Navigating the Outside: The Struggles and Successes of Ex-Convicts

Picture this: you've just stepped out of prison, and the world outside, full of opportunities and potential trials, is both exciting and terrifying. Your identity, once firmly rooted within prison walls, is now up for redefinition. Welcome to our latest episode, where we are joined again by James and Haley Jones as they take us on an emotional and revealing journey through his life post-incarceration.

James's initial triumphs are soon met with unexpected challenges, as he navigates the complex dynamics of relationships, personal struggles, and employment. Red flags start popping up just a few months after his release, and we walk with him through his attempts to integrate into a new city, a new church community, and new careers. His interactions with the World Victory Church and the relationship with Tommy prove to be particularly challenging. Yet, despite these tribulations, his spirit remains unbroken as he strives to find stability and identity outside of prison.

Ending on a high note, we learn about how an old coworker's kindness helped James find a job at Leonardo's, altering the course of his life. James and Haley's tale of resilience and redemption despite setbacks is both inspiring and enlightening. So, join us as we explore the challenges and triumphs of this new life beyond prison bars. It's a journey that promises to inspire, captivate, and make us all reflect on our own struggles and triumphs.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 5:02

Well, hey guys, thanks for tuning in to the Straight Out of Prism podcast. My name is James K Jones and this is my story.

Speaker 2: 5:09

And this is Hailey Jones, and this is his story that has now become a part of my story.

Speaker 1: 5:14

So we're in season three, we've made it to episode four and we're going to call this episode the unraveling.

Speaker 2: 5:20

The unraveling. So basically we're going to talk about how things were not as they appeared to be.

Speaker 1: 5:29

So I was what? Four months out of prison, you know, first three or four months I was out of see, like everything I touched was like, you know, everything just was going just so well. It's like I had the Midas touch. I mean, everywhere I went you had the what touch, the Midas touch. What does that mean? That's the old, like fairy tale about somebody that could touch things and it would turn into gold.

Speaker 2: 5:49

Oh, okay.

Speaker 1: 5:50

You know, everything up to up through that point was just working out so well. But like for example the job, the getting the house, everything. Everything just was like bang, bang bang.

Speaker 2: 6:04

We were just working the plan.

Speaker 1: 6:05

I was, I was, I had the plan, I was following the plan, working the plan. Everything was just, you know, just yielding incredible results and I was so excited and it was crazy, kind of like the first day of a diet just working it's doing, then day two it's like it sucks. No it was more now. It was four or five months in before things started.

Speaker 2: 6:25

You know, I had they're like red flags.

Speaker 1: 6:28

I had stuff, but then you know I was, you know I was trying to think the best. I didn't. I don't know A lot of ways I didn't know what I didn't know right, especially about, like the church world and, like you know, privately owned restaurants, and you know. I just just things I didn't know.

Speaker 2: 6:42

But also I mean I'm curious to just jump into it because I'm wondering how much of this stuff is just real life, stuff that happens to everyone.

Speaker 1: 6:51

It is real life, it's just just what you navigate through. But I, you know I was a little star. Yet, you know, I was in a new city, I was in a new job and a new, you know, straight out of prison, you know, and I was, honestly, I just had so much energy, just like life. I'm ready to do the right life. I'm ready to do things.

Speaker 2: 7:07

Yeah, after being locked up for almost eight years, seven years, seven years. So what was the first thing that unraveled? Probably the church.

Speaker 1: 7:15

It all happened at once, really. Okay, let's, let's just start with one. The last like good thing that happened was, you know, I had my. I got my little duplex and I had it for like two months before I moved in because I was supposed to be at Shepherds Fold till February. The 13th was my four month mark.

Speaker 1: 7:34

But remember, if you got a couple of episodes back, joel, let me go early, because he said that I was treating this program like a necessary evil and you know I was ready to go already. I mean, I really it was time for me to go. I had an apartment, I had everything I needed, but then it wasn't quite ready to move in. So I stayed for two or three weeks at Tommy and Brenda's house, but then me being there every day, kind of it was so easy to be there, like it was. You know, I have my own room on space, everything you know not. It was a nice house and they started flipping the idea you know you don't have to rush off, you know you don't have to rush off and I was like, no, I have to stay with my timeline, like so I was supposed to move in in February. I got to move in in February. You know, I just you know, that's how I'm wired.

