Any News Will Do

They say “no news is good news.” I’m guessing “they” have never been waiting for a phone call. I still haven’t heard anything about Joe or his well being or his whereabouts or when I can see him. Neither has his brother, or his mother, or his sister. I thought it was just me they were leaving in the dark, but apparently it is everybody. And most of the stuff his mom and sister know is because I told them. They only got one phone call from the state and nothing else. I did, however, get a call back from the Advocacy people. They had told me they were opening a case and then I  didn’t hear back from them for a few days, but I did get a call yesterday that said they were requesting his medical information from the hospital and his records from the prison. Although, they will not be able to tell us anything (us being me or his family), she said she will be able to let us know when they get it even if she can’t tell us what they’ve found. And that’s ok. I was just thrilled that they are looking into it. I feel like he should be a little safer now. I keep hearing they “are just doing their job,” but I’m calling bullshit. I would say the numbers are less than half of those that work in the prison system who are actually do their job. They do the job they “think” they are supposed to do which is apparently to be a zookeeper over the animals. I was talking to Joe’s brother on the phone last night and he was telling me how he watched a guard spit in his food before trying to hand him his tray. He requested another tray, but there’s no guarantee that it didn’t happen again. And I  heard story after story like that when I worked at the halfway house. I’m sure there are a lot of good people who work in the system, like the two chaplains that I’ve been dealing with, but I would not give the majority the benefit of the doubt. Call me a skeptic, but I’ve heard stories for years and I don’t think that it just so happens that all the people I know who went to prison were people who were just “asking for it.” The prison system is not the only one that needs to be revamped. It seems like it’s every system. The educational system. The health system. The prison system. The Police system. They are all just so far gone, it’s almost too much to comprehend and, for me, it’s quite draining. But I keep waiting, hopeful that I will get a call and it will be some sort of good news. Any news really. So, I wait. Still collecting prayers. And positive thoughts. And good vibes.