:10:55.971
a darker version of myself,

00:10:55.991 --> 00:10:57.833
kind of like a puppy being around a

00:10:57.874 --> 00:10:58.654
bunch of wolves.

00:10:59.456 --> 00:11:01.219
And so the one thing that I had

00:11:01.278 --> 00:11:04.783
going for me is one day my mom

00:11:04.802 --> 00:11:06.445
would always write me these Bible verses.

00:11:07.166 --> 00:11:08.868
I got tired of hearing about it, honestly,

00:11:08.888 --> 00:11:10.188
because my life was so trash.

00:11:10.570 --> 00:11:11.551
I called God on it.

00:11:11.591 --> 00:11:12.052
I said, man.

00:11:13.052 --> 00:11:14.634
To say you're everything people say you

00:11:14.774 --> 00:11:16.738
are, you ain't never showed up for me.

00:11:16.857 --> 00:11:18.880
I got a trash can neighborhood,

00:11:18.921 --> 00:11:21.664
a trash stepdad that thought abusing me

00:11:21.684 --> 00:11:22.647
was the thing to do.

00:11:23.128 --> 00:11:25.291
I found my identity in gang members.

00:11:25.692 --> 00:11:27.774
My life in Tratton never had a chance.

00:11:28.755 --> 00:11:29.937
if you, everything they say you are,

00:11:29.956 --> 00:11:31.658
you could turn it around, show up,

00:11:31.857 --> 00:11:32.597
show up.

00:11:33.057 --> 00:11:33.958
If you show up for me,

00:11:34.038 --> 00:11:34.958
I'll show up for you.

00:11:34.999 --> 00:11:35.719
But you got to tell,

00:11:35.778 --> 00:11:37.600
you got to give me something while I'm

00:11:37.700 --> 00:11:38.100
in here.

00:11:38.160 --> 00:11:40.042
Something that I know your hands were on

00:11:40.081 --> 00:11:41.142
me and I had to come in here

00:11:41.182 --> 00:11:41.682
to find it,

00:11:41.981 --> 00:11:42.982
but you got to do it now.

00:11:43.082 --> 00:11:45.384
Cause I'm, this is, this is not work.

00:11:45.443 --> 00:11:47.325
I'm broken and nothing is going to ever

00:11:47.365 --> 00:11:47.884
go right.

00:11:48.405 --> 00:11:49.745
And man, God showed up.

00:11:49.826 --> 00:11:50.846
He called my bluff.

00:11:51.427 --> 00:11:51.506
Um,

00:11:52.086 --> 00:11:52.586
Days later,

00:11:52.606 --> 00:11:53.988
this lady put me in a class I

00:11:54.008 --> 00:11:54.727
wasn't supposed to be in.

00:11:54.748 --> 00:11:55.788
It's supposed to have been for drug

00:11:55.807 --> 00:11:56.128
dealers.

00:11:56.447 --> 00:11:57.668
She said, you're so young,

00:11:57.708 --> 00:11:58.788
you're so impressionable,

00:11:58.808 --> 00:11:59.749
you're just in here.

00:11:59.969 --> 00:12:01.110
I'm putting you in this class.

00:12:01.129 --> 00:12:02.470
You're not supposed to be in this class,

00:12:02.870 --> 00:12:04.070
but something's telling me you need to be

00:12:04.129 --> 00:12:04.510
in here.

00:12:04.551 --> 00:12:05.530
So she put me in there and I

00:12:05.571 --> 00:12:06.770
went in there kicking and screaming.

00:12:07.431 --> 00:12:09.331
The guy walks into the classroom one day,

00:12:09.412 --> 00:12:09.751
he says,

00:12:09.991 --> 00:12:11.432
write down the worst thing that's ever

00:12:11.471 --> 00:12:12.052
happened to you.

00:12:12.332 --> 00:12:12.993
I wrote it down.

00:12:14.008 --> 00:12:14.268
He said,

00:12:14.327 --> 00:12:15.447
now turn it on the other side of

00:12:15.467 --> 00:12:16.448
the paper and rewrite it,

00:12:16.989 --> 00:12:18.288
but write it with a happy ending.

00:12:18.989 --> 00:12:21.350
And when I started writing, honestly,

00:12:21.389 --> 00:12:22.110
I never stopped.

00:12:22.330 --> 00:12:23.350
I fell in love with writing.

00:12:23.770 --> 00:12:25.490
I started writing about the different

00:12:25.530 --> 00:12:27.052
variations, what could happen,

00:12:27.951 --> 00:12:29.131
wonderful scenarios.

00:12:29.471 --> 00:12:30.552
It all turned around.

00:12:31.033 --> 00:12:32.613
And my mind and my heart started to

00:12:32.653 --> 00:12:33.212
expand.

00:12:33.253 --> 00:12:34.193
And I got good at it.

00:12:34.214 --> 00:12:35.594
And people started reading and started

00:12:35.634 --> 00:12:36.514
telling him about it.

00:12:36.874 --> 00:12:38.134
And he told the warden about it.

00:12:38.154 --> 00:12:39.235
And the warden said, hey, man,

00:12:39.254 --> 00:12:40.434
we got to get a writing coach.

00:12:40.475 --> 00:12:41.414
If you're writing like that,

00:12:41.434 --> 00:12:42.855
we could probably cultivate this.

00:12:43.475 --> 00:12:44.440
And he asked me if I could write

00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:45.261
a stage play.

00:12:46.975 --> 00:12:47.615
I'd never done it.

00:12:47.635 --> 00:12:47.816
He said,

00:12:47.836 --> 00:12:49.857
there's a guy that's doing stage plays and

00:12:49.898 --> 00:12:51.599
doing some great things called Tyler

00:12:51.619 --> 00:12:51.999
Perry.

00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:54.120
Everybody's going to his plays.

00:12:54.201 --> 00:12:55.861
I think you could write just as well

00:12:55.902 --> 00:12:56.883
as he is writing.

00:12:56.903 --> 00:12:59.524
And I'd never heard of the man,

00:12:59.544 --> 00:13:00.385
never seen the man.

00:13:00.446 --> 00:13:02.366
I wrote my first stage play having never

00:13:02.407 --> 00:13:03.628
gone to a stage play.

00:13:04.548 --> 00:13:06.669
It was so good that they asked me

00:13:06.690 --> 00:13:07.571
to do it every year.

00:13:07.910 --> 00:13:08.412
Once a year,

00:13:08.471 --> 00:13:09.952
I did it for ten years straight.

00:13:10.432 --> 00:13:12.234
Officers and inmates were involved in

00:13:12.254 --> 00:13:14.535
these stage plays and they fell in love

00:13:14.556 --> 00:13:14.875
with it.

00:13:15.496 --> 00:13:15.596
And

00:13:16.095 --> 00:13:17.658
It dawned on me, wait a minute now,

00:13:17.717 --> 00:13:18.940
I'd asked God to show up.

00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:20.322
I asked him to give me something.

00:13:20.943 --> 00:13:22.225
He gave me the gift of writing.

00:13:22.606 --> 00:13:23.528
He showed up for me.

00:13:23.928 --> 00:13:25.091
And now I got to show up for

00:13:25.130 --> 00:13:26.013
him.

00:13:26.033 --> 00:13:27.535
That's the first time I went to church.

00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:29.960
A friend of mine invited me.

00:13:30.019 --> 00:13:30.659
I never went.

00:13:30.860 --> 00:13:31.961
I never went because I said...

00:13:31.980 --> 00:13:33.701
So your first time in church was in

00:13:33.760 --> 00:13:34.801
prison?

00:13:34.841 --> 00:13:36.042
No, I went as a kid.

00:13:36.282 --> 00:13:37.942
But I had grown up to know what

00:13:37.981 --> 00:13:39.542
it was and what was going on.

00:13:40.182 --> 00:13:40.783
And I went.

00:13:41.023 --> 00:13:41.503
I went.

00:13:42.062 --> 00:13:43.942
And I stopped and I was like, man,

00:13:44.023 --> 00:13:44.962
I don't really know if I want to

00:13:45.003 --> 00:13:45.583
go in there.

00:13:45.604 --> 00:13:46.823
I'm seeing a whole bunch of people that

00:13:46.844 --> 00:13:47.943
I know ain't doing no right.

00:13:47.964 --> 00:13:49.484
I'm like, man.

00:13:49.524 --> 00:13:50.684
He said, man, I ain't going in.

00:13:50.764 --> 00:13:51.144
He said, why?

00:13:51.164 --> 00:13:52.205
Because there ain't nothing but a bunch of

00:13:52.225 --> 00:13:53.424
hypocrites in there, huh?

00:13:53.445 --> 00:13:54.024
He said, yeah.

00:13:54.325 --> 00:13:54.745
He said, yeah,

00:13:54.764 --> 00:13:55.926
and that's why you're going to fit right

00:13:55.966 --> 00:13:56.125
in.

