Hello,                                                                                                                        September 23, 2010

Yesterday was spent at the Federal Detention Center in Tukwila, WA. I want to share my impressions with you.
Please forgive any rambling, as my way of giving this information as freely as I can with the least amount of self-editing in the way.

About 25 women and about 25 men inmates signed up for a Health Fair at this center. There were about 20 of us volunteers.
The title of this event was "Hard Times and Healthy Choices".

* My first surprise was to find that instead of a heavy/dark/serious feeling...the atmosphere was light/anticipaton and very respectful.
* My next surprise was to feel myself bonding with several of the women inmates right away. What may have started as an impersonal
judgment about what people in prison are like, turned personal. Like I say in the intro. of my book, "we're all connected". I felt that way
yesterday.
* My biggest surprise was that what I thought was an event for women, was for men as well. And, even though there were women who
showed enthusiasm for Doing The Thing, it was the men overall that showed the most intense interest. They were curious, engaging and
almost hungry for the information.

Rachel (from Rachel's Story in the book) joined me later in the day and we agreed that yesterday was truly inspiring for all of us.
I am sitting here left with feelings of nonjudgment and respect for all people, mistakes and all. We all need encouragement. We are all
prisoners to some extent of our limitations/thoughts/armor whether on the "inside" or out. And, we can find the resources for
help/encouragment and love from within ourselves and from each other. To me, that's what it's about.

Sometimes I start out viewing things as black or white/good or bad. This prison day re-opened my eyes to the beauty of gray.