Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 19
Time I woke: 3:48 am
Journal of activities:

This morning I woke early to begin writing an essay that described the first lecture that I gave at San Francisco State University. I wanted to write a detailed description for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to clarify for my students the lessons I was trying to convey. They did not have a reading assignment for the first class, so I felt it important to provide a review of the coursework. I also wanted a recap for my own purposes, as I expected it would help me teach for the next semester. I spent several hours writing the document. Then, when I completed it I sent a link out to each of my students with instructions for them to earn credit in the class by making a comment. My goal is to engage them, to interest them in learning more about the system of corrections in America.

Following work with the recap of my class, I published a link to the article on my public page at Facebook. I wanted to see whether those who read my work would notice the new website that I’m building here. I spent the remainder of the day working on site design and drafting new content that I will publish to help more people understand federal prison. I intend to write about the crimes that can lead to federal prison. That means I will publish articles on esoteric crimes like mail fraud, wire fraud, tax evasion, and securities fraud. I intend to make this website a destination point for those who want to learn about federal prison and the types of crimes that have contributed to mass incarceration.

In the evening I joined my friend Lee Nobmann for dinner at Cattleman’s Restaurant in Petaluma.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: No exercise
• Lenght of time: No exercise
• Miles run today: 0
• Weather: Beautiful sunny day in Petaluma
• Consecutive days: 0
• Cumulative miles since day off: 0
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 0

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful to God that my wife is feeling better and that we’re able to spend time together every day.

Appointments:

This evening I had dinner with my friend Lee Nobmann.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 18
Time I woke: 5:00 am
Journal of activities:

Carole was not feeling well today, so I stayed home with her and didn’t run. Instead, I worked in my office which is next to our bedroom. In the morning I completed some work that had been piling up. I wrote a lesson plan for a simple course that I will teach in Stockton to help at-risk youth understand aspects of the stock market. Then I prepared for my meeting with Rob Scerri, president of Golden State Lumber.

I spoke with Rob about whether the Michael G. Santos Foundation could add value by launching a staffing company. We would train felons through our Straight-A Guide job training program. Those who demonstrated an eagerness to change their life and begin living as law-abiding, contributing citizens would have an opportunity to qualify for employment. Our foundation could then launch a division to begin placing those workers with employers. Golden State Lumber would become our first client. When the company needed interim workers, they could call upon those who’ve gone through the Straight-A Guide and our workers would show up for a job. The idea is that we could help felons break into the job market and simultaneously help Golden State Lumber with short-term labor needs.

I spent the remainder of the day writing. The level of my work load now feels as if it’s more than I can handle. Class night was an amazing experience for me. Sixty nine students showed up for the class, which was 24 more students than authorized. I agreed to admit each student, as I was looking forward to a vibrant class. But these additional students will double my workload, as I will have much more grading to complete. Still, I’m looking forward to the learning experience and the teaching experience. Now I must write more content to educate the students about our nation’s prison system and how it operates.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: No exercise
• Lenght of time: No exercise
• Miles run today: 0
• Weather: Beautiful sunny day in Petaluma.
• Consecutive days: 0
• Cumulative miles since day off: 0
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 6

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful to God for my wife, Carole.

Appointments:

Today I met with Rob Scerri, president of Golden State Lumber. I met with my friend Lee Nobmann, founder of the company.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 17
Time I woke: 4:30 am
Journal of activities:

Today was my first day of teaching at San Francisco State University. I drove to the city and parked my car in a public garage at 9:30 this morning and then walked around the campus. First I stopped in the bookstore to make sure that the books I assigned to my students were in stock. I saw both Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term and Inside: Life Behind Bars in America on the shelf. I snapped a photograph and published it on Instagram. Then I walked to an administrator’s office, where I learned that I could pick up keys to my own office. I visited the gymnasium and made a plan to purchase a membership. Thousands of students walked around the campus, bringing a vibrant energy. I went to the food court to buy a sandwich, then I walked to the library and set up. I’m sitting in the library now, just before noon, as I type these words.