00:13:56.346 --> 00:13:57.086
Come on, let's go.

00:13:59.030 --> 00:13:59.792
And we did.

00:14:00.511 --> 00:14:02.153
And I went from sitting in the back

00:14:02.173 --> 00:14:03.075
to sitting in the front.

00:14:03.335 --> 00:14:04.836
I went from going to church to going

00:14:04.856 --> 00:14:05.736
to Bible study.

00:14:05.898 --> 00:14:07.458
I went from him pulling me to church

00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:09.400
to having to go and get him when

00:14:09.421 --> 00:14:10.261
he stopped going.

00:14:10.881 --> 00:14:12.524
And then, man,

00:14:12.563 --> 00:14:13.845
everything started to change.

00:14:14.044 --> 00:14:16.147
I ran across this Bible verse that I

00:14:16.226 --> 00:14:17.969
honestly thought God wrote just for me.

00:14:18.629 --> 00:14:20.591
It's found in Jeremiah twenty nine and

00:14:20.652 --> 00:14:21.072
eleven.

00:14:21.392 --> 00:14:22.893
For I know the plans I have for

00:14:22.952 --> 00:14:24.553
you, declares the Lord.

00:14:24.594 --> 00:14:27.275
Plans to prosper you, not to harm you.

00:14:27.557 --> 00:14:29.457
Plans to give you hope and a future.

00:14:29.998 --> 00:14:32.179
And I fell in love with that verse

00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:33.821
so much I tore it out the Bible

00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:34.902
and I brought it home.

00:14:35.162 --> 00:14:36.383
I brought it to my cell.

00:14:36.923 --> 00:14:38.323
I taped it at the bottom of the

00:14:38.384 --> 00:14:40.306
bunk so I could look at it all

00:14:40.365 --> 00:14:40.586
day.

00:14:40.605 --> 00:14:41.746
It was the last thing I saw at

00:14:41.787 --> 00:14:41.986
night,

00:14:42.006 --> 00:14:43.268
the first thing I saw in the morning.

00:14:43.288 --> 00:14:43.707
I kept saying,

00:14:43.748 --> 00:14:44.849
God got a plan for me.

00:14:45.428 --> 00:14:47.491
It ain't going good and it don't look

00:14:47.511 --> 00:14:49.774
good, but he's got a plan for me.

00:14:50.014 --> 00:14:51.416
And so I just kept trying to stack

00:14:51.456 --> 00:14:52.897
good days on top of good days.

00:14:52.937 --> 00:14:57.142
And when you know it, parole came early.

00:14:57.162 --> 00:14:58.764
What was the name of your first play?

00:14:59.878 --> 00:15:02.099
My first play was One Last Prayer.

00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:05.142
It was about a guy in prison who

00:15:05.182 --> 00:15:07.442
had always lost and always found a lot

00:15:07.482 --> 00:15:08.783
of these things I was writing about.

00:15:08.844 --> 00:15:09.563
It was my art.

00:15:10.164 --> 00:15:12.046
I was hoping would imitate my life.

00:15:12.966 --> 00:15:14.788
And so I was writing dream scenarios that

00:15:14.827 --> 00:15:17.048
I wish could play out about going out

00:15:17.089 --> 00:15:18.590
and doing great things and then coming

00:15:18.649 --> 00:15:20.331
back to the same prison that you were

00:15:20.471 --> 00:15:20.932
once in.

00:15:21.312 --> 00:15:23.734
and giving a motivational message and

00:15:23.774 --> 00:15:25.894
thanking the people who helped you along

00:15:25.934 --> 00:15:28.317
the way and actually showing love to the

00:15:28.417 --> 00:15:29.076
ones who didn't.

00:15:29.557 --> 00:15:32.340
And just being put in a position for

00:15:32.379 --> 00:15:33.660
that full circle moment.

00:15:34.140 --> 00:15:35.741
And I wrote these different scenarios

00:15:35.822 --> 00:15:37.663
every year, different stories every year,

00:15:37.722 --> 00:15:39.083
different characters every year.

00:15:39.504 --> 00:15:42.606
So when I came home, I said, yeah,

00:15:42.947 --> 00:15:43.567
I'm a writer.

00:15:44.087 --> 00:15:45.509
And everybody was like, huh?

00:15:45.528 --> 00:15:45.609
Yeah.

00:15:50.434 --> 00:15:53.535
What you know about writing?

00:15:53.556 --> 00:15:53.696
Right?

00:15:53.716 --> 00:15:55.076
And so that was like the highlight.

00:15:55.135 --> 00:15:55.817
I came home.

00:15:56.616 --> 00:15:57.116
My mom,

00:15:57.356 --> 00:15:58.717
I got a chance to sit her down

00:15:59.758 --> 00:16:01.857
and I washed her feet because I promised

00:16:01.898 --> 00:16:02.979
myself that was going to be one of

00:16:02.999 --> 00:16:04.639
the first things I did when I came

00:16:04.678 --> 00:16:07.240
home because she walked all of those miles

00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:07.580
with me.

00:16:11.041 --> 00:16:12.522
Man, my mom didn't take one day off.

00:16:14.522 --> 00:16:16.102
She stepped up when everybody threw me

00:16:16.143 --> 00:16:16.363
away.

00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:19.681
she said you know it's gonna end one

00:16:19.721 --> 00:16:22.662
day and uh it ain't over till god

00:16:22.682 --> 00:16:25.702
says it's over you just stand firm you

00:16:25.722 --> 00:16:27.484
stand firm and just watch what he does

00:16:27.524 --> 00:16:30.105
with this don't focus on what you lost

00:16:30.184 --> 00:16:32.405
don't focus on who's here who ain't here

00:16:32.865 --> 00:16:35.287
he's here and he's not gonna miss a

00:16:35.366 --> 00:16:37.126
beat with you he's gonna use your life

00:16:37.187 --> 00:16:40.528
as a walking testimony gonna use you and

00:16:40.568 --> 00:16:42.509
he has i came home i got my

00:16:42.568 --> 00:16:43.529
first job i

00:16:44.909 --> 00:16:46.610
I was making eight dollars an hour and

00:16:46.672 --> 00:16:48.292
nobody told me that wasn't no money.

00:16:48.332 --> 00:16:51.693
They said, you're doing great.

00:16:52.014 --> 00:16:52.894
You're doing great.

00:16:55.236 --> 00:16:56.777
So I took a picture of my bank

00:16:56.817 --> 00:16:57.097
card.

00:16:57.177 --> 00:16:58.538
I sent it to my picture.

00:16:58.778 --> 00:16:59.839
I sent it to my sister.

00:16:59.859 --> 00:17:00.058
I said,

00:17:00.078 --> 00:17:02.480
your brother got legitimate money in the

00:17:02.520 --> 00:17:02.841
bank.

00:17:02.961 --> 00:17:03.640
I got a check.

00:17:03.782 --> 00:17:04.821
I put money in the bank.

00:17:04.882 --> 00:17:05.682
I'm grown now.

00:17:06.923 --> 00:17:09.064
And she said, man,

00:17:09.183 --> 00:17:10.243
I'm so proud of you,

00:17:10.604 --> 00:17:11.943
but don't you ever take a picture of

00:17:11.963 --> 00:17:13.044
your bank card again.

00:17:13.344 --> 00:17:14.483
People out here stealing.

00:17:14.505 --> 00:17:15.025
You crazy, boy.

00:17:15.045 --> 00:17:15.684
She had to put you up on game.

00:17:15.704 --> 00:17:20.986
I'm like, what?

00:17:21.306 --> 00:17:21.865
Scammers.

00:17:21.885 --> 00:17:22.885
What's that?

00:17:22.905 --> 00:17:23.986
Scammers.

00:17:24.486 --> 00:17:26.126
Scamming scammers.

00:17:26.247 --> 00:17:26.926
Yes.

00:17:26.946 --> 00:17:28.126
I had some nerves.

00:17:28.606 --> 00:17:30.787
We write the first play,

00:17:30.886 --> 00:17:32.147
and you're continuing to...

00:17:34.396 --> 00:17:37.200
curate it and improve upon it over the

00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:37.900
years.

00:17:38.361 --> 00:17:40.041
And then at some point you're coming up

00:17:40.122 --> 00:17:40.663
on parole.

00:17:40.702 --> 00:17:42.104
How many times do you come up on

00:17:42.144 --> 00:17:43.365
parole before you make it?

00:17:43.945 --> 00:17:45.027
Oh, that's the beautiful thing.

00:17:45.106 --> 00:17:46.647
Everybody said, yeah, you know,

00:17:46.688 --> 00:17:47.628
parole is hard.

00:17:47.648 --> 00:17:50.070
You got a bunch of felonies.

00:17:50.090 --> 00:17:51.251
They look at all of that.