Speaker 2: 8:19

It is how you're wired, even to this day.

Speaker 1: 8:21

Have the plan, work the plan, keep the plan. But some of the ladies at the World Victory Church thought it'd be nice to throw me a housewarming party because I mean, I really didn't have much of anything. My mom had given me a washing machine and dryer and then my dad had a bedroom suit that was at my granny's in Atlanta, that his grandmother bought for him. And she told me when I was a little kid you know, he's going to give you this when you're old. So I had reminded his wife of that. My stepmother, pat, when they got married, was like you know, if you ever get rid of that, granny green, so that was mine.

Speaker 1: 8:58

So while I was in prison they moved in a new house and they put that over at my granny's because they thought probably I would go live with her. But then I didn't. But then so I went and got, you know, my bedroom suit from there and but that was all I had. I had a bedroom suit, I had a washing machine and dryer Thank you, mama and a car, but I didn't have much else. So the ladies wanted to throw me a housewarming party and I thought that was cool. But then I was kind of weird because I was like ain't that what you do when you get married? And they were like no, you're starting your own home, like you need you need.

Speaker 2: 9:31

Yeah for sure, that's a thing For sure.

Speaker 1: 9:33

So I was like, okay, let's do that. And somehow it got out. You know at my job that I was having a housewarming party. Then all of a sudden, all them people wanted to come. So it turned into like this huge like event and it was on a Sunday and, you know, somebody brought food and it was just. This was a little little bitty Dupes was a two bedroom, you know probably 7, 800 square feet, and there was like 30 people that came through there that day. But there was one of the assistant chefs that worked at Rossies. He was from Italy and he did not speak very good. He could speak English, but it wasn't like great English. And I remember him. His wife was the banquets director there and she was American. She spoke good English. But he came up to me and was like James, I really want to come to your party, but can you tell me, like, explain to me like, what is? How do you say a warm house party? So it was like that was a housewarming party.

Speaker 1: 10:30

So what ended up happening was every I didn't have to buy anything, they gave me everything.

Speaker 2: 10:36

Oh, wow.

Speaker 1: 10:37

Sam Absent. His wife gave me a couch and a love seat.

Speaker 2: 10:40

Like they bought it new, or was it no some?

Speaker 1: 10:42

some. Some stuff was new but like that stuff it was like it was like an old couch that you know. They got, they upgraded and he wanted me to have it. So we went and got that, me and Jimmy went over there and picked that up. Then there was a couple at the world victory church, scott and Leslie sides. They brought me there. It was a dining room table and chairs, a coffee table and end tables that she had grown up with.

Speaker 2: 11:06

Oh, wow.

Speaker 1: 11:07

It was. But her parents, let me have it. They went to church there. It was just. It was just crazy the stuff. And then you know towels and washcloth, dishes, cook, I mean everything. They gave me everything.

Speaker 2: 11:17

They just set you up.

Speaker 1: 11:19

One lady sent like a garbage can, this older lady that went to world victory church. She filled up like a garbage can, like a big outside garbage can, just full stuff Like she went and bought everything. Wow. So it was a, that was like a high point, yeah. And then it was a great day. You know my family sent stuff. My aunt Sue sent me all my bedding and you know just everything I needed, stuff I didn't even know I needed. You know I'd never lived by myself.

Speaker 2: 11:42

This is going to make people that are moving when I have a housewarming party.

Speaker 1: 11:46

Do it. Do it, I mean, especially if you're starting out. It was pretty neat. But then probably the only thing I got I didn't want, somebody gave me a fish inside of a vase with the plant on top of it and I was just like I can't be taken care of, no fish. But anyways, the next day the fish was dead. So I felt released from that. But it I had a weird that first night being there, everybody was leaving, then Tommy and Brenda like home back, and then I was like, okay, it's time for you to go. And as soon as they left I had like this fear set in. It was like, and I realized wait, hold on.

Speaker 2: 13:43

Was this your first actual first night sleeping there?

Speaker 1: 13:47

Cause I did. I decided I'm just going to do the housewarming party and then I'm just going to stay I moved all my stuff from Tommy and Brenda's house.