I see hundreds of students at the various tables around me. Later today my friend Tulio will stop by as he wants to sit through my first class. The class begins at 4:00 pm and lasts until 7:00 pm. I’m really enthusiastic to share all that I’ve learned about the prison system and to help those who enrolled in my class understand more about prisons in the United States.

Today we’ll talk about the origins of punishment in Western Civilization and how theories of punishment have evolved over the centuries to the present day. We will discuss several social philosophers, including Beccaria, Foucault, DeToqueville, and Bentham. Then we will discuss the evolution of the prison system in the United States, discussing the Jacksonian era known as Reformation. I’ll talk about the Quakers, the Pennsylvania system, and the New York system. Then I’ll discuss how reformers ushered in more enlightened policies designed to educate prisoners. I’ll then transition into the modern era of mass incarceration, which began with an article by John Martinson who wrote “Nothing Works.” We will discuss James Q. Wilson and perhaps John DiIulio. The students will not have had any reading assignments, so I will lecture and engage them during our first three-hour discussion. I’m looking forward to the experience of teaching my first class in a university. Good times ahead. I begin to teach in four more hours.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: Walking all day at SFSU
• Lenght of time: 0
• Miles run today: 0
• Weather: Beautiful sunny day in San Francisco
• Consecutive days: 0
• Cumulative miles since day off: 0
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 6

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful that I completed my prison sentence and returned to society with so many magnificent opportunities.I feel as though I’m the most fortunate man alive.

Appointments:

Today is my first day of teaching at San Francisco State University. I’ll be meeting with all of the students who enrolled in my course, The Architecture of Imprisonment.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 16
Time I woke: 4:30
Journal of activities:

I worked  all day on the various projects that are launching my career. First I wrote a lengthy document about the importance of sentence-mitgation strategies. I will feature that document on my website so that more people understand how and why to prepare once they’ve been  charged with criminal misconduct. I wrote other articles for my website and I spent several hours preparing for the class I’m scheduled to teach tomorrow evening at San Francisco State University. Many students have been calling me “professor,” which really sounds surreal to me. I always correct them, asking that they call me Michael. Exciting times ahead, but now it’s 8:50 in the evening and time for me to put out the lights and sleep.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: 6:00 am until 9:30
• Lenght of time: 2 hours
• Miles run today: 11
• Weather: Beautiful, sunny day in Petaluma
• Consecutive days: 4
• Cumulative miles since day off: 49
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 6

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful to God for giving Carole and me the strength to continue moving forward.

Appointments:

Carole spent the day with me today. We worked side by side in my office without interruption.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 15
Time I woke: 4:30
Journal of activities:

I woke at 4:30 this morning and resumed work on my website. Tulio and I launched the site last night but I had to write a bit more content to complete the various blocks. The site will grow organically with new content I write regularly to help more people understand prisons, the people they hold, and strategies for growing through confinement. I’ve been writing this type of content for decades, but I lost volumes of content when I initially transitioned into society and didn’t understand the web. I still don’t understand the web, but I’m making more progress each day. The content that I lost doesn’t bother me so much because I can always create more. I lived through a quarter century of imprisonment and I have more content in my head than anyone would care to read. I’ll continue writing enough to show the world that anyone can become more than the bad decisions of the past. As I build the site, I expect that more people will see the value that I provide and then retain me to work with them individually. I intend to support myself in this way.

As a consequence of a meeting I had scheduled in Sacramento, I had to stop my run at only 11 miles this morning. Now I’m back at home and I’m ready to resume work on building the new site. I’m really enjoying this opportunity to learn how to connect with more people and to share all that I’ve learned as a long-term federal prisoner.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: 5:30 am until 7:30 am
• Lenght of time: 2 hours
• Miles run today: 11
• Weather: The sky was dark when I began my run at 5:30. By the time I finished, the sun was bright and temperatures were warm. A beautiful day in Petaluma. I snapped an Instragram photo of a pond by the track at the park where I run in Petaluma.
• Consecutive days: 3
• Cumulative miles since day off: 38
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 6

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful for every blessing that comes my way. Each day brings more awareness and gratitude, compelling me to work harder to prove worthy of so much.

