Attending the 8:35 a.m. meeting after Mass on Saturday was a clear indication that the visit with Mario was going to be blessed. I asked both Fr. Moneypenny and Fr. Eliardo for special prayer. On the way to the Norco Rehabilitation Center I tried to pray a rosary but got distracted by my wayward mind. I called my brother George to wish him a happy birthday and desperately tried to get back into praying the rosary.
Expect the Unexpected
I had no idea how long the meeting at church would last, so I made the appointment for the visit from 12:00 p.m. through 2:00 p.m. It quickly went downhill from there; I arrived at 11:10 but was told I had to wait until 11:30 for the 12:00 p.m. visit. The interesting thing about this is if I did not have an appointment and arrived earlier, I would have had more time for the visit.
Norco Rehabilitation Center–Our meeting spot
The officers check everyone, and we all must comply with their rules. They count our jewelry, go through the money we bring, then the magic wand is waved over our bodies. From there we move on to the next step. You meet a lot of interesting people, some are very friendly while others are extremely standoffish or angry. As for me, I always try to make small talk. While we were waiting for the final clearance I noticed two women who were carrying large, see-through bags with extra clothing, Their visit was overnight. I met a sweet young lady with her two young daughters. She had a clear purse with about four inches of one dollar bills. I had gone to Ralph’s Grocery store to exchange a twenty and ten dollar bills into one dollar bills. I also had about $15 in quarters.
Money bag
The Money
By the time I reached the second checking station, I realized that I had forgotten the other dollar bills at home. “I don’t think I brought enough money,” I said to the lady with the two girls. She quickly answered, “I’m giving you $10.” “No! No!” I answered. “Please, I don’t need it!” She insisted and gave me the money. The first thing I did was purchase a ticket for an opportunity to take a picture with Mario.
The Tables
At this point your shoes and belt come off to go through another security door. Once inside you go to the desk for an assigned table. “Can I please have a table in the shade?” I asked. Much to my surprise the officer said, “I’ll do my best, but looks like they are all taken.
There were several prisoners wearing bright colored orange vests to help us visitors. I asked one to get me The Good News Bible. Since Mario cannot get near the vending machines, I purchased fried chicken, with Doritos and Miss Vickie’s kettle potato chips. I placed the chicken in the microwave for three minutes while purchasing a Dr. Pepper for Mario. Table 19 was partly shaded.
Twenty-five minutes passed before Mario came out for the visit. In one of my other visits I mentioned a Jewish man and his sons who came to visit him. They sat directly across from me, and I heard or eavesdropped on a very interesting conversation. This prisoner is an attorney for people in the entertainment industry. He was instructing his visitors on how to handle certain clients. I pretended to peruse through the Bible until a horrible spirit of conviction came over me. I quickly opened the bag of Doritos and started munching on them.
Mario
By the time Mario arrived the chicken was cold and the Doritos were in my tummy.
Praise be to God Mario got all of his classes. Statistics, psychology, sign language, history, and English. He is most challenged with the statistics class but really likes the instructor. He received an 84 on his first test and was happy with the results. The college instructors come to the prison in person to teach and only the sign language class is virtual.
The Family
The kind lady who gave me the $10 was sitting two benches away from us. I told Mario about her giving me money and he quickly said, “You need to give her back the money!” “You don’t need to worry about it, look at all the money she has,” I answered. We could see the wad of money from where we were sitting. I made other purchases of a Payday candy bar, Knott’s and Famous Amos cookies. Again, Mario advised me, “You need to give her all the money you have!” I counted 12 one-dollar bills, but Mario wanted me to give her all the quarters as well. I made a hand gesture to get the lady’s attention and told her that I was going to give her back the money. “I’ll give it to you when we are out in the parking lot.” I told her. Can you imagine all the commotion it would have caused if I gave her the money under such scrutiny? It might looked like an illegal drug deal!
The Bible Study
I started with Proverbs, Chapter Two, about gaining wisdom from God. Mario was familiar with many of these verses. We also read most of the Book of Ephesians.
Proverbs 2:10-12 New American Bible (Revised Edition)
10 For wisdom will enter your heart, knowledge will be at home in your soul, 11 Discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you; 12 Saving you from the way of the wicked, from those whose speech is perverse.
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
Doing the Right Thing
In the neglected parking lot, I thanked the kind lady and handed over $12; the quarters are for my next visit.
The Tattoos
I noticed something different about Mario: he had tattooed skeletons’ bones on his fingers with profanity that he was getting removed! He mentioned that it would take six sessions to get the tattoos removed. He said the procedure is the most excruciating pain he has ever experienced. To me, this was welcoming news.
My Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, continue to move mightily in Mario’s life. Please join me in prayer for him to finally get his life in the perfect plan that God has for him. Amen.
