Another Day in Jail

I planned on writing about my day in jail a few months ago. But with the deadlines of work, work, work, it was put off; and day one never made it to my blog. Well, today was day two, a cold, cloudy, gray day consistent with the Memorial Day holiday weekend. But I suppose I should write about day one first.

My cousin was sentenced a little over a year ago to some serious time in Anoka County. The judge, however, gave him a huge break by allowing him to choose between the jail time and a year long stint at Teen Challenge in Minneapolis in lieu of the jail sentence. He chose Teen Challenge of course and had a wonderful year and made some major changes in his life. (This past winter we had a great time chatting when he visited Plymouth Covenant Church along with a huge choir from Teen Challenge.) But a few weeks before graduating from TC he broke some rules of the program and was thus released and sent back to jail.

He was sent first to a small jail in rural/exurban Chisago County. Visiting hours were Sunday afternoon, so I decided to visit, heading up there after church. I had been telling a friend from church (i.e. the Well) about my cousin, and this friend expressed interest in talking to him, sharing his situation and how God has helped him through it.

So this friend Dale joined me as I drove up to Chisago City. Upon arrival we found out that we would have to wait an hour or so before we could visit. We spent the time walking around town. It was an absolutely perfect afternoon. Spring had sprung early and we visited a 150 year old Lutheran church while we waited for our turn to visit. The sun was bright, the wind was light, and early flowers were beginning to bloom.

Our time finally came and we were allowed in to see my cousin. We left our IDs with the guard and began to talk. It was a great visit. My cousin was in good spirits and seemed very appreciative.

But then in a scene that still seems surreal to me, one of the guards came in and asked Dale to stand. He got out his hand cuffs and escorted Dale to the other side of the glass, the side that visitors don’t get to see. (Dale had some outstanding warrants / fines and they were planning to hold him for Hennepin and Anoka County.) At first I figured they would work something out and Dale and I would ride back to the Twin Cities together. But as the afternoon wore on I found out that he needed someone to post bond to bail him out. And that decision was being placed in my lap.

It turned out to be a long grueling ordeal. My mother’s 70th birthday party was starting at 5 p.m. I originally thought it would be no problem to make that. Our visit ended about 3. the guards told me I should call a bondsman. The walls were plastered with numbers of the “fastest and fairest and quickest and most compassionate and closest and most understanding” in town. I called one guy whom the guards said worked best with them. He said he would need $ 3,100. And I would have to sign another document saying I would be liable for the entire $ 31,000 should Dale not make an appearance in court.

I tried to contact Dale who was now isolated from me. It took between ½ hour and an hour for it to get cleared each time. I wanted to know his wishes and find out more about the circumstances. All the while I was trying to reach Suzi, the pastor from the Well, a guy who owed him money, the bondsman, and others. I nearly drained my 30 plus hour cell phone battery. The entire afternoon until dark was spent playing phone tag and seeking counsel and being told to wait. In the midst of my confusion and indecision I left the building to sit outside in my vehicle with the window down to breath some warm fresh air. Lying next to me on the seat was my Bible which I had brought to church earlier that day. I grabbed it. Stuck inside was the bulletin from the morning’s service. As I opened to that page I noticed the title for that section of Scripture. It was “Paul and Silas” in jail. I started reading the passage but had trouble concentrating on what I was reading. My mind was focused on what I should do. The advice I was receiving along with a growing conviction within caused me to turn down the bondman’s offer and wait a day or so to make a decision.

This was extremely difficult, for I never dreamed that Dale would not be riding back with me at the end of our visit. I wanted to just leave and get to my mom's party. I found out that Dale said he did not want to be in jail for any amount of money, even the $ 3,100. I felt strange having brought him with and putting him in this situation, even though it was ultimately his past mistakes that landed him there. But he was, after all, trying to help me and my cousin. My thinking vacillated most of the afternoon. But I finally left feeling that this was the right decision, even though it hurt, and I could have easily “fixed the problem” by merely signing some papers.

The only thing left to do now before i left was to give Dale the items from my vehicle that he would need for the night. But herein lays the next crisis. He needed his prescription pain pills for his back pain to make it through the night. But the guards would not allow any “contraband” within their walls. They would give him Advil, but that was it. He pleaded with me and the guards to allow his meds in the door, but the guards would not let me even bring them in the door. I was forced to leave, some five or six or seven hours since I first arrived, with all of Dale’s stuff, but no Dale.

I drove home (a little over an hour’s drive) and decided to stop by the shopping center where our church meets weekly. The church was hosting an evening service of prayer and worship, which was supposed to end around 9 p.m. I pulled into the lot a few minutes past 10. As I pulled in, I saw two vehicles pulling out. Recognizing the cars I flashed my brights and got them to stop. I jumped out and gave them an update on my day and evening.

NEWS FLASH: SPOUSAL UNIT ARRIVES HOME WITH A SPECIAL TREAT. LOCAL GROCERY STORE IS AGAIN STOCKING BREYER’S “COFFEE” ICE CREAM. SPOUSAL UNIT’S STOCK RISES EXPONENTIALLY AS SHE TRIES TO SWEETEN UP HER SIGNIFICANT OTHER.

So I jumped out as I was saying. And multiple cell phones began ringing. I decided to not use my phone on the entire trip home, wanting to keep it free for incoming calls. But nobody called—until I arrived in the lot. Then the calls came flooding in, one of which was from Dale. He had convinced the guards to call his doctor and get approval to use his meds in prison. But now the meds were in my vehicle 65 miles away from the jail. I had to work early in the morning and I was exhausted. Pastor Paul to the rescue. He agreed to drive the drugs up to the jail and back.

And then Dale’s exciting adventure begins. I’m too pooped right now to relay his experience over those next three days. But I hope to soon. He gave a wonderful testimony in church the next Sunday, telling how God had used him through those trying circumstances. Someday I could transcribe his words which I have on audio. Or I might try to summarize them when I have the energy.

But to wrap things up I will say in short that today’s visit to jail was much less eventful. My son Mark and I found my cousin to be in good spirits and willing to let God teach him some valuable things as he spends the next few months behind bars.