Tuesday, May 9, 2006

TUESDAY....

JIMMY WENT TO THE MOTOR VEHICLE'S TODAY, TO GET HIS DRIVER'S LICENSE RENEWED.  HE DID NOT HAVE TO BE DRIVEN, BUT WAS ALLOWED TO WALK THERE, WHICH WAS FINE, AS THE MVA IS ONLY 4 BLOCKS AWAY.  THIS IS THE FIRST TIME HE HAS BEEN OTSIDE SINCE THE FIRST WEEK IN DECEMBER 2005,...SINCE BEING LOCKED UP AGAIN...AND THAT WAS 5 MONTHS AGO............HE GOT HIS LICENSE RENEWAL, AND HE SAID IT FELT GOOD TO BE OUTSIDE IN THE FRESH AIR.....

HOWEVER, UPON RETURNING TO LOGAN HALL, JIMMY CALLED ME RIGHT AWAY, A LITTLE SHAKEN UP...WELL, ACTUALLY BY THAT TIME, HE HAD CALMED DOWN A LITTLE.

HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED...AS HE STEPPED OUTSIDE FROM THE MVA, HE HEARD 3 "POPS."....THEN HE SAW A MAN FALL OUT OF A VAN AS IT WAS RIDING BY IN THE STREET.THIS WAS APPARTENLY A DRIVE BY SHOOTING, JUST AS JIMMY LEFT MVA.

THIS IS INCREDIBLE!

I ASKED JIMMY WHAT DID HE DO.....HE SAID HE WAS AT FIRST STUNNED TO BE SEEING THIS, AND THEN AROUND 10 COPS CARS PULLED UP WITHIN A MINUTE OR 2.....

I GUESS I WAS MORE SHAKEN UP THAN JIMMY ABOUT THIS WHOLE THING HAPPENING....

A LOT OF WOMAN HAVE WRITTEN TO ME TO ASK ME HOW IS THE BEIGHBORHOOD WHERE LOGAN HALL IS LOCATED, AS I WENT TO SEE JIMMY A FEW WEEKS AGO.......MY ANSWER IS ALWAYS THE SAME.......I FEEL IT IS IN A VERY BAD LOCATION.  IT IS NEAR THE RAILROAD TRACKS, UNDER THE NJ TURNPIKE, IN AN AREA OF BARREN WAREHOUSES.  THIS IS A PART OF TOWN THAT NICE PEOPLE WOULD NOT WALK AROUND...AND I WONDER JUST WHAT TAKES PLACE IN THOSE STREETS, BEHIND THOSE WAREHOUSE DOORS, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT............SO, I HAVE ALWAYS ASKED JIMMY TO PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL............CALL ME INTUITIVE, OR CALL ME WHAT YOU MAY...BUT I MUST PROTECT MY MAN..............

MY QUESTION IS, WHY DO THEY PUT THESE KIND OF PLACES...HALFWAY BACK HOUSES, IN BAD AREAS OF TOWN.........?

I EXPECT MY HUSBAND TO BE SAFE, ALTHOUGH HE MAY BE A PRISONER....I, AS A WIFE, EXPECT THE PENAL SYSTEM IN OUR COUNTRY, TO PROTECET MY HUSBAND WHEN HE IS AWAY.........

I NEVER FORGET THAT MY HUSBAND TURNED HIMSELF INTO PRISON, OVER 3 YEARS AGO, BECAUSE HE WANTED TO CLEAR THE SLATE....IF WE WANTED, BOTH OF US COULD HAVE BEEN SITTING ON SOME EXOTIC BEACH, IN SOME FARAWAY COUNTRY FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS............AND SO, SINCE WE DID THE RIGHT THING, I EXPECT THAT MY HUSBAND WILL NOT BE HURT, IN ANY WAY, WHILE HE IS AWAY IN PRISON...........

AND SO, AS I ALWAYS SAY, WE LIVE IN A VERY RESIDENTIAL AREA, IN A PARK-LIKE SETTING, WITH ONLY THE SOUND OF THE BIRDS SINGING, IN A TOWN WHICH IS KNOWN FOR ONE OF THE LOWEST CRIME RATES IN NEW JERSY........AND THERE, MY HUSBAND WHO IS ON PAROLE, IS IN AN AREA THAT APPARENTLY IS UNSAFE.........

JIMMY IS LEAVING TO GO TO VOA, BUT I WRITE HIS FOR THE OTHERS THAT ARE STILL THERE, TO MAKE THEIR FAMILIES AWARE.............

AND SO, THAT BRINGS ME TO THE GOOD NEWS....JIMMY WILL BE LEAVING ON THURSDAY, FOR VOA...NOT FRIDAY.  HE TOLD ME TONIGHT HE IS SO EXCITED...AND I AM TOO!....WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ON THE PHONE AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT, THESE PAST FEW DAYS.......

I'LL SAY GOOD-NITE FOR NOW............I HAVE 2 MORE EPISODES OF "BIG LOVE" TO WATCH, AND A LITTLE MORE READING TO DO!

                            FRAN

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad Jimmy got his license taken care of, but how scary to be out for the first time and see a shooting!  OMG I'm so happy he didn't get hurt.
Take care of yourself...........Pamela

Anonymous said...

HE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! he needs out of that place!
When can he live with you.?

Anonymous said...

Fran they put halfway houses in bad neighborhoods because that's where they're placed.  Do you actually believe that people with money want places like that in their neighborhood?!  No, it's called NMBY. Not in my backyard.  Ever see an alcohol rehab center in a decent neighborhood or a rehab place for sex offenders?! NO!  People don't want criminals, homeless people and all that in their nieghborhoods. I'm not saying that it's right but that's just a fact! -Dawn-

Anonymous said...

hopefully  he'll get out of there soon.

Anonymous said...

fran, your note sounds kind of hypocritical. about the drive-by shooting, those things happen in urban areas but if your area is so nice why were your phone lines cut? you say you and jimmy did the right thing by him turning himself in, well, i got a newsflash 4 u. nice people dont traffic 800 pounds of marijuana across country., not to mention that was not jimmy's 1st illegal offense. stop trying to play the martyr.and get honest with yourself and the people that SHOULD benefit from your journal.  drugs destroy families, devastate finances, and kill people, particularly kids. the killing jimmy witnessed was no doubt drug-related. so get off your high horse and recognize AND accept the truth that jimmy is among his very own kind! furthermore, camden is just as bad if not worse than newark. sorry, but you needed a REALITY CHECK!

Anonymous said...

I am glad he was ok, but unfortunately it just is not safe to have those sorts of half-way houses in good neighborhoods.  I often think they are trying to send a message to the criminal not to do these offenses or else they get put into unsafe areas.  I do think the prison needs to provide as much "safety" as it can while also making a lasting impression on the people inside.  Just my thoughts...
http://blog.myspace.com/poptartcoco

Anonymous said...

shobxy.....you have no info in your profile....just what are you trying to hide?...............Fran

Anonymous said...

That must have been a frightening experience for Jimmy. I can understand your anger at the prison services Fran. In reply to the comment below, I actually think your husband was brave to turn himself in. Now that he has paid for his crime, he should be allowed as time goes by to get on with the rest of his life in peace.
Kate.
http://journals.aol.co.uk/bobandkate/AnAnalysisofLife/