LOGAN HALL...COUNTRY CLUB SETTING, IN THE HOOD

LOGAN HALL, HALF-WAY  BACK HOUSE, IN NEWARK , NJ, HOUSES 400 MEN WHO ARE ON PAROLE.  IT COSTS THE TAX-PAYER $40,000/YEAR TO HOUSE ONE MAN....THAT IS $16 MILLION PER YEAR.............I HOPE YOU ARE HAPPY WHERE YOUR TAX DOLLARS ARE GOING.

IT IS CALLED AN EDUCATIONAL CENTER.  HOWEVER, MEN ARE WALKING AROUND THERE WITH T-SHIRTS WITH PICTURES OF GUNS ON THEM.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ARE FAR AND FEW BETWEEN...WHEN THEY FEEL LIKE GIVING A CLASS, THEY GIVE IT............OTHERWISE, THE MEN ARE LEFT ON THEIR OWN.......SITTING AROUND, GETTING BORED.

THERE ARE 6 OR 7 HDT TV'S, WITH 50 INCH SCREENS , AND 6 REGULAR TV'S, WITH 36 INCH SCREENS, THAT ARE ONLY SPANISH SPEAKING.......

THERE IS WORK-OUT EQUIPMENT THROUGHOUT THE PLACE.........

SO THE GUYS ARE WORKING OUT, WATCHING TV, OR GOING OUTSIDE TO SMOKE.........NOT VERY EDUCATIONAL, IT SEEMS TO ME.

ALL MY HUSBAND WANTS IS, TO GET BACK TO HIS MANAGERIAL JOB IN IGA FOODSTORE, IN ATLANTIC CITY, WHICH HAS BEEN HELD FOR HIM SINCE DEC. 2005....HE IS TOLD, "WE ARE WORKING ON IT," BY THOSE AT LOGAN HALL.

VISITING HOURS ARE ON SAT. AND SUNDAY.  NOW, WE ARE SHOCKED, BECAUSE THE VISITING LIST WILL ONLY ALLOW 1 WOMAN ON THE LIST.  THE OWNER OF IGA, WHO IS A WOMAN, WOULD LIKE TO PICK ME UP, AND VISIT WITH JIMMY TOGETHER.........BUT ODDLY ENOUGH, SUCH A THING IS NOT ALLOWED......THE OWNER IS WILLING TO BRING HER PRIVATE NANNY ALONG, TO HELP ME OUT, AS I AM DISABLED, AND NEED HELP IN WALKING, AND USING MY WHEELCAHIR.

FAMILY NIGHT IS ON TUESDAYS.  IT IS THE RULE THAT THE WIFE MUST VISIT HER HUSBAND TWICE, NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE, ON FAMILY NIGHT BEFORE HE CAN COME HOME ON FURLOUGHS.........

LET ME PRESENT MY CASE......WE LIVE 1 HOUR AND 15 MINUTES AWAY FROM NEWARK.  I AM LEGALLY BLIND, AND NOT ALLOWED TO DRIVE, AS PER MY EYE DOCTOR.  I HAVE VARIOUS DISABILITIES, WHICH DOES NOT ALLOW ME TO SIT IN A CAR FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME...I ALSO HAVE DIFFICULTY WALKING, SITTING, AND AM OFF BALANCE.......I AM IN PAIN 24 HOURS/DAY, WITH NO RELIEF.....I HAVE ALMOST TOTAL NUMBNESS IN MY FEET, LEGS, AND HANDS.....I HAD A TOE AND PART OF MY FOOT AMPUTATED 1 1/2 YEARS AGO, AND STILL CANNOT PUT SHOES ON MY FEET, DUE TO THE NUMBNESS.........I WAS PROCLAIMED DISABLED IN A COURT OF LAW, UNDER OATH, BY A JUDGE, IN A HEARING, AND........I'M STILL EXPECTED TO GO VISIT MY HUSBAND ON TUESDAY NIGHTS..........I DON'T GET IT....I REALLY DON'T.........ALSO, IT IS VERY HARD FOR ME TO BE OUTSIDE AT NIGHT, BECAUSE DUE TO MY VISION, I'M TOTALLY OFF-BALANCE, AND TEND TO FALL DOWN.

WHEN I'M IN MY OWN HOUSE, I'M OK........I DON'T ASK HELP FROM ANYONE....I MANAGE BY MYSELF..........MY HUSBAND HAS SET UP OUR HOUSE SO THAT I CAN GET AROUND, BY MYSELF.  WE EVEN LIVE IN A HOME THAT IS SPECIALLY CONSTRUCTED, WITH WIDE DOORS, WIDE BATHROOM SHOWER, ETC.......AND, WE LIVE IN A GATED COMMUNITY, WITH A GUARDS THAT CARS MUST PASS THROUGH........

SO , I'M JUST WONDERING IF I CAN GO THIS TUSDAY NIGHT, WITH LARRY............I KNOW HOW THOSE FAMILY VISITS ARE, BECAUSE I DID THEM IN TALBOT HALL.........LOTS OF PEOPLE, MAYBE 100 OR SO...CHILDREN RUNNING ALL OVER THE PLACE.......MASS CHAOS, AND NOISE......AND ME, DISABLED AND BLIND, BEING PUSHED AROUND, SEEING ONLY SHADOWS.......FRIGHTENED, AS I FEEL OUT IN PUBLIC........PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES........SEE IF YOU WOULD LIKE IT..........TAKE YOUR EYEGLASSES OFF FOR A FEW MINUTES, AND SEE HOW YOU FEEL.........VULNERABLE AND CONFUSED WITHOUT EYESIGHT.........JIMMY DID THAT ONE NIGHT , WHILE WALKING THE DOG...HE TOOK HIS EYEGLASSES OFF, AND WALKED HOME....."NOW I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL,  FRAN," HE SAID.  IT IS SCARY AND CONFUSING TO WALK OUTSIDE WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO SEE."

.....SO, THAT'S THE STORY..................FRAN

I WILL NOT KNOW, IF I CAN GO UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE....DEPENDING ON HOW I PHYSICALLY FEEL........I WILL NOT KNOW TILL THE LAST MOMENT......

AND LARRY, WHO CAN TAKE ME, WILL CLOSE THE FURNITURE STORE HE OWNS EARLY, DRIVE 1 HOUR TO MY HOUSE , FROM PA., AND THEN DRIVE 1 HR., 15 MINUTES TO LOGAN HALL, AND THEN WAIT OUTSIDE FOR ME, AND THEN DRIVE ME BACK, AND THEN DRIVE ANOTHER HOUR TO GO BACK HOME.......