Speaker 1: 13:56

I mean, I was paying rent, I was paying a power bill, paying water, paying all the stuff, and I didn't. I just knew I needed to do the next thing. But I had, like this when they left, it was like this nagging like fear just sat in on me and I realized I've never been alone in my whole life. Wow, cause you know, when I went to prison I was in my mama's house, and once you get to jail, in prison, you're never alone. So this was like I was 27 years old and this was the first time I'd ever been alone. So it was, but it was strange. I knew that I had a choice, like you have to just make a choice and you have to push through, or you're going to, you're going to stay stuck. So I just decided to push through a parade and said Jesus, help me, and I never had any problems with it after that. That first night was scary.

Speaker 2: 14:44

So what were you afraid of?

Speaker 1: 14:45

I don't know it was, I didn't. It was like an unexpected feeling of I'm all alone.

Speaker 2: 14:50

Yeah, I guess it was just kind of a foreign feeling because you'd never been in that place before.

Speaker 1: 14:56

Like I'm out of the nest.

Speaker 2: 14:57

There's nothing there's.

Speaker 1: 14:59

I'm an adult, you know. You got two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and a kitchen. So you know, go, go figure it out. So it was a. It was crazy. But then the next crazy thing that happened right after that remember I told you that right before the day I was getting out of prison that Chaplain Lindsey at Donaldson like got up in my face and told me don't be trying to come back in my prison. And I was like I'm trying to leave your prison. And he had said, you know, I know you want to. You got a velvet tongue, you got all these volunteers full, but you're going to have to prove me at least two or three years that you're doing the right thing. For you ever asked to come back in here. And I remember I was just so aggravated with him. I think that was the last season.

Speaker 1: 15:44

Well, the Onondorm had a family night twice a year. They had one in February and one in like August, september, and there was one coming up in February and it would be the first one that I didn't attend because I'd been a part of the Onondorm since we started it. But it was where people could have their families come in, they could bring food and it was just. It was just a crazy neat deal. But I got a call from Steve and I was in between shifts at Rossies and he said you'll never guess what I have in my hand. And I said okay, what do you have in your hand? He said I have a piece of paper here that says James K Jones is allowed to come into Donaldson Correctional Facility for family night as long as you're with me, as long as you're with Steve Longmaker. So I was like wow.

Speaker 2: 16:29

Did he like request that?

Speaker 1: 16:31

I don't know. I mean, I'm not sure how that may be, probably.

Speaker 2: 16:35

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 16:36

But it was to encourage the guys, because you know it's one thing for them to hear, but another thing for you to see them and to be able to talk to them. And so I'm five months out of prison and I'm going four months out of prison and I'm going back in. Wow. So that was crazy, but I got to go and spend the evening with them.

Speaker 2: 16:53

Did you feel any kind of PSTD or no?

Speaker 1: 16:57

PTSD no.

Speaker 2: 16:59

Like you know before going in not at all.

Speaker 1: 17:02

No, I never have. No, I knew I was done.

Speaker 2: 17:04

Yeah, I'm done with that, I'm just thinking, though, what kind of emotions or kind of you know that you felt going back in there and seeing probably a lot of the same guys there must have been. Yeah, this was only three, or four months later.

Speaker 1: 17:15

I know that's what I'm saying, Like it was, they were elated. I mean, they were like over the top just so excited to see them, especially coverhouse. It was just, it was crazy, it was neat and it was crazy and I just saw it as like a gift.

Speaker 2: 17:29

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 17:30

Like from Jesus. It was just so, it's not. You don't get, you don't get to do that Right, they make you wait, you know. But then I never stopped going in. I've been going back in ever since, yeah. I've been in a lot of trouble with it. It was just pretty cool. That was just a neat little gift from that time. But then it seemed like you know how they say, things happen in threes.

Speaker 2: 17:50

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 17:51

You know, and I try not when, like when, when storms start coming at you, I always try to think okay, I don't believe in all that three stuff, but it does seem like when, when things start happening, it's like one thing, then another, then another.

Speaker 2: 18:03

Right.

Speaker 1: 18:04

Well, the first thing that happened, like gosh, it couldn't have been two or three weeks after I moved into my own apartment. There was a some kind of controversy with Tommy at the World Victory Church and I'm not, I don't think I need to say what but he had kind of a more.

Speaker 2: 18:20

Tommy, who you were living with. Yeah, or I'd stayed with.

