Tag Archives: Life After Release

Life After Release-9

Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Antique Bowl Used to Prepare Meal After Work

My life after release includes the Bowl shown in the above photo. Just as that bowl travelled with me since I purchased it at the United States Federal Penitentiary (U.S.P.) in Leavenworth, Kansas in 1989, so do the memories associated with how I served decades of my life in a cage.

LIFE AFTER RELEASE

Two days ago, I made a Ramen Noodle soup in the bowl inside the comforts of the house in which I live, unlike how I did in the small prison cells of the huge federal prisons I lived (U.S.P. Leavenworth, KS; U.S.P. Atlanta, Atlanta, GA; U.S.P. Lompoc, Lompoc, CA; U.S.P. Pollock, Pollock, LA, and at the Federal Correctional Institution in Edgefield, SC)

As Christmas 2021 approaches, I remain grateful for the life I live today as a free man who tries to make a difference in the lives of others. I’ve always been one to leave a lasting impression in the minds of those I came in contact with but not always in a positive way, the difference now is that I don’t leave a bad taste in the memory banks of those I meet.

An Attitude of Gratitude

When the world refuses to act according to Wayne, I must stop and remember that things work according to God’s will for my life and then be grateful for all I have instead of sad for all I don’t have but want.

Click this for more on Gratitude

PERSONALLY: Because I used to live the life of a dope fiend and a thug, I harmed many people, even those I loved. Today I do not live in the same way and do not harm others, even those I may not like. Regardless of how I feel, I treat people with love and kindness, at least, in most cases.

However, if angered my words may not be nice, but I still refrain from causing physical pain by walking away. On most occasions, I walk away before using words with the intention of causing emotional pain. I’m far from perfect.

ALONG SPIRITUAL LINES: Thus far I’ve failed to achieve spiritual perfection but have progressed along spiritual lines throughout the two and a half decades of my new life that allows me to sit in front of this computer typing this blog.

Now I am working on providing more content for Life After Release on Quora.com. Please check it out and subscribe. I will provide free access in requested.

Affiliate Marketing and Promotional Content

Disclaimer: At no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission for products and services purchased through this website. Paid commissions do not necessarily influence decisions to advertise or promote products or services. Nothing contained herein is intended to be financial advice, as I am not a financial adviser.

Another part of my life after release is trying to find a way to generate additional income. Unfortunately, my success with affiliate marketing is lacking.

One of the main reasons for my lack of success has been my failure to devote the necessary time and energy to succeed, as well as not using more advertising to get the word out about what I am promoting.

In the future I plan to get into flipping goods (buying and selling items on eBay, Poshmark, etc.), or to become an Amazon third party seller.

My main objective in anything I do is to remain focused on remaining a productive member of society instead of the cancer I was before I changed my life in 1995. If interested in learning more about the changes I made, please read The Price of Change, included in this book:

If you cannot afford to purchase a copy, send me a message through the info on the contact page and I will gladly provide so that you can download a free copy of the eBook.

To shop for any eBooks on Amazon, click Kindle

Conclusion

I will conclude with the following temporary promotion that I hope you will decide to accept before it expires, and a link to other blogs I have written as part of my Life After Release, uncaged and coming to you live as a free American citizen and proud to say so, even though I do not agree with American politics.

Don’t miss the following Webull promotion that expires on December 23, 2021. Creating an account gets you one free stock and depositing as little as $1.00 gets four more, and then you can do as I am doing: promoting to earn free stocks. 🙂

LIMITED TIME OFFER: Get 5 FREE stocks valued up to $8,300 by opening & funding a #Webull brokerage account! Get started > https://a.webull.com/X9TL4E1qmpYWXvpQP2

Mother’s Day 2022

My heart goes out the people who have lost their mothers and cannot celebrate this special day created to honor those who brought us into this world, as we kicked and screamed for attention from the one who loves us most, our mother. That includes me and my siblings who lost our mother in 2016. … Continue reading Mother’s Day 2022 →

Rate this:

by waynetdowdy

Experiment-1

Uncategorized, , , ,

EXPERIMENT IN PROGESS: I am experimenting with the design of this website in hope of increasing loading time and making it easier for visitors to navigate. Please consider that until August 28, 2018, I had never used a cellphone or been online. When arrested on August 18, 1988, the Internet did not exist as we know it today. Cellphones were rare and primitive. Smartphones did not exist, period.