Appointments:

Today I met with Judy and Scott  in Sacramento. I spent the rest of the day working from my office at home.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 14
Time I woke: 4:36 am
Journal of activities:

This morning I enjoyed a wonderful run, made more special because my wife, Carole, joined me for the final few miles. I returned home to resume work on building the backend of my new website. My friend Tulio joined me around noon and we worked side-by-side to get the site ready. He is really knowledgeable about how WordPress functions. I appreciate the time Tulio takes to educate me on different techniques that will help more people find my work when they search for information about the federal prison system. At this stage, I am not writing the type of content that will show the depth and breadth of my expertise. Right now I’m simply working with Tulio to develop the architectural framework for the site. Once it’s all built, then I can start adding new content in a methodical way, featuring more and more information that will establish me as an authority on the subject of federal prison. For now, I must learn how to use all of the tools that will help me reach a wider audience. More importantly, the lessons that Tulio is teaching me will help more people find my work.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: 5:22 until 8:00
• Lenght of time: 2.5 hours
• Miles run today: 13.5
• Weather: When I walked outside from my garage around 5:30 it was dark and misty. I ran to the park, enjoying overcast skies for the entire run. Carole met me to run through the final four miles.
• Consecutive days: 2
• Cumulative miles since day off: 27
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 6

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful that Carole and I continue to appreciate all the blessings of our life. We’re very happy.

Appointments:

Tulio Cardozo is going to meet me at my house to work alongside me as we develop the new website.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 13
Time I woke: 4:30
Journal of activities:

I woke early this morning and completed some responsibilities I have with social media. Then I ironed Carole’s nursing uniform while she gathered her things for work. We enjoyed a cup of coffee together. As she drove off to work at the hospital, I went outside to begin my run. I appreciated the run, as I had to forego exercise for the past several days in order to complete responsibilities associated with the business I’m determined to build.  I ran 13.5 miles at the Shollenberger Park in Petaluma. When I returned, I resumed my work.

I have many responsibilities to complete for the week ahead. For one thing, I’m building this new website that takes a lot of my time. I have to write new content that will others understand that anyone can follow a principled path to reach a higher potential. I use my journey through 26 years in prison as a context, suggesting that the lessons I learned apply to anyone. Besides the website, I also have other responsibilities. For example, I start teaching on Thursday of this week at San Francisco State University. The course I teach will increase my workload. In addition, I must work with my partner Justin to bring our Straight-A Guide reentry program to market. Those responsibilities require that I apply myself seven days each week. Thankfully, I appreciate the opportunities.  Life feels great and I look forward to sharing my story with hopes that others will feel the same way about their life.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: 6:30 am until 9:00 am
• Lenght of time: 2.5 hours
• Miles run today: 13
• Weather: Today’s weather while I run at Schollenberger Park in Petaluma was overcast, but the sun came out around the time that I finished my run.
• Consecutive days: 1
• Cumulative miles since day off: 13.5
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 6

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful to God for continuing blessings I receive. Today I really appreciated the beauty of the park where I run and I returned to my work with gratitude for the opportunities opening each day.

Appointments:

Today I did not meet with anyone besides my lovely wife, Carole.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 12
Time I woke: 5:00 am
Journal of activities:

I’m learning a little something about what it means to live in society. While incarcerated, I was able to keep a much more disciplined schedule than I am keeping as I work to build my business. I did not return home from our trip to Los Angeles until after midnight. Yet I woke at 5:00 am in order to help Carole prepare for work. I made her coffee and then I ironed her nursing uniform. Then I caught up with some administrative work that I needed to complete while she got ready. I realized that so many projects await my attention that I would have to sacrifice my run again. I did not exercise one time since I left for my trip to Los Angeles, so this is very disturbing to me. I’ve got to find some way to bring a balance into my life that will include exercise. Despite the lack of running, the busy schedule did not lead to my gaining too much weight. When I stepped on the scale I weighed 168.7 pounds, which means I gained about five pounds since my last run, but that is manageable. I will respond to the weight gain tomorrow by running a half marathon.