Speaker 1: 18:23

Yeah, so he had some kind of like a moral conflict and he got fired from the church. And then his wife Brenda she announced that she was leaving him, she was getting a divorce, Like she couldn't be with him, you know anymore.

Speaker 2: 18:35

And they'd been married for years and years right.

Speaker 1: 18:37

Yeah, like 30 years, I mean a long time and then he quit going to church or wherever church, but then Brenda kept going there and then she like confessed to me, like the way she said it was, you know, I was living my life, doing my thing, and then you came into my home and you just breezed through here like a tornado and I was like what, like, what, like me? And she was like no, no, it was a tornado of life, like it was, it was good, like I'm. I'm been depressed and didn't know why and I just need to get out of the situation. But that made me feel guilty, like don't put that on me, but it was almost like she didn't want to live in her house anymore after I left, but I was only there for four months, so it was just weird. Like the whole thing started getting more weird and weirder and weirder. So there was like a split with Tommy.

Speaker 2: 19:26

Well, hold on. I feel like we need to like pause there, because I'm sure people have questions. I mean that that is so. So what she was saying was I guess I'm just and you correct me if I'm wrong Like it's almost like you're living like kind of a mundane doing the same thing, and then I mean, pardon me, you can see how someone comes in just out of prison who has a new lease on life and new I was excited.

Speaker 2: 19:48

Motivation to move forward and, as you say over and over again, do the next thing and take the next step, and so that just like awakened her soul. I mean, that sounds very dramatic, but is that what she was telling you?

Speaker 1: 20:02

Pretty much. But it wasn't just that there was some, there was a moral conflict that was helped her make that decision.

Speaker 2: 20:11

You mean between her and Tommy.

Speaker 1: 20:12

Yes.

Speaker 2: 20:13

Yeah, okay. And then she made her stare truth. What was really happening?

Speaker 1: 20:19

Yeah, like she came to a place and needed to do something different, like she and I told you in the last episode, I started realizing like most of the stuff with Tommy was a facade, like he had a wallpaper and business and then he was a pastor at this church. But then if you get to know him, like if you scratch the surface, she realized like all this is a mess, like every everything is like half truths and a mess and I just you know, if I ever say anything to him he'd be like who do you think you are? You little wet behind the ears, little green, you know, like telling me I didn't know I was talking about and I'm it. Just, it got bad really quick. It went bad.

Speaker 2: 20:56

It's interesting, though, how you know someone like that can be used for such great things, and he helped you so much he did and I'll never take that. Equipped you in so many ways you know, tangibly Believed in me.

Speaker 1: 21:09

It was there for me.

Speaker 2: 21:10

Right and I was like, what's the issues going?

Speaker 1: 21:12

on and we all you know on this side, we all have issues.

Speaker 2: 21:15

That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 1: 21:16

And that's one thing I love about you know our pastor, chris, our pastor, like he, he says that everybody, when you go to church, you wear a mask because that's what you do at church. So you have to find people that you can get in relationship and small groups to take the mask off and be honest, because you can only, you can only be healed if you're honest.

Speaker 1: 21:37

Like you have and you don't have to tell everybody all your business, but somebody needs to know your secrets, right? What do they say? You're only as sick as your secrets. Like you can't. You can't be free until you get the secrets out. But you know, this was the late nineties, the 2000s, like that. They weren't doing church like that and it was all this big, you know, grand, you know God is powerful unless have church and let's just do all that.

Speaker 2: 22:02

But I can see how, coming back to the Brenda thing, how you were just like, how it almost kind of made you feel like I did I didn't cause all this craziness.

Speaker 1: 22:12

Cause I didn't and I knew I did Right Well it was there before you got there. Yeah, I just kind of stepped into it, right, but it was sad. But it, you know, ended up, you know worked out what it was supposed to but I could.

Speaker 1: 22:23

after that I couldn't be in close relationship with Tom anymore and there was something about him, like when he was helping me, like I remember the first time my granny met him she was like who is that man? Is he your parole officer? And I was like no, he goes to church with me. She's like he thinks that he's in charge of you and that he owns you. I'm like granny, nobody owns me. But I started like seeing that, like as that, the more like freedoms I got like he wanted some kind of like control over me.