I paid my former publisher at Midnight Express Books to create this website for me while I was still a federal prisoner. Within a couple of months after my release, I took control and have been learning as I go along, posting all content, taking and posting most photographs and videos used since October 2018, and redesigning the website, etc.

This site is still a work-in-progress and is one of four websites I manage. Please feel free to voice any comments and suggestions for improvements.

At the end of this Blog Page insert, I post an embedded link to a formerly abandoned website, my first. Check out the turtle photo in Living in the Slow Lane. I walked out the door one morning to go to work and found the turtle on the driveway, uphill and hundreds of yards away from any body of water, I might add. 🙂

Revising a Life-2

The Revised Life I now live does not include committing crimes or doing things I shouldn’t be doing if I want to remain a free citizen, a Returning Citizen to society, not to the prison system.

Rate this:

by waynetdowdy

Happy Valentine’s Day 2022

“Enjoy the special day celebrating life as a living, breathing, human being. No matter how screwed up things may seem, know that there are millions of others who’d love to trade places and to have your problems. That is something I have to remind myself of when disgruntled because the world isn’t working according to … Continue reading Happy Valentine’s Day 2022 →

Rate this:

by waynetdowdy

Click below to see my post, Living in the Slow Lane on Weebly.com

https://waynedowdy.weebly.com/blogs

Life After Release-6

My Life as a Free Man, Prisoners reentering society, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

LIFE AFTER RELEASE

My life after release continues to be in the present, as I have not become a recidivist who got out of prison only to return with a new charge(s) or for a technical violation on supervised release. For me it is easy since I don’t do anything I’m not supposed to do: I don’t get high, don’t run the streets, get permission before going out of the area, and just do the right thing by living in harmony with the Universe on most days.

In these types of blogs, I write from my personal experience and perspective, more so than from a broader, more general perspective of life after incarceration, or about my life while inside.

However, issues affecting those of us released, as well as those left inside, remain important to me, as will be shown if you search this website for “recidivism,” “returning citizens,” “Federal Bureau of Prisons,” “Incarceration,” where I have written numerous blogs relating to those issues. I contribute the following paragraph as a great resource for information.

PRISON POLICY INITIATIVES

For those interested in a more technical aspect of issues relating to Returning Citizens and recidivism or other prison-related issues, the Prison Policy Initiative contains volumes of important research information. I am personally grateful for Peter Wagner who devotes time and energy towards making a difference in the lives of others.

Fairshake.net

Fairshake.net is one of the best, if not the best, resource for returning citizens who need a broad base of information to help them carve their way into a bright future.

The owner of Fairshake.net invited me to write a few sentences for the Fair Shake New Year’s Eve Edition. This is what I was published:

“‘Miracles happen every day but what I learned is that sometimes I must do my part to make a miracle happen. I do what I believe to be the right thing and then get out of the way. I refused to give up my fight for freedom and fought 14-years to get Good Conduct Time. My last victory allowed me to leave for a halfway house on 08/28/2018, instead of 12/26/2018. My hope for better days got me through the dark days spent inside the dungeons of the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons. Today, hope keeps me moving in a positive direction in pursuit of the many goals I remain focused on achieving. Never lose hope!'”

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

My popularity continues to climb on Quora.com, where I have written several articles/answers about my experiences relating to life in prison and other related topics. The bulleted list that follows this screenshot of my statistics, shows the most read and upvoted content. These days I don’t have much time to devote to writing on Quora, but if interested in any of the topics, visit my profile page on Quora.com to access my Answers (https://www.quora.com/profile/Wayne-T-Dowdy).

