Serendipity

Oneida Correctional Facility in Rome was closed by New York State in 2011 There are very few of us that have an idea what really goes on behind the fences and razor wire at correctional facilities. Most of us that do have a fair idea, know that it's not a place we want to be...let alone have a loved one in.  The inmates range in temperment to laid back and just doing their time, others join into gangs, and yet others bully and harass other inmates for any number of reasons including no reason at all. It's a vicious place at times. I am thankful for those that serve as Corrections Officers (COs). It's certainly a hard job, a dangerous job and a job that takes a certain kind of person to be behind those fences and razor wire dealing with inmates convicted of all kinds of crimes. But this isn't about the COs that are the good guys...this is about the ones that are dirty, and what I choose to call "rogue". These officers likely should be incarcerated...

Four years and 8 months ago, I moved from my brother's home into my own apartment with my then boyfriend. It was great! We had no kids, we could come and go as we pleased, and do as we pleased. Life was good. Until I learned different things about this man who I had gone to school with back in junior high and senior high. Red flags popped up here and there, but I thought we were still in the getting-to-know-you faze.  Time passed. I learned that this man had a temper, a rotten attitude and a foul mouth that as time passed only got worse. And worse. And every time we argued, it was MY fault. Something I did...or did not do...made him mad. VERY mad.  I would cry. A lot. He would taunt me, calling me a "baby". Name calling would bring the tears and he'd say "they are only words". But I have to tell you that in all my years on this planet, I never cried as much as I did with him. Words hurt. They aren't the minute things we were taught in scho...

A new YouTube video that is going viral is of a young boy, named "Jonah", who is enduring bullying in school. Soon to enter the 8th grade, he says that he has been bullied since he was in the lower elementary grades.  When I first viewed this video on Facebook last night, there had already been some 800+ views since August 10, 2011 but this morning, the view count is now at 64,610 .  I can only hope that he has stayed strong and not given-in to the pressures of being bullied. It gives us a good look at what bullying does to a child...