00:17:51.291 --> 00:17:52.432
So you're probably not going to make the

00:17:52.452 --> 00:17:53.114
first parole.

00:17:53.213 --> 00:17:53.834
If you're lucky,

00:17:53.854 --> 00:17:55.236
you'll make the second one.

00:17:56.336 --> 00:17:57.498
Parole came early.

00:17:58.638 --> 00:17:59.818
I walked into the room.

00:18:00.180 --> 00:18:01.019
It came so early.

00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:02.501
I was supposed to have a parole attorney.

00:18:02.582 --> 00:18:03.301
Couldn't get one.

00:18:03.602 --> 00:18:04.742
Supposed to have a bunch of letters.

00:18:04.883 --> 00:18:05.564
Didn't have them.

00:18:06.144 --> 00:18:06.964
I walked in.

00:18:07.305 --> 00:18:09.106
I got a lay-in to tell me that

00:18:09.146 --> 00:18:11.689
the next morning you would be seeing

00:18:11.729 --> 00:18:12.048
parole.

00:18:12.068 --> 00:18:13.309
I was like, the next morning?

00:18:13.730 --> 00:18:14.871
I can't contact my people.

00:18:14.911 --> 00:18:16.031
I can't get a bunch of letters in

00:18:16.092 --> 00:18:16.352
here.

00:18:16.652 --> 00:18:17.432
What's going to happen?

00:18:18.012 --> 00:18:19.193
So I go in and, man, I think...

00:18:20.895 --> 00:18:22.317
It really felt like a setup.

00:18:23.637 --> 00:18:23.857
But...

00:18:24.866 --> 00:18:26.867
One of the best things that happened was

00:18:27.228 --> 00:18:30.308
I couldn't give credit to a slick talking

00:18:30.909 --> 00:18:31.388
attorney.

00:18:31.568 --> 00:18:32.868
I couldn't give credit to a bunch of

00:18:32.929 --> 00:18:33.269
letters.

00:18:34.130 --> 00:18:35.230
I showed that it was just me and

00:18:35.269 --> 00:18:35.589
God.

00:18:35.650 --> 00:18:37.111
And I think he did that on purpose

00:18:37.151 --> 00:18:39.030
to show me all you have is me

00:18:39.171 --> 00:18:40.412
and all you need is me.

00:18:40.932 --> 00:18:42.291
Don't look for outside help.

00:18:42.332 --> 00:18:44.113
This is something I'm doing through you.

00:18:44.472 --> 00:18:45.393
If you have faith,

00:18:45.452 --> 00:18:46.873
all that faith you were talking about,

00:18:47.073 --> 00:18:49.773
this is what faith looks like.

00:18:49.814 --> 00:18:51.434
Showing up and believing I'm going to meet

00:18:51.474 --> 00:18:51.875
you there.

00:18:52.575 --> 00:18:53.916
And I went in the room and the

00:18:53.957 --> 00:18:57.140
guy asked me, he said, so,

00:18:57.579 --> 00:18:58.842
twenty-seven years later,

00:18:58.862 --> 00:19:00.303
what if we drop you in the middle

00:19:00.323 --> 00:19:01.523
of Beaumont, Texas today?

00:19:02.244 --> 00:19:02.925
What are you going to do?

00:19:03.026 --> 00:19:05.428
What's your plan?

00:19:06.088 --> 00:19:07.269
And I told him that my plan was

00:19:07.309 --> 00:19:09.972
to change the narrative on my life.

00:19:10.673 --> 00:19:12.955
And the only way the narrative changes is

00:19:13.016 --> 00:19:14.458
if the narrator changes.

00:19:14.837 --> 00:19:15.798
Yes.

00:19:15.877 --> 00:19:17.298
And my narrator changed.

00:19:17.459 --> 00:19:18.638
It stopped being about me.

00:19:18.878 --> 00:19:20.038
It started being about God.

00:19:20.078 --> 00:19:22.359
It started being about showing up and just

00:19:22.619 --> 00:19:24.019
going home and not coming back.

00:19:24.059 --> 00:19:25.060
That was my floor.

00:19:25.340 --> 00:19:26.441
That wasn't my ceiling.

00:19:26.540 --> 00:19:27.961
There's no way I want to come back,

00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:29.221
but I want to go home and I

00:19:29.241 --> 00:19:30.201
want to make an impact.

00:19:30.301 --> 00:19:31.981
I want to give somebody that one speech

00:19:32.061 --> 00:19:32.942
nobody gave me.

00:19:33.363 --> 00:19:34.782
I want to give somebody more than

00:19:34.863 --> 00:19:36.143
anybody's ever given them.

00:19:36.222 --> 00:19:37.584
I want to show up for people who

00:19:37.644 --> 00:19:38.723
nobody shows up for.

00:19:39.423 --> 00:19:41.285
and um i got a family that that

00:19:41.305 --> 00:19:42.986
needs to see that their prayers weren't in

00:19:43.026 --> 00:19:46.007
vain and um when he shook my hand

00:19:46.047 --> 00:19:46.988
man he said you know i only get

00:19:47.028 --> 00:19:48.969
a one vote but it's four people out

00:19:49.009 --> 00:19:51.009
of seven that have to vote in your

00:19:51.049 --> 00:19:54.191
favor um he said but i'm gonna vote

00:19:54.551 --> 00:19:57.153
for you to go home and um and

00:19:57.212 --> 00:19:58.773
i did and um

00:19:59.614 --> 00:20:02.115
About six months later, I was released.

00:20:02.296 --> 00:20:04.657
I came home and I got my first

00:20:04.718 --> 00:20:05.218
job.

00:20:06.298 --> 00:20:09.000
It was crazy because I got allergies and

00:20:09.040 --> 00:20:10.481
I worked in a seasoning factory.

00:20:14.305 --> 00:20:15.026
But you was dancing.

00:20:15.046 --> 00:20:16.126
God has a sense of humor.

00:20:16.426 --> 00:20:17.508
Man, God is hilarious.

00:20:17.528 --> 00:20:19.108
God has a sense of humor.

00:20:19.229 --> 00:20:19.990
Yeah, he's like, yeah,

00:20:20.009 --> 00:20:21.671
I want to see how bad you're going

00:20:21.711 --> 00:20:22.151
to do it.

00:20:22.230 --> 00:20:23.853
And I had made up my mind.

00:20:23.873 --> 00:20:25.133
I'm going to go to work every day.

00:20:26.055 --> 00:20:27.935
I'm going to outwork everybody in there

00:20:28.217 --> 00:20:29.577
and I'm going to outlove them at the

00:20:29.637 --> 00:20:30.337
same time.

00:20:31.038 --> 00:20:32.619
And when I went in there,

00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:34.080
that's exactly what I did.

00:20:34.421 --> 00:20:36.883
And so eventually I met my wife and

00:20:36.903 --> 00:20:38.403
she said, well, well,

00:20:38.423 --> 00:20:39.325
first let me go back.

00:20:39.384 --> 00:20:43.028
So we had my stepdad's sister died.

00:20:43.067 --> 00:20:44.328
I didn't really have a rapport with her,

00:20:44.368 --> 00:20:44.848
but, you know,

00:20:44.868 --> 00:20:47.411
I went to the funeral and the repast

00:20:47.431 --> 00:20:48.311
was at our house.

00:20:58.257 --> 00:21:00.759
So she came in and everybody was talking.

00:21:00.898 --> 00:21:02.058
I couldn't stop looking there.

00:21:02.078 --> 00:21:03.800
The cops couldn't stop listening to the

00:21:03.840 --> 00:21:04.840
things she was saying.

00:21:04.881 --> 00:21:06.362
She was just like different.

00:21:07.002 --> 00:21:09.163
And when she got ready to leave,

00:21:09.203 --> 00:21:10.644
I was like, oh, man.

00:21:10.684 --> 00:21:11.965
I asked my cousin,

00:21:12.006 --> 00:21:12.726
can you talk to her?

00:21:12.766 --> 00:21:14.047
Can you ask if I can call her

00:21:14.067 --> 00:21:15.167
tonight or something?

00:21:15.208 --> 00:21:15.728
She's like, man,

00:21:15.748 --> 00:21:17.048
that girl been in the military as long

00:21:17.068 --> 00:21:18.049
as you been in prison.

00:21:18.089 --> 00:21:19.490
She ain't going to be talking to you.

00:21:21.288 --> 00:21:23.189
I said, I said, I said, why?

00:21:23.249 --> 00:21:24.669
He said, why you don't go tell her?

00:21:24.689 --> 00:21:25.489
She's going to get in the car,

00:21:25.528 --> 00:21:26.809
go out there and tell her yourself.

00:21:27.349 --> 00:21:28.890
I said, I got an ankle monitor on.

00:21:28.970 --> 00:21:30.431
I can't go outside till tomorrow.