  • How are new inmates treated when they first come to prison?· 
  • If you’ve spent a long time in prison, what technology did you find hardest to adjust to when you were released?·
  • As someone who has been to prison, what are the most common inaccuracies about prison life portrayed in movies?· 
  • How does serving time in federal prison compare to state prison?· 
  • In prison, inmates yell “12” to alert other inmates when an officer is present. Why is the number 12 used when they alert each other (or does this only happen in Georgia prisons)?·
  • When does the day start for inmates in federal prison?· 
  • What happens in prison if you don’t get along with your cellie and it is a dangerous situation? Can you request a new cellmate or a transfer to a different cell?·
  • Do all men in prison have sex with other men?·
  • If you were imprisoned, how comfortable would you be without any privacy?·
  • Is it true that people get sprayed with water in prison, when they first get there?· 
  • What is a secret which you would not tell anybody in real life, but would on Quora using anonymity?·
  • What incentives do inmates have to behave well, especially those in for life? Do they care about their quality of life while on the inside knowing that they’re not ever getting out?·
  • People believe that prison should be tougher for the inmates, since there are too many luxuries awarded at the expense of taxpayers. Is being in prison as good as people think it is or worse than people could imagine?·
  • Are jail/prison inmates treated differently based on the crime they committed?·
  • Did anyone attempt a prison escape while you were an inmate?·
  • Can you survive and stay healthy on food provided to you in prison? Is the food clean and nutritious enough, or do you need to order out like the rest of the inmates?· 
  • How many people who attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings stay sober over 5 years?·
  • What were you in prison for?·
  • What is something you’ve seen that you wish you hadn’t seen?· 
  • Does “giving yourself up or turning yourself in” really give you a lighter jail sentence?· 

CONCLUSION

I have more to say but don’t have time to write it, so I will close by asking those who like or want to invest and trade stocks, to read Massive Change by Wayne T. Dowdy. Watch the two YouTube videos by Stock Moe to learn something you didn’t know. 🙂

Sign up for a Webull account and fund it with at least $100 to get an free stock ranging in value. That will help me to earn two free stocks, too. 🙂 I thank you in advance!

Life After Release-5

Uncategorized, , , , ,
Image customized by Lilly G.

My Life After Release continues to be an adventure as I continue to live and learn, after my return to society as if being a caveman who walked out of a cave into a bright new world filled with gadgets and devices that were not available in 1988 when thrown into a cage to protect society.

Life is wonderful, full of surprises and a host of challenging situations but only as challenging as I chose to perceive them to be.

The truth is that life just happens, and I make a decision on how to view any event or chain of events. I chose to see challenging situations as an opportunity to learn.

No day passes without me having learned something beneficial.

Though living my life in a respectful manner and focusing on doing the right thing, I still must be on guard for the character defects that ruled my life many years ago; especially, the pride when driven by Mr. EGO, the one who feels the need to defend that scared little boy who grew up fighting to keep the bullies and predators at bay.

If left unchecked, Mr. EGO would have me right back in jail or dead. Fortunately, I have learned when to walk away from a situation to avoid a catastrophe or unpleasant outcome in a dispute. Humility. Not humiliation.

Cheap Smartwatch

In Life After Release-3 I wrote about a Smartwatch with a phishing link, designed to steal personal data. That is a screenshot of the culprit shown above.

When I bought the watch for $14.99 on Woot, an Amazon company, I thought I had gotten a great deal because it was advertised as normally listing for $99.99.

A month later, I find the following when researching to write this blog about learning to deal with life in this new era, and deciding to use the thieving smartwatch as an example that met its match with my smartphone:

Woot must have not known about the 2020 HOT DZ09 Smartwatch shown above that sells for $1.99 on Wish.com, not $99.99 as advertised to sucker people in like me to buy it for a deal.

Who would have guessed that the smartwatch was a thief programmed to steal?

When I received the security warning from Google on my Motorola One Zoom with the Android 10 update, I complained to Woot about the smartwatch having the phishing link included, and though Woot did give me a prompt refund, I later saw the Smartwatch still being sold.

But to be fair to the manufacturer and Woot, the smartwatch I received may have been one of a select group of smartwatches primed to steal personal data when connected to the phone after scanning the QR Code.

