Transcendence

June 3, 2012

 Dear Dee,

Another month down and another year nearly half gone. I think I mentioned to you that my daughter had written to her congresswoman in California, Rep. Barbara Lee, about my transfer request being denied. I had heard from other inmates that letters from politicians can sometimes help persuade the Bureau of Prisons to grant transfers. Barbara Lee’s letter to the BOP made the point that I was denied the transfer due to overcrowding and went on to say, “It is my understanding that this situation no longer obtains.” I am hoping that this is true as her letter makes its way through the system.

 Remember during your visit I told you about our new inmate—81 years old, wheelchair-bound and seemingly unaware of where he is? Well, that night he crapped and peed the bed. A couple of days ago, he wet himself in the middle of the chow hall during lunch. Apparently, he has been at a medical/mental facility for five years and suddenly, someone decided he shouldn’t be there anymore. The larger question to me is, “What is this man doing in a federal prison?” Who benefits from it? Who is protected from him? Where has compassion gone? He belongs in assisted living.

 This month’s issue of Church of the Larger Fellowship’s (CLF) “Quest” newsletter was of particular interest to me. Its theme is Transcendence. It has given me the word to describe what the thrust of my effort in this strange world—to transcend this experience.

 Come As You Are focused on what Rev. Fleck believes is a misinterpretation of biblical text in which it is assumed that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God because of rampant homosexuality. The Bible, he says, makes no such claim. It says God told Abraham that they were destroyed “because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave.” Fleck’s interpretation is that this grievous sin was a lack of hospitality and basic human kindness. I like that.

 And so goeth another Sunday.
Love, Steve