“54” spent 30 years in prison. He finished his probation in October 2023 and is now fully on his own as a free man. When he was released on of his first priorities was seeing his daughter and holding his grandchildren. Another goal was owning a vehicle. I sold “54” my Honda Mini-van which he kept running for a long time. Then he traded it up for an old truck – fixed up the old truck so it sparkled and ran like new. Sold that one and upgraded to the big white truck… and then the red one.
All of this upgrading matched his work program…starting at Tar Heel Linen, the low-pay long-hour job “54” had started when he was on work release, a daily job for men in prison, he moved up to adding in some car-detailing, landscaping and odd jobs, finally getting a full-time job with benefits delivering building supplies. And then the women – after a few false starts, he met his wife, Stephanie, a no nonsense woman who was the manager at the gas station where “54” filled up the increasingly better tanks on his increasing better cars. She’s also a winner. Now they own a house on 2 acres of land with 2 dogs and 3 cats and lots of Freedom.