I was told to keep the smartwatch. Even though I do not have it connected to my phone, I don’t trust that darn smartwatch because I don’t know just how smart and scandalous it is with today’s technology. I lay it facedown to make sure that the camera isn’t spying on me and sending the data to its operator. 🙂

Affiliate Marketing

Now, as part of me making an honest living, unlike the scandalous individuals behind the thieving smartwatch and many online products, I am learning affiliate marketing to earn small commissions for products and services advertised, if purchased.

For both ads, I watched promotional videos and was impressed with their content.

ProVen is a weight loss product and advertised as time sensitive for purchasing at discounted rates.

I researched for complaints and did not find any complaints about the product. I did learn about bogus websites that use ProVen to scam purchasers. Please check out the referenced information below for WonderfulThingsDone.com to learn more.

Promotional Ads:

PROVEN WEIGHT LOSS SUPPLEMENT

Click Banner for ProVen

For detailed information on Proven and impressive YouTube presentation by users and information regarding scammers who use ProVen and other products to steal funds from online shoppers, please visit https://wonderfulthingsdone.com/review-proven-weight-loss-supplement/

At no cost to the customer, we receive a small commission for a product or service purchased through this website. The commission does not necessarily influence the decision to advertise or promote a particular product or service.

Freight Brokering

Check out Freight Brokers Boot Camp. The Customer Satisfaction rating is 4.8 out of 5.

For those who want to learn how to be a Freight Broker, this appears to be a good course, as it sells often and my research failed to find anything negative about the company who sells the programs.

At no cost to the customer, we receive a small commission for a product or service purchased through this website. The commission does not necessarily influence the decision to advertise or promote a particular product or service.

Life After Release-4 by Wayne T. Dowdy

Uncategorized, , , , ,

Life After Release takes on different forms for me each day. One thing I try to remember is not forgetting how I felt trapped inside as a man imprisoned and often helpless to do what I knew I was capable of, such as what I do now: write professionally on a computer and blast words around the world with a few strokes on a keyboard.

Though I blasted a lot from Inside the prison system because I was published in International magazines, and paid to have this website built, and paid to use an expensive and convoluted emailing system to type blogs to send to my publisher for posting, I couldn’t do as I do now as a free man.

For the last week I’ve been working on this website and another to increase loading speed and functioning (still in process).  I upgraded the hosting plan on another website to improve its functioning and security, and worked on it to facilitate my affiliate marketing agenda.

I remain committed to become more successful than I have at this point of life, regardless of my having done well since my release.

Stars Shine Ahead!

GOODWILL Floor Care

Along with the above, I’ve continued to work on my regular job like an Alaskan malamute 1 (dogs commonly seen pulling sleds through snow and ice), cleaning and beautifying floors in Goodwill Stores by sweeping, mopping, removing old wax with chemicals, razor blades, and machines, before waxing to make it sparkle and shine with reflections from the overhead lights.

1 The Alaskan Malamute, one of the oldest Arctic sled dogs, is a powerful and substantially built dog with a deep chest and strong, well-muscled body.  Alaskan Malamute Dog Breed Information

Topics for Change

I often wonder about topics to post that will benefit others in some way, whether by drawing attention to a cause, or simply allowing those trapped behind the walls, bars, and fences of prisons to have their voice heard. 

Yesterday, my course of action became clear when a man Inside reached out for help. I listened to his plea and am sharing the following message from the man who is a contact inside the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

My hope is for those who care about what goes on Behind Closed Doors to contact the news media personnel provided by the imprisoned individual who cared enough about the COVID-19 situation inside the prison to risk his safety and security by sending an email he knows the prison administration would frown upon and could chose to retaliate against him.

This Door I Refuse to Keep Closed and Am Shouting Out His Plea for Help!

COVID-19 and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections

Received October 3, 2020

Message from Concerned Wisconsin Department of Correction Prisoner

“I hope you are doing well! I’m straight, I think! My test from when the National Guard tested us was negative ( well they didn’t come to my cell door for me or my celly – as of right now. ) However, it is scary right now!!