00:21:30.451 --> 00:21:30.990
So I was stuck.

00:21:33.652 --> 00:21:35.372
He said, man, I'll go out there,

00:21:35.412 --> 00:21:36.791
but I ain't finna be, man.

00:21:38.292 --> 00:21:39.833
Why was she even, why,

00:21:39.972 --> 00:21:40.773
why you ain't tell her?

00:21:40.834 --> 00:21:41.554
I said, man, I ain't,

00:21:41.574 --> 00:21:43.673
I ain't really feel, uh,

00:21:43.693 --> 00:21:45.234
compelled to do until I saw her walk

00:21:45.375 --> 00:21:45.535
out.

00:21:45.654 --> 00:21:46.015
And I'm like,

00:21:46.075 --> 00:21:47.115
I want some more of her.

00:21:47.414 --> 00:21:48.276
Let, go get her.

00:21:49.076 --> 00:21:49.596
And, uh,

00:21:50.034 --> 00:21:51.714
And I said, man, just tell I said,

00:21:51.755 --> 00:21:54.895
man, I have been through a lot,

00:21:55.415 --> 00:21:58.218
but it's about to be all good because

00:21:58.238 --> 00:21:59.617
it's about to be all God.

00:21:59.657 --> 00:22:01.138
And I'm the head and not the tail

00:22:01.159 --> 00:22:02.278
above and not the knee.

00:22:02.318 --> 00:22:04.039
What God has for me is for me.

00:22:04.440 --> 00:22:05.320
And I'm chasing it.

00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:06.881
He said, well,

00:22:06.901 --> 00:22:08.182
I ain't going to remember all that,

00:22:08.221 --> 00:22:09.803
but I will go and tell us.

00:22:09.823 --> 00:22:10.383
That's the call.

00:22:12.461 --> 00:22:13.923
He goes out, comes back.

00:22:13.942 --> 00:22:15.903
She said, man, he said, she said,

00:22:15.923 --> 00:22:16.704
don't call her tonight.

00:22:16.724 --> 00:22:17.465
Call her today.

00:22:17.746 --> 00:22:18.666
Call her right now.

00:22:19.048 --> 00:22:20.368
And I called right now.

00:22:20.729 --> 00:22:22.290
And I called that day and I called

00:22:22.351 --> 00:22:23.172
every day after.

00:22:23.211 --> 00:22:23.771
And she said,

00:22:24.853 --> 00:22:26.214
God told me he's going to do some

00:22:26.234 --> 00:22:27.516
wonderful things in your life.

00:22:27.556 --> 00:22:29.076
And I want a front row seat for

00:22:29.176 --> 00:22:29.238
it.

00:22:29.917 --> 00:22:31.200
My God.

00:22:31.339 --> 00:22:33.321
I asked her to marry me a year

00:22:33.362 --> 00:22:33.702
later.

00:22:33.863 --> 00:22:34.723
We got married.

00:22:35.325 --> 00:22:38.387
Man, she's been awesome.

00:22:38.428 --> 00:22:39.128
Come to find out,

00:22:39.589 --> 00:22:42.393
she always wanted to be in a stage

00:22:42.432 --> 00:22:42.834
play.

00:22:43.714 --> 00:22:46.377
And I said, well, you know,

00:22:46.617 --> 00:22:47.960
I write stage plays.

00:22:49.355 --> 00:22:51.317
And I wrote, first I wrote the book.

00:22:51.557 --> 00:22:53.557
I turned the book into the stage play.

00:22:53.577 --> 00:22:55.599
She was the star of my stage play.

00:22:55.640 --> 00:22:56.619
The book is named?

00:22:56.859 --> 00:23:00.222
The book is saved-ish.

00:23:01.663 --> 00:23:02.364
Yes.

00:23:02.743 --> 00:23:03.845
With the subtitle,

00:23:03.884 --> 00:23:05.546
sometimes it's hell getting to heaven.

00:23:06.086 --> 00:23:08.807
And it's about this small church that has

00:23:08.847 --> 00:23:10.950
to decide whether or not they love their

00:23:10.990 --> 00:23:12.131
new interim pastor.

00:23:12.990 --> 00:23:14.892
This interim pastor comes in and just

00:23:15.173 --> 00:23:16.353
shakes up some things,

00:23:16.393 --> 00:23:17.773
just changes everything.

00:23:17.834 --> 00:23:18.615
And they loving it.

00:23:19.338 --> 00:23:21.150
until they find out he is formally

00:23:21.190 --> 00:23:22.096
incarcerated.

00:23:25.355 --> 00:23:26.296
See what I did there?

00:23:26.655 --> 00:23:27.576
Yeah.

00:23:27.596 --> 00:23:29.277
And so they have to decide,

00:23:29.436 --> 00:23:31.737
do we embrace the man he is or

00:23:31.777 --> 00:23:34.298
hold him hostage because of who he was?

00:23:35.518 --> 00:23:35.938
Yes.

00:23:35.998 --> 00:23:37.998
And so that's the stage play.

00:23:38.057 --> 00:23:40.378
And my wife became the star of my

00:23:40.419 --> 00:23:41.219
stage play.

00:23:41.598 --> 00:23:43.259
We put it on in my hometown of

00:23:43.318 --> 00:23:43.919
Beaumont,

00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:46.420
the same place I was that saw my

00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:47.720
epic fail.

00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:49.519
They saw God do his greatest work in

00:23:49.559 --> 00:23:49.740
me.

00:23:50.260 --> 00:23:52.101
Seven hundred people came out the first

00:23:52.181 --> 00:23:52.441
night.

00:23:52.980 --> 00:23:54.843
Oh my gosh, wow.

00:23:54.883 --> 00:23:57.546
Yes, the warden of the prison was there,

00:23:57.605 --> 00:23:59.468
the same officers who were locking me in

00:23:59.508 --> 00:24:01.770
cages came to watch me on stage.

00:24:02.372 --> 00:24:04.453
And the whole night was just,

00:24:04.713 --> 00:24:06.056
it was wonderful.

00:24:06.115 --> 00:24:07.617
My mom sat on the front row.

00:24:08.077 --> 00:24:09.278
I got a chance to give her her

00:24:09.338 --> 00:24:11.161
flowers while she could smell them.

00:24:11.622 --> 00:24:13.482
I bragged about her prayers,

00:24:13.522 --> 00:24:15.164
helping me to get to that moment.

00:24:15.244 --> 00:24:17.027
And the mayor of the city actually took

00:24:17.047 --> 00:24:18.667
the microphone and thanked my mom for

00:24:18.728 --> 00:24:19.288
having me.

00:24:19.809 --> 00:24:23.313
Said that they get a cautionary tale that

00:24:23.333 --> 00:24:24.294
they can tell children,

00:24:24.354 --> 00:24:26.056
but there also is a story of redemption

00:24:26.076 --> 00:24:26.336
there.

00:24:26.655 --> 00:24:29.998
that's valuable in our community and um he

00:24:30.018 --> 00:24:32.219
invited me to his house we're friends now

00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:34.961
um the warden of the prison wrote me

00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:37.563
a check to support me in my ministry

00:24:37.603 --> 00:24:38.983
and that's when i said you know what

00:24:39.864 --> 00:24:40.983
I don't think this is it.

00:24:41.644 --> 00:24:43.105
Every time I think that God has done

00:24:43.144 --> 00:24:44.145
his biggest work,

00:24:44.846 --> 00:24:46.467
he outdoes my imagination.

00:24:47.007 --> 00:24:49.007
So we took that play and we put

00:24:49.028 --> 00:24:50.107
it on a second time.

00:24:50.208 --> 00:24:54.128
A church put on a Mother's Day stage

00:24:54.169 --> 00:24:54.490
play,

00:24:54.589 --> 00:24:55.990
brought the stage play to their church.

00:24:56.029 --> 00:24:57.770
Fourteen hundred people showed up.

00:24:58.411 --> 00:24:59.852
and that's when we took it on the

00:24:59.892 --> 00:25:01.834
road we took it on the road um

00:25:01.894 --> 00:25:03.855
we went all over the place with it

00:25:04.395 --> 00:25:06.176
and when i when it was done i

00:25:06.217 --> 00:25:08.659
started writing my second stage play that

00:25:08.679 --> 00:25:11.682
drops in november called somebody go get

00:25:11.721 --> 00:25:12.241
leroy

00:25:15.203 --> 00:25:19.386
So what year was this that you wrote

00:25:20.127 --> 00:25:20.887
Save Dish?

00:25:22.788 --> 00:25:23.990
I wrote Save Dish in prison.

00:25:25.431 --> 00:25:26.832
Yeah, I wrote Save Dish in prison.

00:25:26.991 --> 00:25:28.113
And when I came home,

00:25:28.212 --> 00:25:29.673
I took the book that I wrote and

00:25:29.713 --> 00:25:30.954
turned it into a stage play.

