Tag Archives: bail

Consort

Consort: (v) to habitually associate with someone

It took me a little while to realize that I am not a savior.

I was not particularly arrogant or self-righteous, but I felt it was my job to carry a cross–and if there wasn’t one available, to build one.

During this season of misconception, I lived in Louisiana and consorted with other agencies to help people who were in prison or the county jail.

It was my full intention to be an intermediary. They had attorneys to get them through the court portions of their difficulties, but I thought they needed a guide funny wisdom on words that begin with a C
to get them somewhere near the “strait and narrow.” For some ridiculous reason I fancied myself to be motivated and perhaps even qualified to perform this function.

What did I learned through the process? When life sends people in need your way, into your own environment and your own field of control, you should do everything you can to help them.

But if you’re going to the lion’s den, or in this case, the prison, to be of assistance, you must realize that this arena is not your home.

For I will tell you as a fact: I heard so many stories and listened to so much self-pity and poured out my heart in empathy so many times that I began to actually side with those who were behind bars.

For some reason it totally escaped me that they were criminals and that was why they had been detained. It wasn’t because they needed a hundred dollars as start-up money to begin a car repair shop–or that they desperately required someone to pay their bail, giving them freedom to be out of the clink, working on their cases.

I learned that when you consort with the sinner, you sin.

When you consort with liars, you start finding sneaky ways to fib.

And when you consort with the ungodly, your counsel begins to suffer and your own veracity is soon shaken.

I gave myself a gift.

I now make it clear that I love people and I care about them–but I have no intention of chasing them to the gates of hell to make sure their britches don’t catch on fire.

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Bail

Bail: (n) the temporary release of an accused person awaiting trial, guaranteed by a sum of moneyDictionary B

Once upon a time in a delirium far away, I considered myself to be a crusader for good. Matter of fact, I made it known to those around me that I was out to make my community a better place, one human soul at a time.

God, I felt noble. I actually sensed I was infused with supernatural energy and purpose.

In the process of walking through this cloudy-mindedness, I became known in my community as someonoe who would assist those who found themselves in trouble with the law, or even temporarily jammed into a jail cell.

So when Carrie called me at two o’clock in the morning, explaining that she had been falsely arrested for shoplifting and she needed help, I arose from my bed, put on my pants, grabbed my car keys and drove down to the city jail.

They allowed me to talk to her and I discovered that she had been shopping. apparently forgot that she had tried on some garment and was headed out of the store and was detained by security and placed under arrest for stealing.

It’s not so much that I believed her story as the fact that being under the influence of this false bravado of mission, I felt it was wrong of me to be cynical.

Her bail was $75, so I decided to pay it and let her come back to our house, where I intended to help her rehabilitate herself and become a fine citizen of the country that Washington and Lincoln built.

I noticed on the drive back to my house that Carrie had transformed from a repentant, teary-eyed lass of misfortune into a rather mouthy, self-centered and cautious individual, who wasn’t so sure she wanted to stay in our home. Matter of fact, by the next morning, she got itchy after breakfast, went out the door and I didn’t see her again until two weeks later, when I showed up for her court date.

She once again had donned her damsel-in-distress profile and succeeded in getting off with only community service for pinching the garments. Shortly after that, she disappeared.

I learned something through the process: nothing has value to any of us if we don’t have memory of possessing it and losing it.

$75 didn’t mean anything to Carrie, and the fact that I paid her bail was irrelevant. It had been some time since she had seen $75 and she certainly had never paid the bail for someone else.

It’s not that poor people are pernicious assholes–it’s just that they have no point of reference of what you’re giving up to help them, so it’s easy for them to walk away…without a thank-you.

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