“Usually, I would send you a memorandum directly from the Warden/etc. so that I don’t relay unconscious bias opinion when I make my objective and personal opinion of the direction of the institution. However, they are not communicating with us of what is going on. If it is not to create hysteria it is having the opposite. Communication would make this that more easily bearable.

“Personally, I understand that Oshkosh is the most populated institutions in the state. That it is practically impossible to isolate the outbreak of positives cases within for the required 14 days. Technically, if you’re having symptoms or have COVID you’re quarantined but what about the in cases of you have it, but your cellmate doesn’t. Well they are still celled together. The negative guy is panicking. Get me out of here. Yesterday they took a guy out on a stretcher to the hospital because his oxygen levels were extremely low.

“We as inmates don’t make it better because we weren’t or not self-reporting if we have or had symptoms.

“We can’t clean rooms, no showers, no phones to communicate with your people.

“I don’t know if you will receive this email, please let me know if you did. Sent 9-3-2020 at 10:22 am! [Date is probably an error: 9-3-2020 is likely meant to be 10/3/2020 as it was received on October 3, 2020).

“People are not allowed private communication with their lawyers!!!!

“Help!!!!

“I know people have been contacting you about issues about state food shortages and portions, hot water for coffee is something we have to sacrifice but safety is supposed to be priority # 1 but to have a positive and a negative celled up is dangerous.

“A few said they are having or have had their people call to the institution for what exactly I don’t know. My position is it’ll do nothing to complain to the person or people that are making the inconsistent decisions to correct them. You must, we must contact local news and or court tv of the mistreatment and mishandling.

“This is a list of possible people that have drawn interest in prison issues: Kia Murray at kmurray@wluk.com  (Northeast Wisconsin fox11news); juliana.falk@nbc26.com Northeast Wisconsin news); Julia Jena @ court tv news # 470-355-8635; Sara Thomsen at sthomsen@wbay.com fox valley local news.

“Without contacting those people to bring awareness things will only get worse! Hoping that this goes away is not the answer. Thanks for your time and I looking forwarded to hearing from you.”

Anonymous Prisoner

[I chose to protect his identity]

Prisoners are human, too, even if some may not behave that way. 

Please do what you can to draw attention to what continues to go on Inside this particular prison and many others around the Nation and abroad.

In the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons, as of October 2, 2020, more than 124 prisoners have died.  Here is a partial report from the actual statistics

(Only facilities with deaths are reported in this blog.  The full list may be seen at http://www.bop.gov/coronavirus).

“The inmate totals listed do not include inmates participating in the Federal Location Monitoring program, inmates supervised under the USPO, or being held in privately managed prisons. Additionally, the reference to the FCI Butner Low below refers to an isolation unit that is physically separated from the rest of the LSCI. References to RRCs include both individuals housed at the RRC and individuals on home confinement under the RRC’s supervision.

“10/02/2020 – The BOP has 126,586 federal inmates in BOP-managed institutions and 14,375 in community-based facilities. The BOP staff complement is approximately 36,000. There are 1,565 federal inmates and 726 BOP staff who have confirmed positive test results for COVID-19 nationwide. Currently, 13,452 inmates and 1,164 staff have recovered. There have been 124 federal inmate deaths and 2 BOP staff member deaths attributed to COVID-19 disease. Of the inmate deaths, 4 occurred while on home confinement.

[I conclude with this section that I modified to reflect content I send inside the Federal Bureau of Prisons to clients subscribed to my email]

[To read numbers: the left column under the facility is Inmate confirmed cases (I.P.), next is Staff (S.P.), the third from left is Inmate Deaths (I.D.), the fourth column is Staff Deaths (S.D.); the fifth column Inmates Recovered (I.R.) and the others are Staff Recovered (S.R.), City and State].