00:25:31.375 --> 00:25:34.757
I wrote over a dozen books and sitcoms

00:25:34.798 --> 00:25:35.557
and movies.

00:25:36.057 --> 00:25:37.659
I did all this before I came home.

00:25:38.099 --> 00:25:38.940
So when I came home,

00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:40.661
it was just about five times that.

00:25:41.582 --> 00:25:43.163
edited and put it in play.

00:25:43.182 --> 00:25:43.544
Yeah.

00:25:43.884 --> 00:25:45.265
So it was already ready to go.

00:25:45.345 --> 00:25:46.925
I just took it and turned it into

00:25:47.227 --> 00:25:49.587
a gospel stage play because that's where

00:25:49.627 --> 00:25:50.509
my life went.

00:25:50.769 --> 00:25:52.411
My life was into ministry.

00:25:52.471 --> 00:25:54.412
So I kind of fell in love with

00:25:54.432 --> 00:25:56.114
Jesus and writing at the same time.

00:25:56.413 --> 00:25:58.015
So the two kind of started to marry

00:25:58.115 --> 00:25:58.635
one another.

00:25:59.016 --> 00:26:00.317
And that's what we're doing now.

00:26:00.356 --> 00:26:01.617
So we're making people laugh,

00:26:01.657 --> 00:26:03.940
making them think and giving God the glory

00:26:03.980 --> 00:26:04.259
for it.

00:26:09.383 --> 00:26:13.127
So after the stage plays,

00:26:13.189 --> 00:26:14.691
people would just come and tell me about

00:26:15.050 --> 00:26:17.994
their sons and their nephews who've gone

00:26:18.015 --> 00:26:19.958
through the same thing and they can't

00:26:19.978 --> 00:26:20.999
quite get back.

00:26:21.058 --> 00:26:22.861
And what advice would you give?

00:26:22.921 --> 00:26:22.981
And

00:26:23.672 --> 00:26:23.951
And man,

00:26:24.031 --> 00:26:25.393
one of the greatest things happened.

00:26:25.493 --> 00:26:27.595
Lee College came and filmed the stage play

00:26:27.634 --> 00:26:29.076
and they streamed it in the prisons all

00:26:29.156 --> 00:26:29.836
over the country.

00:26:30.577 --> 00:26:32.940
So I started getting letters from every

00:26:33.059 --> 00:26:34.540
prison you could imagine.

00:26:34.580 --> 00:26:35.922
And everybody wanted to know the same

00:26:35.961 --> 00:26:36.182
thing.

00:26:36.241 --> 00:26:37.663
How did you turn it all around?

00:26:38.064 --> 00:26:39.164
And I said, man,

00:26:39.325 --> 00:26:41.346
I've got to find a way to impact

00:26:41.385 --> 00:26:42.688
more than just the people that's in the...

00:26:43.347 --> 00:26:43.887
theater.

00:26:44.348 --> 00:26:46.830
So I started this nonprofit organization,

00:26:46.911 --> 00:26:48.932
the Before, During, and After Foundation.

00:26:49.011 --> 00:26:51.253
The before means that we mentor kids

00:26:51.273 --> 00:26:53.035
before they get into trouble when they're

00:26:53.055 --> 00:26:54.497
trending in the wrong direction.

00:26:54.896 --> 00:26:56.357
And I let them know exactly what they

00:26:56.397 --> 00:26:57.999
stand to lose and make sure they know

00:26:58.038 --> 00:26:59.160
you're only as smart as your next

00:26:59.180 --> 00:26:59.740
decision.

00:27:00.080 --> 00:27:01.721
It doesn't matter what your report card

00:27:01.761 --> 00:27:01.981
says.

00:27:02.001 --> 00:27:03.903
It doesn't matter what mama thinks.

00:27:04.423 --> 00:27:05.904
You have to consistently do the right

00:27:05.944 --> 00:27:07.365
thing, even when no one's looking.

00:27:07.866 --> 00:27:09.407
And it doesn't matter how good you were

00:27:09.807 --> 00:27:11.489
last year or yesterday,

00:27:11.628 --> 00:27:13.410
if you do something silly tonight on your

00:27:13.450 --> 00:27:15.230
phone or out in the street,

00:27:15.330 --> 00:27:17.352
you blow it off in one decision.

00:27:17.772 --> 00:27:19.173
And so I always just tell them, man,

00:27:19.192 --> 00:27:20.773
make sure you filter it.

00:27:20.894 --> 00:27:23.195
Make sure you don't move on impulse.

00:27:23.615 --> 00:27:25.017
Make sure you don't just respond to

00:27:25.057 --> 00:27:25.277
things.

00:27:25.317 --> 00:27:25.916
Consider it.

00:27:25.977 --> 00:27:28.097
Consider what you're considering and think

00:27:28.137 --> 00:27:29.659
about worst case scenario,

00:27:30.099 --> 00:27:31.200
best case scenario.

00:27:31.279 --> 00:27:32.681
If you can live with the worst case,

00:27:32.941 --> 00:27:34.221
hey, by all means, have at it.

00:27:34.241 --> 00:27:35.762
But most of the time, they can't.

00:27:36.323 --> 00:27:37.663
so just walk away and live to see

00:27:37.703 --> 00:27:40.464
another day um that's our that's our

00:27:40.505 --> 00:27:42.384
before the during is the prison ministry

00:27:42.525 --> 00:27:43.945
port where i get a chance to tell

00:27:43.965 --> 00:27:45.926
the guys hey man your life is a

00:27:45.987 --> 00:27:48.188
reclamation project you at the best point

00:27:48.208 --> 00:27:50.087
you can tear it all down and build

00:27:50.127 --> 00:27:52.229
it all up with the foundation being jesus

00:27:52.269 --> 00:27:54.309
christ you can find out who your friends

00:27:54.369 --> 00:27:56.371
really are because everybody love the

00:27:56.411 --> 00:27:58.270
sunshine but you learn more in the rain

00:27:58.711 --> 00:28:00.372
you find out what you're built like and

00:28:00.392 --> 00:28:02.133
you see who's really got your back and

00:28:02.173 --> 00:28:03.532
most of the time it's not the people

00:28:03.553 --> 00:28:04.673
you were giving your time to

00:28:05.173 --> 00:28:06.535
And so once that's established,

00:28:06.615 --> 00:28:08.096
the after is when they come home.

00:28:08.375 --> 00:28:09.817
We set them up with resources.

00:28:09.856 --> 00:28:10.617
We got, man,

00:28:10.637 --> 00:28:12.259
we got some incredible resources for

00:28:12.298 --> 00:28:13.439
people who want to get housed,

00:28:13.819 --> 00:28:15.441
people who want to get situated.

00:28:15.740 --> 00:28:17.102
I have the arts for them if they

00:28:17.142 --> 00:28:17.922
want to write books.

00:28:17.961 --> 00:28:20.243
We actually publish books of incarcerated

00:28:20.403 --> 00:28:20.723
authors.

00:28:20.943 --> 00:28:22.065
So when they walk into parole,

00:28:22.085 --> 00:28:23.125
they walk in with a book,

00:28:23.425 --> 00:28:24.226
the name on the front,

00:28:24.246 --> 00:28:25.166
their picture on the back.

00:28:25.186 --> 00:28:26.667
You can't tell me I'm not changed when

00:28:26.708 --> 00:28:27.888
I'm doing stuff like this.

00:28:28.328 --> 00:28:29.410
You don't have a book out.

00:28:32.451 --> 00:28:34.093
And so the best thing that's happened,

00:28:34.113 --> 00:28:34.334
man,

00:28:34.354 --> 00:28:37.536
God gave me a fundraising idea called the

00:28:37.615 --> 00:28:38.696
Overcomer Awards.

00:28:38.997 --> 00:28:40.858
And we're going to start that on October,

00:28:41.019 --> 00:28:42.859
and we're going to travel with it where

00:28:42.901 --> 00:28:45.162
we come to the community and honor people

00:28:45.182 --> 00:28:47.423
who've overcome incarceration, addiction,

00:28:47.703 --> 00:28:49.625
homelessness, trauma, and loss.

00:28:50.086 --> 00:28:51.827
And we put them all in one room,

00:28:52.147 --> 00:28:54.048
let them get loved on because every great

00:28:54.088 --> 00:28:55.931
comeback deserves a round of applause.

00:28:56.391 --> 00:28:58.272
And we put them in the situation

00:28:58.532 --> 00:29:00.295
where they get to take the microphone and

00:29:00.315 --> 00:29:02.817
thank those people who walked it out with

00:29:02.836 --> 00:29:05.278
them and feel as though I am an

00:29:05.358 --> 00:29:05.940
overcomer.

