Friday and Freedom

It's Friday, Friday, Friday....

I've only heard that song once- on Glee- and it's stuck in my head today! Partly because it's Friday, and partly because I feel like singing because this week is over. The work week, at least. What a week it was. It started normally, with the typical mill of meetings, meetings and more meetings. And on Tuesday, one meeting changed the whole week for me.

I was sent with a small crew out to Littlefield, Texas (outside of Lubbock) to shoot video of a prison. Yes, a prison. My company will auction the prison this summer, so we went out to interview people in Littlefield and take a first hand look at the jail ourselves.

What an incredibly eye-opening experience! We saw firsthand how prisoners live in a medium security jail. The prison itself was vacant and has been since 2008. It was a bit frightening to say the least; town ghost stories and lore about the place didn't help, either!

But the best part of all was seeing how this small community of Littlefield embraces this prison. They see it as a vital part of the community's survival. Such a juxtaposition- a community that embraces and loves a prison. I imagine some of that positivity, some of that love and need must wear off on the prisoners, making some of them feel loved and wanted for possibly the first time in their life.

I love trips like these- where I get so wrapped up in a story, in a community, that it sticks with me for days. And even though sacrifices were made (an out-of-town friend was supposed to come visit this week; plans changed because of this trip) and I was so dissapointed... there's something refreshing about hopping on a plane and jetting off to another state. There's something reaffirming about life to walk in a prisoner's shoes for a day. And my job feels so worth it when I get to interview the city mayor about her small town which she loves so dearly.

So tonight I'm drinking a glass of wine to a job I love... freedom... and my own small, tight-knit community of loved ones.

Oh, and did I mention the restless inmate I stumbled across? :)