Speaker 1: 22:53

And you know, human nature is like that, Like when you um, that's why I'm always careful If I do something for somebody, like if I help someone, you don't help people and then expect something in return. Like if you help people, you do it from a pure heart, where I just want to help you. Because that was basically like he was trying to. You know he said he always wanted a son and God never gave him a son, gave him a daughter. You know I was like his son. I was like, well, no about that, but it just, it just got never did for me, but it got like kind of co-dependent for him.

Speaker 2: 23:26

Well, it's so interesting. You say that because I do think this should be. I don't know, I have to just think it should be said and something that I've noticed just how people's identity can be caught up in, even being the helper or being the quote, unquote savior, and then that almost makes you cause I've even seen this in your story, in our story, as long as it's been since you've been out. It's almost like I don't think it's intentional, but you become the like a project that makes them feel valued or good about themselves and like you can just see how unhealthy that is. When I'm saying it.

Speaker 2: 24:08

But, I think when you're in the middle of it you almost like don't realize it's happening.

Speaker 1: 24:12

No, you don't.

Speaker 2: 24:13

Like I'm not saying taken. I mean you've talked about taking on the identity of a prisoner and then taking on like I'm coming out of prison, but I think I mean and I've been guilty of this taking on an identity of like oh, I'm the, I'm the helper, I'm helping them. I'm the person who got them out and got them started.

Speaker 1: 24:31

And it's bad.

Speaker 2: 24:32

And that becomes like a mesh in the identity, which I think is not healthy, which is what you're saying.

Speaker 1: 24:36

Yeah, and so it came to a place where that had to come to an end. And then right after that the job thing kind of came to an end, because they okay, but you were loving the job.

Speaker 2: 24:49

So what happened there?

Speaker 1: 24:50

I was. It was my. I was living. My best life was learning how to wait. I would even go back there and cook with the chef's and stuff, cause you know I'm always be cooking. But I was doing banquets, I was learning. I was just so much that I learned there. It was crazy and also I was making a ton of money.

Speaker 2: 25:06

So why did that unravel what happened?

Speaker 1: 25:08

Well, something happened with the Nabeel. He was the dining room guy, manager guy, he I can't remember he quit or got fired or something and they hired a guy. His name was John Berdelini. He would end up becoming like one of my closest friends. Even to this day I mean, I don't see him as much as I used to, but he was my boss at first. He was the general manager Rossi's. He was like one of those guys that had went to school to be a restaurant manager.

Speaker 1: 25:35

It was used to be in corporate places, very talented, very smart, you know he knew the restaurant business inside and out and they basically brought him in to clean up. You know the mess it was. Some of the stuff was a mess Cause Nabeel was like a people person, like he was. You know he figures the rest out. But they, they hired him and he came in and he was there for like three or four months and we became like close friends but it was but never really crossed like the boundary of him being my boss, but he there was just a lot of mess and he would always call me to help him and I remember one time a conversation that he and I had we were short and we had these banquets and all the stuff going on, and he was just like in a panic and I was like I told him about the owner dorm, like how we came up with a plan to make it work, and I said I've learned.

Speaker 1: 26:28

You know, we can make. If we have a plan, we can figure it out with the people we got and we can, we can execute it and do it. And he looked at me like I was crazy and I was like no, let's just sit down. We only had like an hour. Let's come up with a plan. And we did and we killed it, knocked it out of the park and I mean I think I made like $500 that night and so did the other servers. But after that he was just like I don't know, like he was Come on, if you did now cause that sounds great.

Speaker 2: 26:59

So I'm confused.

Speaker 1: 27:00

He just felt. No, he felt like after that he was like James kind of knows what he's talking about. But it wasn't that I knew anything about the restaurant business or waiting tables. I just knew that if you're in a fix, that if you can come up with a strategy and a plan, you can make it work. And it did, and I don't. It was a respect thing. He respected me after that. But then something happened right after that where Nabil wanted to come back and they fired John Bertolini and he was it was just awful Just watching and he was my friend by that time. And then, you know, I had these problems with with John Ed will because of the girlfriend and all the stuff.

Speaker 2: 27:38

Oh right, Because you thought you had been meeting his wife, but it was his girlfriend and he actually met the wife.