00:29:06.380 --> 00:29:07.721
And I just love the fact that we're

00:29:07.740 --> 00:29:08.101
going to do it.

00:29:08.121 --> 00:29:09.742
We're going to stream these events into

00:29:09.782 --> 00:29:11.904
prisons in hopes of people watching those

00:29:12.285 --> 00:29:14.086
people who were just like them a short

00:29:14.126 --> 00:29:14.626
time ago.

00:29:14.646 --> 00:29:15.887
And they say, man, you know, next year,

00:29:15.907 --> 00:29:17.289
that's going to be me on that stage.

00:29:17.549 --> 00:29:18.631
It's going to be my mom on the

00:29:18.671 --> 00:29:19.191
front row.

00:29:19.411 --> 00:29:20.311
I'm an overcomer.

00:29:20.833 --> 00:29:21.772
So that's what we add.

00:29:21.794 --> 00:29:22.834
And that's my life.

00:29:22.854 --> 00:29:24.476
That's my passion project right now.

00:29:25.384 --> 00:29:29.865
Tell everybody how they can find more

00:29:29.905 --> 00:29:30.105
about you,

00:29:30.145 --> 00:29:31.047
your website and your phone number.

00:29:31.067 --> 00:29:31.567
Yes, I can be reached.

00:29:31.586 --> 00:29:33.827
The phone number is four Oh nine, nine,

00:29:33.867 --> 00:29:36.128
two, six, seven, three, nine, one.

00:29:36.628 --> 00:29:37.750
Um, my, um,

00:29:38.190 --> 00:29:41.791
the website is the BDA foundation,

00:29:41.872 --> 00:29:43.231
the before, during,

00:29:43.332 --> 00:29:46.193
after the BDA foundation.com.

00:29:46.213 --> 00:29:46.354
Um,

00:29:47.193 --> 00:29:49.355
we're hoping to really try to turn some

00:29:49.394 --> 00:29:50.655
things up for, for,

00:29:50.915 --> 00:29:52.738
uh everybody involved with us man we've

00:29:52.758 --> 00:29:54.960
been kind of trying to settle some things

00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:56.682
and find out where we're gonna go what

00:29:56.701 --> 00:29:59.104
we're gonna be and um man god just

00:29:59.124 --> 00:30:00.565
says you know you got to grow wherever

00:30:00.585 --> 00:30:02.487
you're planted right now you're planted in

00:30:02.507 --> 00:30:06.191
copper's cove texas on dig in and um

00:30:06.310 --> 00:30:08.113
and that's exactly what i've been doing so

00:30:08.133 --> 00:30:09.713
i'm reaching out we're trying to partner

00:30:09.733 --> 00:30:11.736
with as many people who we can who's

00:30:11.796 --> 00:30:13.857
actually doing the work um there's a lot

00:30:13.897 --> 00:30:15.319
of people flying under the radar

00:30:15.779 --> 00:30:17.000
And I'm really just trying to give them

00:30:17.040 --> 00:30:17.821
a platform.

00:30:17.902 --> 00:30:19.542
I mean, I was loud for Satan.

00:30:19.942 --> 00:30:21.244
I'm trying to be twice as loud for

00:30:21.285 --> 00:30:21.644
God.

00:30:21.684 --> 00:30:23.006
So every time I get a microphone,

00:30:23.526 --> 00:30:24.988
they better not never put me on those

00:30:25.087 --> 00:30:25.448
things.

00:30:25.468 --> 00:30:26.388
They couldn't hear about it.

00:30:26.409 --> 00:30:28.549
What's one piece of information you would

00:30:28.569 --> 00:30:29.270
give our young folks?

00:30:29.371 --> 00:30:29.851
And I know, you know,

00:30:29.871 --> 00:30:30.652
this happened to you and you said you

00:30:30.672 --> 00:30:31.011
had no, you had no,

00:30:31.031 --> 00:30:31.532
no saying what happened.

00:30:31.573 --> 00:30:32.252
You was just riding along.

00:30:32.272 --> 00:30:35.496
What is one piece of advice you would

00:30:35.536 --> 00:30:42.622
give our young people right now today?

00:30:45.946 --> 00:30:48.308
I think the best advice I could give

00:30:48.809 --> 00:30:52.093
anybody young is that in life,

00:30:52.113 --> 00:30:53.953
the only thing you get to choose are

00:30:53.973 --> 00:30:56.036
your actions.

00:30:56.056 --> 00:30:57.758
You don't get to choose the consequences.

00:30:59.965 --> 00:31:02.047
I put myself in a position to be

00:31:02.106 --> 00:31:02.807
done that way.

00:31:03.487 --> 00:31:04.906
I was silent when I should have been

00:31:04.967 --> 00:31:05.387
loud.

00:31:06.067 --> 00:31:07.748
I walked in a crowd full of people

00:31:07.968 --> 00:31:09.509
I knew was doing the wrong thing.

00:31:09.729 --> 00:31:12.209
And instead of me boldly walking the other

00:31:12.229 --> 00:31:15.329
way, I walked where the problem was.

00:31:15.509 --> 00:31:16.910
And I felt comfortable there.

00:31:17.490 --> 00:31:18.990
Feeling comfortable when something going

00:31:19.030 --> 00:31:21.070
wrong, that's a mental thing.

00:31:21.911 --> 00:31:22.971
I was apathetic.

00:31:23.372 --> 00:31:23.951
I didn't care.

00:31:24.892 --> 00:31:25.712
I don't care.

00:31:26.133 --> 00:31:28.094
I was apathetic because I felt because I

00:31:28.114 --> 00:31:29.775
was being hurt at home that it gave

00:31:29.795 --> 00:31:31.215
me the right to hurt other people.

00:31:31.737 --> 00:31:33.518
Not knowing that that's kind of like

00:31:33.657 --> 00:31:35.419
drinking poison and expecting the other

00:31:35.459 --> 00:31:36.420
person to get sick.

00:31:36.980 --> 00:31:38.040
This is your life.

00:31:38.101 --> 00:31:39.321
These are your choices.

00:31:39.582 --> 00:31:40.702
Whatever is happening to you,

00:31:40.762 --> 00:31:42.284
God is going to see to that part.

00:31:42.663 --> 00:31:45.065
You just have to know that you have

00:31:45.085 --> 00:31:47.846
an assignment and your assignment is to

00:31:47.967 --> 00:31:49.508
never be a part of something that makes

00:31:49.528 --> 00:31:50.328
you less than.

00:31:50.348 --> 00:31:51.430
You got a whole future.

00:31:52.349 --> 00:31:54.332
I fumbled my future because of my

00:31:54.392 --> 00:31:54.832
feelings.

00:31:55.392 --> 00:31:56.571
I was hurt and I was in a

00:31:56.632 --> 00:31:58.813
position that I thought I could feel like

00:31:58.853 --> 00:31:59.673
more of a man.

00:32:00.073 --> 00:32:01.413
And it just wasn't the truth.

00:32:01.493 --> 00:32:02.374
It wasn't the truth.

00:32:03.374 --> 00:32:04.554
Being in that position, yeah,

00:32:04.673 --> 00:32:06.214
I just feel like people need to know

00:32:06.535 --> 00:32:08.214
that you only get to pick your action.

00:32:08.234 --> 00:32:09.674
You don't get to pick the consequences.

00:32:09.894 --> 00:32:11.016
Cuz once you're in that courtroom,

00:32:11.056 --> 00:32:12.375
nobody's gonna look like you.

00:32:13.076 --> 00:32:13.976
Once you're in that prison,

00:32:14.056 --> 00:32:15.517
everybody's gonna look like you.

00:32:16.317 --> 00:32:19.518
Your identity is gonna be shot.

00:32:19.557 --> 00:32:20.758
You're not gonna know who you are.

00:32:21.198 --> 00:32:22.759
But if you give God a chance,

00:32:23.679 --> 00:32:25.539
he won't only show you who you are.

00:32:25.880 --> 00:32:27.259
He will show you who you were always

00:32:27.320 --> 00:32:27.840
meant to be.

00:32:28.340 --> 00:32:30.301
And I had no idea I was a

00:32:30.342 --> 00:32:30.622
writer.

00:32:30.642 --> 00:32:32.301
I had no idea I was husband material.

00:32:32.321 --> 00:32:33.303
I had no idea I was going to

00:32:33.323 --> 00:32:34.563
be doing any of these things.

00:32:35.003 --> 00:32:35.824
I found him.

00:32:36.364 --> 00:32:37.404
And in him, I found me too.

00:32:37.424 --> 00:32:37.845
That is beautiful.

00:32:41.569 --> 00:32:42.451
That is beautiful.

00:32:42.830 --> 00:32:45.113
So for our listeners,

00:32:45.513 --> 00:32:47.095
I know we said we gave you some

00:32:47.154 --> 00:32:49.076
websites and things very quickly.

