Happy Birthday Substack! (and me) :)
Hello Everyone,
I turn 42 today! Which means that this project, holding the wHole turns 2! Happy B-Day to us. :) Thank you to all who read and comment on my work — it means the world to know that stories from the inside are impacting you in meaningful ways. And, special thanks to all you paid subscribers— your financial support helps me to meet my needs, including staying connected with loved ones at Home and affording the crazy prices of hygiene supplies.
I’m appreciating your feedback on this week’s piece, The Covid Blues. I actually started writing this piece in 2020 from a college-issued laptop while locked in a cell for Covid quarantine (I was still enrolled in the University of Iowa’s college in prison program). Back then, I had access to amazing statistical resources and was able to track the spread of the virus in real time. I remember journaling in a Word document everything that happened around me. Several years later, I found this document and began to write what became this essay.
It wasn’t easy to revisit this chaotic time in my life...I guess most of us are content to forget about Covid, and I’m no different. However, it felt good to remember Ryan and those times we shared. A particular memory that stands out:
Because of his blindness, I often led him around the penitentiary. He’d grab hold of my shoulder (a rather intimate gesture in an environment devoid of touch) as we walked to our destination. “Will you be my eyes, A-Rhodd?” He always asked. Looking back, I giggle thinking about how odd we probably looked -- a 5’11 30-something indigenous man leading a 6’3 60-something black man throughout a Shawshank looking prison yard. (More about race in prison here.)
There’s some horrible things about prison... a person’s friends isn’t one of them.
Your Friend,
A-Rhodd (Tony)
Happy Birthday, friend !
Happy birthday, Tony! I really liked your latest piece, "The Covid Blues." I know I say this every time, but your writing gets more powerful and moving with each new piece. This one was harrowing and uplifting at the same time. How do you do it? How do you combine so many conflicting emotional and physical experiences into a seamless whole? And as poetically as you do? You have a gift, my friend. The ending is amazing, how you find peace and release by playing the blues. I'm a huge blues fan and Buddy Guy is one of my musical heroes. I've been fortunate enough to see him perform in person twice--both times in Davenport. I shared this piece with my ex-wife, also a huge blues and Buddy Guy fan. I told her I was going to write you and she asked me to tell you how impressed she is by your work. I've shared other pieces with her before, but I knew this one would have special meaning for her, so as soon as I read it, I sent it to her. She asked that I tell you how powerful it is. I know she'd join me in wishing you a Happy Birthday, too. I'll tell her that later. Keep writing, man, keep playing the blues. Keep living. Your friend, Phil