Speaker 1: 27:44

So I was trying to like push through and then John Ed came and was like I had a dream that you quit working here, don't quit working here. And I was like, well, we'll see what happens. But then I think it was the second or third day and the bill was back. I went in and I had two parties that I was scheduled to work. But he was a player Like he wanted to like who was John, ed or Nabil.

Speaker 1: 28:06

Nabil like he was, and they didn't care. It was like he would have found these girls that he wanted to be, you know, in relations with, and then he would give them parties and stuff so they would like him or whatever.

Speaker 1: 28:20

so he's servers, you mean yeah he was using his position to do extracurricular activities. But you know me, I'm all business like, I'm not. You know, if this is I'm working on putting my heart and soul into this, then I you know I ain't playing them games. But I came in and he had taken a party from me and gave it to a girl that I knew that he was interested in and I just it just all stacked up and it was stupid what I did because I didn't have a plan for what was next, but I just said I'm out, I'm out, I'm done.

Speaker 2: 28:48

I packed up my stuff so you just quit right there on the spot yes oh, wow, okay so that was hard, but it was.

Speaker 1: 28:56

It was like I had a righteous anger because I felt like what they did to john berlini was wrong and he was my friend and he was crushed. You know, they just did him dirty, just right.

Speaker 2: 29:06

Well then, it sounds like they did you dirty.

Speaker 1: 29:07

If he just like snagged a party, that that oh yeah, I mean it was small what he did to me, but it wasn't just that he did it to me, it was that I kind of knew what his motives were and I'm like I'm not working, I'm not being involved in an, or I'm not doing that, I'm not, I don't want to be on this team if this is how we do business, because I'm not getting into the slimy and I'm not doing all that stuff. So I just I quit, I said I'm out, and the next day I there was another restaurant that was similar to rossie's, down off 280. It was called uh, conny canakis. It was a greek place, fine dining. I went, I had a uh interview with the lady that ran the dining room there. She hired me and I was going to start the next day.

Speaker 1: 29:49

But I did something really stupid. I said I I feel like I need to tell you something because I don't want you to find out later and you get aggravated with me. But I've been in prison and I just got out of prison and I've been rossie's for four months and um, she looked like I like kicked her in her stomach and she was like I never mind, it's not gonna work out, I don't. I wish you wouldn't tell me I don't think I don't, I don't want you here, so wow, but I do that to myself. I don't have to tell her that.

Speaker 2: 30:17

So she hired you and then you just felt like you needed to tell the truth. And then I just said I want secrets.

Speaker 1: 30:21

I didn't want to be in a place where there had to be secrets. Well, what if somebody finds out? And I still don't to this day, like just tell it, tell it right I remember at our wedding, our wedding reception, your mom came up to me and she was like my cousin, so-and-so's over there. Do I have to tell them you've been in prison? I was like mama lou, you don't have to tell anybody anything, it's not my identity. Plus, I spent 20 years ago, but you know.

Speaker 2: 30:45

But I just don't like secrets it's funny like hearing you retell this story or you know, at this time, because so many of these attributes is like exactly who you are today and how you are today it caused me problems, but I can see how back then it did cause problems, as you were only four months out of prison well, I and I'd learned that life after prison you don't give information.

Speaker 1: 31:10

But I just felt like I don't want to work here if it's got to be a secret and then you find out it's going to be weird. But uh, so she said she didn't want me there and that it hurt my feelings and I thought I need to get out of the restaurant world. You know, I just need to do something else and so I just, uh, you know, remodeled my little duplex and turned it from ugly to beautiful, you know, just with some little touch up. So I decided I was going to start a painting business like this would be fun, I could. I love doing this, I can do it.

Speaker 1: 31:37

My first client was a lady from my church. You know. I charged her five hundred dollars to do, uh, three bedrooms, a kitchen, or two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, hallway in a bathroom, and I thought it would take me three, four days, and you know she had to buy all the paint. But I said it'd be five hundred dollars. It ended up taking like three weeks. Oh, and it was awful. Like I was, I was working from early in the morning till late at night and it was just. I was so glad when I finished up, but she was happy with it. I mean, it was beautiful. I'd totally like redid everything. But then, um, the lady that on the uh, my landlord.