00:32:49.738 --> 00:32:51.038
First off, Jameson,

00:32:51.400 --> 00:32:54.403
where can we find your book?

00:32:55.584 --> 00:32:56.144
Oh, that book.

00:32:56.344 --> 00:32:58.365
That book is available everywhere books

00:32:58.405 --> 00:32:58.967
are sold.

00:32:59.027 --> 00:33:00.949
I was blown away when we did it

00:33:00.969 --> 00:33:03.111
because I remember this thing called

00:33:03.131 --> 00:33:03.971
stimulus checks.

00:33:04.655 --> 00:33:04.935
Yes.

00:33:04.955 --> 00:33:08.518
So when I first came home,

00:33:08.557 --> 00:33:09.878
they gave me my stimulus check.

00:33:09.898 --> 00:33:11.420
So everybody just assumed I was going to

00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:12.941
get a bunch of clothes.

00:33:14.122 --> 00:33:15.903
I went on ahead and invested in my

00:33:16.002 --> 00:33:16.323
book.

00:33:16.423 --> 00:33:17.683
I self-published my book.

00:33:17.784 --> 00:33:19.565
I made it available everywhere books are

00:33:19.605 --> 00:33:20.045
sold.

00:33:20.385 --> 00:33:22.547
So that's Amazon, Barnes & Noble,

00:33:22.866 --> 00:33:26.409
everywhere you see Saved-ish by Jameson

00:33:26.429 --> 00:33:26.888
Charles.

00:33:27.470 --> 00:33:28.170
Yeah, that's me.

00:33:28.210 --> 00:33:29.951
And I was so proud when I got

00:33:29.990 --> 00:33:30.451
a chance to...

00:33:31.231 --> 00:33:33.553
break that book out and show my mom

00:33:33.573 --> 00:33:35.314
the dedication where her name was

00:33:35.394 --> 00:33:35.874
mentioned.

00:33:36.433 --> 00:33:37.214
And man,

00:33:37.394 --> 00:33:39.016
that book was transformative for me.

00:33:39.076 --> 00:33:41.317
So now I'm writing the next book,

00:33:41.356 --> 00:33:42.936
which is going to be the audacity of

00:33:42.997 --> 00:33:43.657
tenacity,

00:33:43.978 --> 00:33:45.939
how to never give up no matter what.

00:33:46.439 --> 00:33:48.680
And that book is going to be debuting

00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:50.681
soon, probably at the stage play.

00:33:50.721 --> 00:33:52.422
We start doing a stage play in November.

00:33:52.961 --> 00:33:55.044
And so now we're publishing other people's

00:33:55.585 --> 00:33:58.948
works from prison and not just trying to

00:33:58.988 --> 00:34:01.049
get, just trying to create a buzz,

00:34:01.089 --> 00:34:02.352
a positive energy, man.

00:34:02.372 --> 00:34:03.732
And I feel like, you know,

00:34:03.752 --> 00:34:04.894
if you're in the dark long enough,

00:34:04.913 --> 00:34:06.715
your eyes are just to the darkness and

00:34:06.736 --> 00:34:07.717
you'll think you're okay.

00:34:08.838 --> 00:34:09.539
That ain't true.

00:34:09.599 --> 00:34:10.480
Turn that light on,

00:34:10.840 --> 00:34:12.581
turn that light on and you'll see what

00:34:12.621 --> 00:34:13.663
life really looks like.

00:34:13.682 --> 00:34:14.003
And man,

00:34:14.023 --> 00:34:15.605
I turned my light on and it stayed

00:34:15.684 --> 00:34:15.784
on.

00:34:19.420 --> 00:34:20.144
Now I'm just going to ask,

00:34:20.164 --> 00:34:22.500
what cities are you expecting to take the

00:34:22.519 --> 00:34:22.862
play to?

00:34:23.956 --> 00:34:25.057
Oh, actually,

00:34:25.117 --> 00:34:27.579
we're going to take this play to, well,

00:34:28.661 --> 00:34:30.061
first thing is the nonprofit

00:34:30.101 --> 00:34:32.224
organization's Overcomer Awards.

00:34:32.744 --> 00:34:33.704
So we're going to do that.

00:34:33.764 --> 00:34:35.365
And then once we actually do it and

00:34:35.485 --> 00:34:36.547
put the content out,

00:34:36.686 --> 00:34:37.987
then we're going to be open to any

00:34:38.068 --> 00:34:39.708
city that wants to invite us to do

00:34:39.750 --> 00:34:41.951
that in their city, in their community,

00:34:41.990 --> 00:34:43.132
with their overcomers.

00:34:43.311 --> 00:34:44.853
We're going to take that same format and

00:34:44.873 --> 00:34:45.514
move it around.

00:34:45.833 --> 00:34:46.914
We're going to take the stage play and

00:34:46.934 --> 00:34:47.655
do the same thing.

00:34:47.715 --> 00:34:49.277
It debuts on the twenty fourth.

00:34:50.018 --> 00:34:51.978
And then we'll have it to where we

00:34:51.998 --> 00:34:52.500
can actually

00:34:53.159 --> 00:34:54.561
We can pack up and move this because

00:34:54.621 --> 00:34:56.481
the way we move is very strategic.

00:34:56.981 --> 00:34:58.762
We can do it and package it for

00:34:59.342 --> 00:35:00.802
theaters or churches.

00:35:01.242 --> 00:35:02.802
So we make ourselves available.

00:35:03.143 --> 00:35:04.563
We try to find reasons to do it

00:35:05.063 --> 00:35:06.605
instead of finding reasons not to.

00:35:07.144 --> 00:35:09.606
So sometimes we've done it in small crowds

00:35:09.666 --> 00:35:10.385
of a hundred.

00:35:10.726 --> 00:35:12.027
and they get the same performance.

00:35:12.807 --> 00:35:14.530
Sometimes we do a thousand.

00:35:15.030 --> 00:35:16.371
It doesn't matter where you are.

00:35:16.610 --> 00:35:18.112
You can't let where you are dictate who

00:35:18.152 --> 00:35:18.552
you are.

00:35:19.213 --> 00:35:20.414
If I'm going to show up for the

00:35:20.454 --> 00:35:20.655
Lord,

00:35:20.675 --> 00:35:22.096
I'm going to put my best foot forward.

00:35:22.155 --> 00:35:23.336
It don't matter who's watching.

00:35:23.376 --> 00:35:24.057
He's watching,

00:35:24.398 --> 00:35:25.619
and I owe him too much to let

00:35:25.659 --> 00:35:26.039
him down.

00:35:26.400 --> 00:35:26.800
Yeah,

00:35:26.900 --> 00:35:29.001
if there's nothing but one person sitting

00:35:29.021 --> 00:35:29.922
in those seats.

00:35:29.963 --> 00:35:31.485
He's going to get it.

00:35:34.507 --> 00:35:36.510
we just want to remind our listeners that

00:35:36.550 --> 00:35:38.452
jameson charles is the founder of the

00:35:38.492 --> 00:35:41.757
before during and after foundation and you

00:35:41.797 --> 00:35:45.922
can uh the website is the b d

00:35:46.222 --> 00:35:50.806
a foundation.com that is spelled out v

00:35:52.335 --> 00:35:54.617
d i'm sorry let me try that again

00:35:54.938 --> 00:36:01.344
the bdafoundation.com the before during

00:36:01.463 --> 00:36:05.047
and after foundation you can reach jameson

00:36:05.088 --> 00:36:09.132
charles at four oh nine nine two six

00:36:09.552 --> 00:36:12.175
seven three nine one

00:36:14.867 --> 00:36:17.228
Yes.

00:36:17.248 --> 00:36:17.429
I love it.

00:36:17.449 --> 00:36:17.628
I love it.

00:36:17.648 --> 00:36:19.030
You guys have a, man,

00:36:19.050 --> 00:36:20.451
y'all work so well together.

00:36:20.471 --> 00:36:21.471
This is phenomenal.

00:36:21.572 --> 00:36:22.271
I just know.

00:36:22.331 --> 00:36:24.072
That's my sister.

00:36:24.092 --> 00:36:24.172
Man,

00:36:24.193 --> 00:36:25.753
I just know it's going to continue to

00:36:25.793 --> 00:36:26.114
grow.

00:36:26.594 --> 00:36:29.016
And I believe you guys deserve every

00:36:29.097 --> 00:36:30.117
blessing you catch.

00:36:30.217 --> 00:36:30.436
Man,

00:36:30.456 --> 00:36:32.659
thank you so much for having me on.

00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:34.139
Your presence is great.

00:36:34.179 --> 00:36:35.280
You guys do this.

00:36:35.300 --> 00:36:35.481
You know,

00:36:35.501 --> 00:36:37.481
there's a lot of people who try to

00:36:37.521 --> 00:36:37.882
do it.