Facility                           I.P.        S.P.      I.D.      S.D.     I.R.      S.R.      City      State

Butner Low FCI           1          1          17        1          627      17        Butner  NC

Fort Worth FMC           5          10        12        0          615      6          Fort Worth       TX

Terminal Island FCI      0          3          10        0          596      23        San Pedro         CA

Butner Medium I FCI    0          1          9          0          186      32        Butner  NC

Elkton FCI       2          0          9          0          942      54        Lisbon OH

Lexington FMC 7          0          9          0          206      13        Lexington        KY

Oakdale I FCI   0          13        7          0          214      21        Oakdale           LA

Carswell FMC  1          3          6          0          522      1          Fort Worth       TX

Seagoville FCI  6          1          4          0          1300    29        Seagoville        TX

Milan FCI         1          1          3          0          85        55        Milan   MI

Yazoo City Low FCI    0          5          3          0          93        9          Yazoo City       MS

Coleman Medium FCI  51        34        2          0          194      1          Sumterville      FL

Devens FMC    0          2          2          0          45        6          Ayer    MA

Lompoc FCI     0          3          2          0          746      16        Lompoc           CA

Lompoc USP    0          4          2          0          156      24        Lompoc           CA

Marion USP     2          8          2          0          133      9          Marion IL

Miami FDC      29        33        2          0          129      21        Miami  FL

Terre Haute USP          3          1          2          0          82        2          Terre Haute      IN

The Geo Group (RRC)  1          0          2          0          3          0          Houston           TX

ACS Corrections (RRC) 0          0          1          0          1          0          Del Valle          TX

Atlanta USP     6          8          1          0          55        8          Atlanta GA

Behavioral Systems SW (RRC) 0          0          1          0          0          0          Phoenix           AZ

Brawley RRC (RRC)    1          0          1          0          3          0          Brawley           CA

Coleman Low FCI        1          24        1          1          219      6          Sumterville      FL

Danbury FCI    2          0          1          0          81        64        Danbury           CT

Dismas Charities (RRC)            0          0          1          0          0          0          Hattiesburg      MS

Edgefield FCI   2          16        1          0          90        10        Edgefield         SC

GEO Care Inc. (RRC)   0          0          1          0          1          0          Brownsville     TX

GEO Care, Inc. (RRC)  2          0          1          0          0          0          Bronx  NY

Jesup FCI         0          19        1          0          251      3          Jesup   GA

Miami FCI        9          25        1          0          122      10        Miami  FL

Oakdale II FCI 1          9          1          0          9          6          Oakdale           LA

Oklahoma City FTC     68        12        1          0          177      6          Oklahoma City OK

San Diego MCC           16        17        1          0          352      7          San Diego        CA

Terre Haute FCI           13        1          1          0          104      8          Terre Haute      IN

Victorville Medium I FCI          9          10        1          0          342      10        Victorville        CA

Volunteers of America TX (RRC)         10        0          1          0          11        0          Hutchins          TX

Yazoo City USP           22        7          1          0          66        12        Yazoo City       MS

___________________________________________

[Nine deaths shown below are not counted in the 124 reported above]

Private Facilities

Privately-managed prisons are secure institutions operated by private companies under contract and oversight of the BOP. The majority of federal inmates in private prisons are sentenced criminal aliens who will be deported upon completion of their sentence. Unlike federal inmates housed in BOP facilities, the contractor is responsible for the medical care and the costs associated with providing those services.

The BOP has 13,932 inmates in Privately-Managed Facilities. There are 105 inmates who have open lab-confirmed positive cases. 547 inmates have recovered. Full breakdown and additional details are below:

Facility I.P.          I.D.   I.R.       City      State

D. Ray James CI           50        3          144      Folkston           GA

Big Spring CI   41        0          46        Big Spring        TX

Great Plains CI 13        1          112      Hinton OK

Reeves III CI    1          0          0          Pecos   TX

Giles W. Dalby CI        0          2          81        Post      TX

McRae CI         0          1          20        Mcrae Helena   GA

North Lake CI  0          2          107      Baldwin           MI

Reeves I & II CI           0          0          12        Pecos   TX

Rivers CI          0          0          25        Winton NC

All inmates are being appropriately treated and isolated per CDC guidelines.