I added more content to my new website as I’m getting ready to launch. It’s my hope that my friend Tulio and I will feel ready to launch the new website within the next few days. I will still have considerable amounts of content to add, but I want to begin documenting the journey for readers to learn about the challenges I’m facing as I build my new life in society. One challenge came today with a correspondence I had with my probation officer. I’m going to write an article about the experience and I invite those who want to learn more about the challenges of returning to society after 26 years in prison to read the article. I’m publishing a link below.

Also, I finally updated my Facebook page with a brief summary of my trip to Los Angeles. I asked followers on Facebook and Twitter to follow my new Instagram page. In the evening, my friend Lee Nobmann and I went to dinner at Giacomo’s restaurant in Petaluma. While I dined on a Pepperoni pizza, I told him all about my trip to Los Angeles and the progress we made in beginning the sales process for our Straight-A Guide program.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: No exercise
• Lenght of time: 0
• Miles run today: 0
• Weather: 0
• Consecutive days: 0
• Cumulative miles since day off: 0
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 6

Gratitude prayer:

I’m thankful to God for guiding Carole and I through our first trip together and for opening so many opportunities that will lead to the growth of my career. In silent prayer, I thanked God for staying beside Carole and me through this entire journey.

Appointments:

Today I worked alone from my home office. In the evening I went out for dinner with my friend and mentor Lee Nobmann.

Links to publications:

Follow my new Instagram page.

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 11
Time I woke: 4:30 am
Journal of activities:

This morning began when Justin picked me up at 5:30 am. We returned to Orange County for a meeting at a Day Reporting center in Orange County. I met with the staff, then made a presentation to a group of men and women who were striving to adjust to the complexities of returning to society after their own troubles with the criminal justice system. The audience seemed totally surprised when I told them that I’d only been released from prison 11 days previously. The presentation felt successful, with the promise of more purchase orders for our Straight-A Guide program to come.

Following our meeting in Orange County, Justin and I drove to the Warner Brother’s Studio for a meeting with Scott Budnick. Scott is a well known Hollywood producer. He is famous for playing a leadership role in producing many blockbuster films, including The Hangover series. But in addition to his work in Hollywood, Scott plays an active role as an advocate for meaningful juvenile justice reform. He leads a group known as the Anti-recidivism Coallition (ARC). An article in Mother Jones profiled Scott Budnick’s admirable work. My partner, Justin Paperny, who leads the Michael G. Santos Foundation, has been cultivating a relationship with Scott for longer than a year. Within days of my release, Scott called to congratulate me and I appreciated his support. Justin and I drove through security at the Warner Brother’s lot and found our way to Green Hat Films. He welcomed us with a warm embrace and we went into his spacious office to discuss what it has been like for me to return to society after decades. Scott told us about his new films, both of which have some relationship to crime. Scott led us on a private tour of the Hollywood lot and brought us into the studio where he led a crew that filmed The Hangover. Then we dined at a white-linen restaurant right on the Warner Brother’s lot and discussed how we could work together to reform our nation’s prison system.

After our meeting with Scott, Justin and I drove to Camp Miller in Malibu. We met with a group of social workers who admirably devote their career to helping young offenders prepare for success. First we spoke to the staff about how the Straight-A Guide could help their work, then I made a presentation to a group of young men. Finally, Justin drove me back to the airport where Carole was waiting for me. We flew home but we didn’t arrive at our house until 12:20 in the morning. The business trip kept me so busy that I did not exercise one time during my stay in Los Angeles. The good news, however, was that we opened a pipeline that should lead to many sales for our Straight-A Guide program.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: No exercise
• Lenght of time: 0
• Miles run today: 0
• Weather: Sunny and warm temperatures in Southern California
• Consecutive days: 0
• Cumulative miles since day off: 0
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 6

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful to God for guiding me through my first business trip. I’m inspired to work harder because a market truly exists for the products that my team and I are creating.