00:36:39.784 --> 00:36:41.065
It looks good on you all.

00:36:41.144 --> 00:36:42.786
I think you're going to do some major

00:36:42.826 --> 00:36:43.545
things with this.

00:36:43.565 --> 00:36:44.567
So please keep pushing.

00:36:45.047 --> 00:36:45.347
Thank you.

00:36:45.387 --> 00:36:46.788
We receive it and Jameson.

00:36:47.148 --> 00:36:49.829
This is our ministry like this podcast is

00:36:49.889 --> 00:36:51.929
our yeah And so when we have people

00:36:52.028 --> 00:36:53.889
on we say that we we we have

00:36:53.949 --> 00:36:56.871
you in our loveseat so we only bring

00:36:57.030 --> 00:36:59.231
on we only have people on this show

00:36:59.271 --> 00:37:01.833
that One of us has met we believe

00:37:01.853 --> 00:37:04.733
in the vision or someone has introduced

00:37:05.333 --> 00:37:09.894
someone to us and We we believe in

00:37:09.934 --> 00:37:14.197
people who have who have created solutions

00:37:14.217 --> 00:37:14.297
and

00:37:14.637 --> 00:37:16.018
to common problems.

00:37:18.298 --> 00:37:20.438
And so that's why we say change makers,

00:37:20.478 --> 00:37:21.460
visionaries.

00:37:23.139 --> 00:37:23.880
These are the people,

00:37:23.940 --> 00:37:25.860
the people who turn over tables.

00:37:26.001 --> 00:37:26.641
Those are the folks.

00:37:26.661 --> 00:37:27.342
That's right.

00:37:27.362 --> 00:37:27.601
That's it.

00:37:27.641 --> 00:37:27.822
That's it.

00:37:27.842 --> 00:37:28.021
I love it.

00:37:28.041 --> 00:37:28.442
I love it.

00:37:28.461 --> 00:37:29.163
I'm glad to be in that number.

00:37:29.182 --> 00:37:29.822
You got the last question, dear.

00:37:29.842 --> 00:37:29.922
Yeah.

00:37:29.943 --> 00:37:30.682
So the last question we always ask

00:37:30.702 --> 00:37:35.085
everybody is to help stop the negative

00:37:35.105 --> 00:37:42.487
stigma behind mental health.

00:37:42.943 --> 00:37:45.264
We ask all of our guests,

00:37:45.364 --> 00:37:46.306
what do you do to manage your mental

00:37:46.326 --> 00:37:48.646
wellness?

00:37:48.847 --> 00:37:50.367
Oh man, that's what a wonderful,

00:37:50.407 --> 00:37:53.030
what a wonderful, wonderful question.

00:37:54.891 --> 00:37:55.210
For me,

00:37:55.311 --> 00:37:59.094
I go back to this quote by James

00:37:59.153 --> 00:37:59.713
Baldwin.

00:38:00.653 --> 00:38:00.974
He said,

00:38:01.034 --> 00:38:03.135
anything that is faced can be changed,

00:38:03.775 --> 00:38:05.456
but nothing can be changed until it's

00:38:05.516 --> 00:38:05.938
faced.

00:38:07.398 --> 00:38:08.139
And so for me,

00:38:08.199 --> 00:38:09.760
I always look at it like,

00:38:10.831 --> 00:38:12.771
whatever's troubling me,

00:38:12.911 --> 00:38:14.753
whatever's making me feel less than,

00:38:16.014 --> 00:38:16.713
I look at it.

00:38:16.835 --> 00:38:17.894
I see it for what it is.

00:38:17.974 --> 00:38:19.215
I see where the root was.

00:38:19.295 --> 00:38:20.516
I don't blame anybody.

00:38:20.577 --> 00:38:21.737
I don't woe is me.

00:38:22.358 --> 00:38:24.699
I see it as an opportunity.

00:38:26.300 --> 00:38:28.121
I arrived at that realization from the

00:38:28.161 --> 00:38:28.581
Bible.

00:38:29.121 --> 00:38:30.943
I used to take things so personal when

00:38:31.003 --> 00:38:32.543
people let me down or when something

00:38:32.583 --> 00:38:33.023
happened.

00:38:33.684 --> 00:38:35.125
And I finally got to a point where

00:38:35.184 --> 00:38:37.367
I realized, you know, sometimes God,

00:38:38.313 --> 00:38:40.474
allows me to go through three go through

00:38:40.514 --> 00:38:43.315
things just so i can show non-believers

00:38:43.335 --> 00:38:46.978
how to do it and and it it

00:38:46.998 --> 00:38:48.798
came to me from the story of job

00:38:49.239 --> 00:38:51.019
job had all these things happening to him

00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:54.541
but people like totally missed the fact

00:38:54.561 --> 00:38:57.023
that god in the beginning acts satan hey

00:38:57.063 --> 00:38:59.244
have you considered my servant job

00:39:01.045 --> 00:39:02.487
I'm throwing Job out there for you.

00:39:02.507 --> 00:39:03.389
I'm letting you know, try him.

00:39:03.429 --> 00:39:04.911
He can handle it.

00:39:04.951 --> 00:39:05.731
Try him and see.

00:39:06.432 --> 00:39:07.414
Try my boy and see.

00:39:07.454 --> 00:39:07.974
Try him.

00:39:07.994 --> 00:39:08.835
Try Job and see.

00:39:08.876 --> 00:39:09.496
Watch this.

00:39:10.016 --> 00:39:11.398
And so sometimes, man,

00:39:11.438 --> 00:39:13.702
God just want to show you off when

00:39:13.722 --> 00:39:14.523
adversity comes.

00:39:14.563 --> 00:39:15.565
It ain't so much that...

00:39:15.804 --> 00:39:18.666
That is for you to be set back.

00:39:18.985 --> 00:39:21.447
Sometimes he just sets you up to show

00:39:21.487 --> 00:39:23.467
you off and say, watch my brother work.

00:39:23.507 --> 00:39:24.708
Watch my sister work.

00:39:25.007 --> 00:39:26.349
This ain't nothing.

00:39:26.728 --> 00:39:27.829
We do this for fun.

00:39:27.869 --> 00:39:29.829
We run through you for fun.

00:39:29.849 --> 00:39:31.449
That's how far I done came and that's

00:39:31.489 --> 00:39:33.070
how far God has built us up.

00:39:33.670 --> 00:39:35.512
to be in a position to fully understand

00:39:35.532 --> 00:39:36.612
when something happens, man,

00:39:36.652 --> 00:39:38.492
God is doing something so much bigger than

00:39:38.532 --> 00:39:38.793
this.

00:39:39.072 --> 00:39:40.594
Just wait, just wait, just wait.

00:39:40.893 --> 00:39:41.614
So that's what I do.

00:39:41.673 --> 00:39:43.014
I just give it to him and I

00:39:43.034 --> 00:39:44.755
look into it and I wait for him

00:39:44.795 --> 00:39:45.215
to move.

00:39:45.454 --> 00:39:47.795
I think my best thing is that I

00:39:47.835 --> 00:39:48.135
pray.

00:39:48.576 --> 00:39:50.117
I pray like it's all on God and

00:39:50.137 --> 00:39:51.556
then I stand up and I go get

00:39:51.597 --> 00:39:52.637
it like it's all on me.

00:39:53.137 --> 00:39:55.077
And he meets me in the middle every

00:39:55.117 --> 00:39:55.378
time.

00:39:55.398 --> 00:39:57.878
Well, I know that's right.

00:39:57.898 --> 00:39:59.139
Thank you for sharing that wonderful

00:39:59.159 --> 00:39:59.860
testimony.

00:40:00.851 --> 00:40:01.192
Absolutely.

00:40:01.231 --> 00:40:03.072
Thank you guys so much for the invite.

00:40:03.974 --> 00:40:04.494
You're welcome.

00:40:04.534 --> 00:40:06.855
It was absolutely delightful to meet you

00:40:06.954 --> 00:40:08.155
and speak with you, Jameson.

00:40:08.175 --> 00:40:11.657
And to our listeners, as always,

00:40:11.717 --> 00:40:13.478
we want to remind you to subscribe to

00:40:13.538 --> 00:40:15.378
Conversations with Karen and Kat on

00:40:15.418 --> 00:40:17.059
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00:40:17.079 --> 00:40:18.960
and wherever you get your podcasts.

00:40:19.300 --> 00:40:21.961
Remember that you are part of the

00:40:22.021 --> 00:40:23.003
conversations.

00:40:23.443 --> 00:40:25.744
Thank you for joining us on this episode

00:40:25.804 --> 00:40:27.605
of Conversations with Karen and Kat.

00:40:27.934 --> 00:40:28.074
Well,

00:40:28.114 --> 00:40:29.617
we are impacting the world one

00:40:29.657 --> 00:40:30.880
conversation at a time.