An employee of mine has been sentenced to 7 years. It’s all a matter of public record, but I won’t share his name or crime. Just that I liked him, he was a good employee, I believe he is guilty of making poor choices in marriage but that is all. He was allowed to call me from prison briefly to tell me where his uniforms are, and his cell phone, and that his daughter should be my contact for any finishing up of employment I need to do. He sounded dead inside.
He is fifty something years old, a grandfather. Parent to about fifty seven kids with about ten different moms – I’m only exaggerating slightly. They, and their own children, all depended on him in one way or another. Either for money, or for occasional babysitting, for rides to and from places. We depended on him here – you couldn’t ask for a better employee.
Would it be weird to be his pen pal? To visit him sometimes? Would he want me to do that?
Anyway, I’ll write him and tell him to always use me as a reference in the future. You know it ain’t easy to get a job once you’ve done time. I’d love to help him in some tiny way, if I could.
His kids must feel like the world is falling down around their ears. Economy awful, some of them have lost jobs, one of them’s mother (how’s that for grammar?) just became permanently disabled from a stroke, and now no dad.
Phew.