Appointments:

I met with Justin Paperny, with Steve from the Challenge Academy’s CORE program, with several other community leaders who work for different government agencies. I met with Scott Budnick, a Hollywood producer at Warner Brothers Studios. Then I met with leaders at the Camp Miller prison camp for juveniles in Malibu.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 10
Time I woke: 4:50 am
Journal of activities:

I had a full day of meetings in Los Angeles today and the meetings went extraordinarily well. Justin has done a great job of packing the day with opportunities to spread the word about our Straight-A Guide program and I appreciate the hard work he has put into bringing our Straight-A Guide reentry program to the attention of others. Our first meeting was with Larry, a teacher of the Orange County Department of Education. We were at his office at 7:00 am. Justin introduced me and I gave a thumbnail sketch about my journey and the program that we’re working to create. Larry had already read several books that I wrote so he was familiar with my story. He has been using the Straight-A Guide as a teaching resource for longer than a year and he looked forward to using the new video-based program. We agreed to return to Orange County and meet with him in September to present the program to his colleagues.

After leaving Larry, we drove to the National Guard’s Challenge Academy known as Sunburst. We met with several directors, principals, and leaders from the National Guard. I’m really grateful to have had an opportunity to make a presentation at Sunburst. The day included a full tour of the academy and concluded with a two-hour presentation that I gave to more than 250 people. The young men and women who heard the message gave me a really enthusiastic reception, boosting hopes that I could make a contribution.

After the presentation at Sunburst, we drove to Norwalk for a visit with my grandmother and my mother. More than 29 years have passed since my previous visit to my grandmother’s house and it was the first time she has since me since my release from prison. The busy schedule meant that I did not have much time to visit, as Justin had scheduled a dinner meeting with supporters of our program. I had dinner with Julio Marcial from the California Wellness Foundation; Brock Harris, a successful real estate entrepreneur and board member of the Michael G. Santos Foundation; Lori Levine, a law student at Loyola Law School; and Jimmy Wu, a case manager for the InsideOUT Writer’s Program. We discussed the challenges we face in working to prepare more offenders for law-abiding, contributing lives. Julio invited me to deliver the Keynote address at a conference in Orange County this coming October.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: No exercise
• Lenght of time: 0
• Miles run today: 0
• Weather: Beautiful weather in sunny Los Angeles
• Consecutive days: 0
• Cumulative miles since day off: 0
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 6

Gratitude prayer:

I began the morning with a silent prayer thanking God for the blessings in my life. I asked for guidance as I advanced through this first day of a three-day sales trip. Before I slept, I thanked God again for opening new opportunities throughout the day.

Appointments:

Today I met with many people, but I cannot recall of the names. My first meeting was with Justin Paperny. He drove me to an office in Orange County where we met with Larry Coonradt from the Orange County Department of Education. After our meeting with Larry, Justin and I drove to another meeting at the National Guard’s Challenge Academy known as Sunburst. I met with Mary Lou Vachet and her staff to discuss implementing the Straight-A Guide program to cadets in her environment. We met several military personnel and teachers who educate at-risk youth on the principals of leadership. Following our meeting at Sunburst, Justin drove me to visit my grandmother and mother. We visited for one hour, then I attended a dinner meeting at a restaurant in Los Feliz where I met Brock Harris, Lori Levine, Jimmy Wu, Julio Marcial, and Justin.

Links to publications:

Those who want to read more about the impressive institutions who are using the Straight-A Guide Reentry Program as a teaching tool may way to visit the Sunburst Academy website. They also offer some impressive videos on YouTube.