Imagine missing the last 28 years

[DerGolgo]

http://www.chron.com/news/local_news/ar ... 187648.php

Most inmates want out of the pen. Randall Lee Church burned a house down to get back inside.

Released in April after years of incarceration, he could not adjust. “Everything had gone fast forward without me,” he said in a recent interview at Bexar County Jail.

Stepping out to freedom, “I didn't know how to use computers or cell phones or the Internet,” Church said. “The weirdest thing was walking into a store, like Walmart, and have parents hide their children from me, like I was supposed to jump at them.”

Fed up on July 10, 96 days after his release, he poured gasoline through a window of the empty house on the Southeast Side, then threw in flaming rags and paper towels, setting the place on fire.

Three days later, he turned himself in by treating himself to a hamburger, French fries and two chocolate shakes at the Jim's restaurant on Loop 410 and Perrin Beitel. He savored every taste, knowing he only had 31 cents in his pocket. Then he asked the waitress to call police, saying he did not want to cause a scene.

Wow.

[Sisyphus]

Not uncommon. For juxtaposition, its a common failing of the US justice system. Its not so much rehabilitation as it is human warehousing.
I can kind of understand his point of view though. I was absent from North America for the better part of two years, from '97 to '99, in third world countries and places nobody'd ever heard of. I came back and freaked out for awhile. It really put the zap on my head. 28 years? Fuuuuck that. In a way I don't blame the guy.

[Toonce(s)]

sad, all someone had to do was direct him to an Apple Store

[rolly]

Parents are hiding their children from him at Walmart (at Walmart?) because he doesn't know how to use the internet?

Sucks to be that guy. Maybe the owner of the burnt property should be able to sue the state (ha!).

[MagnusTheBuilder]

One time, I didn't check my email for 3 WHOLE DAYS!

It was crazy.

[guitargeek]

It really put the zap on my head.

My mom ran hospitals during the war in Mozambique, came back after a few years and broke down in the cereal aisle of a supermarket... Americans have SO MANY CHOICES, and the people where she'd just come from would be ecstatic to have just a shitty box of generic bran flakes.

[piccini9]

One of my closest childhood friends has spent most of his adult life in and out of prison. Most recently, he did X-number of years for the attempted murder of two police officers.
He was recently arrested carrying a .357 magnum, and will most likely be going back to prison for a long time.

[Rock]

I was absent from North America for the better part of two years, from '97 to '99, in third world countries and places nobody'd ever heard of. I came back and freaked out for awhile. It really put the zap on my head. 28 years? Fuuuuck that. In a way I don't blame the guy.

been there done that, and this is just me, I enjoy the "culture shock" of coming home and seeing whats changed.

but its not for everyone, I don't envy that guy.

[Sisyphus]

It really put the zap on my head.

My mom ran hospitals during the war in Mozambique, came back after a few years and broke down in the cereal aisle of a supermarket... Americans have SO MANY CHOICES, and the people where she'd just come from would be ecstatic to have just a shitty box of generic bran flakes.

Odd. I did the same thing in the drink aisle. I just kind of stood there not knowing what to do, after drinking shit like kool-aid and powdered gatorade and water for two years.

And when I came back, everyfuckingbody had a fucking cell phone. The antennas were all over the fucking place. The internet had also become more prevalent in those two years; I had a vague idea of what e-mail was. I remember the first time I saw a digital camera, though I had no idea you could hook it up to a tv or computer.

I found it extremely difficult to keep myself busy all day until I went back to work, then I'd stay late just puttering around, even though I was salaried. I was pretty angry, had some PTSD issues and basically swung through life for a bit like a wrecking ball. I burned a lot of bridges, I think. Not much good came out of it. I think my (now) wife probably saved my life. Or my liver, at least.

[Zer0]

Heh. You thought the transition to freedom was hard for the East Germans, wait till North Korea goes belly up. The South Koreans will have to take the North Koreans from the 1930s to the 21st century, and the NKs will want it alll yesterday (after their first square meal and hot shower in 30 years, of course).

[DerGolgo]

Heh. You thought the transition to freedom was hard for the East Germans, wait till North Korea goes belly up. The South Koreans will have to take the North Koreans from the 1930s to the 21st century, and the NKs will want it alll yesterday (after their first square meal and hot shower in 30 years, of course).

Well, depending on when the oil-peak squeezes the global economy to death, North Korea might stick around for a long time. They are experienced in keeping their people in line with no energy to go around.

[Toonce(s)]

I have a nephew who works for the Peace Corps in Senegal, been there for three years now. He has been having a VERY difficult time coping when he comes back for visits. It is to the point that he avoids coming back, he would rather stay in Senegal than deal with the cereal aisle. This is after Mango Fly parasites.