Speaker 1: 32:14

She owned a small real estate company and she had property all over kava heights, so she she hired me to start doing painting for her oh cool and no, but I ended up I hated it, like it was like okay, I can do this once every now, but just do it every day and just always having paint, and so I didn't know what to do. I was kind of in a like a wilderness with that. You know, I was keeping up with my bills and all the things I had to. But then, like right after that, that was when we kind of had to split with the world victory church.

Speaker 2: 32:47

But it had been coming, it had been building, they moved you said we had to split, like tell me what you mean.

Speaker 1: 32:53

We split like I split with them, you split with them with the world victory church. So there was a bunch of little stuff that kept happening. But then the, the pastor there, he he's like sermons and stuff just started getting harder and harder and harder and he started telling everybody's sinning and all you know it was just not good. And then his attitude towards me was that I started feeling like the token convict in the, in the congregation yeah and I didn't you know, like what we just talked about a project and I'm not going to be anybody's project

Speaker 1: 33:26

you know, even if you know you help me. But help, if you are helping me, let's move on, let's don't. I don't, guys, I'm not staying here. And then, um, they asked me to be a usher. And then they said, if you're usher, you have to wear a suit and tie every sunday.

Speaker 1: 33:42

And it started getting hot and it was just, it seems started getting hot no, but I'm come on now and in june, july, you got to put on a three-piece suit to go to church and it's sweaty and it's just. It just was not working out and then. But the church was also not growing, it was like shrinking. So but they would do this big like thing where they would. You know, they had all these people up on the stage and he would preach and they were singing and hollering and do all that stuff.

Speaker 1: 34:08

But there was many times I would look up and there would be more people on the stage and there were in the congregation. So it was just like I don't know, but I didn't want to leave because I had this statistic that I heard yeah, if you can be with one church, with one job for one year, then your, your statistics go up and making it. So I was like struggling with that because I didn't want to church hop. But then it kind of came to a head when they did a special, uh, church service where they had a visiting traveling person that came in.

Speaker 2: 34:40

His name was tim, I don't remember his last name so a visiting, traveling person, like for those of us that I don't know he like went around from church to church and put on services like spoke, or whatever oh, he didn't want to speak.

Speaker 1: 34:54

Um, they say that he was a prophet, and a prophet if you don't know what that is, there's people that can tell you things that god is saying to you. But he also said that he was an anointed psalmist and I was like what does that mean? And somebody that was next to me was like he means, he writes his own songs from the lord. So I was like okay. And then out in the lobby he was also had a clothing business with christian symbols on him so he was a.

Speaker 2: 35:22

Let's break this down he was a prophet he was a prophet, a songwriter a songwriter aka anointed psalmist singer. He also had a clothing line clothing line.

Speaker 1: 35:31

It's called Zion clothes or something, some religious thing attached to it. But they were like there's like, ain't nobody finna pay 80 dollars for no pair of jeans, especially looking like that were they anointed jeans, were they?

Speaker 1: 35:42

he said they were. But you know I'm not into all that. So he was doing he started off the night with a little message. Then he was going to do the prophecies. So that means everybody's supposed to walk up there and he's supposed to tell you something. So I walked up there and he like laid his hands on me and like took a deep breath and shivered and was like I have a word for you, brother james. So I was like, and I was see, I was like sincere, like I'm waiting on my word. And he was like I see a book opened. The book is opened from birmingham to montgomery.

Speaker 1: 36:15

The interpretation of this vision is that you shall preach the gospel from birmingham to montgomery and from montgomery to birmingham but nowhere else. And I was like, what does that even mean? Like you know even none of this, and I've been, I've studied, I have teaching. Like they say, if somebody gives you a prophecy, you either know it's right or it's not. And if you know it's not, then you're not supposed to even think about it. So I went back and sat down. It was like, well, maybe, maybe he's you know, good for somebody else. Maybe jesus don't want to tell me anything tonight. But, uh, he started singing a song and the song was about the annoying ting and that's what they call like when the god's presence comes down, and the anointing. In the old testament they did it with oil, so that's like how they. You know the some of these with oil.

Speaker 2: 37:07

What? What do they do?

Speaker 1: 37:07

with oil. Well, in the old testament they would anoint people with oil like does that mean you pour it on them or? Yeah, like the priests and the, but these were jewish people like they did. This was a long and plus. You needed oil back then because you were dry and I don't know, I don't know what's going on with that?

Speaker 2: 37:23

I know, but I'm trying to understand. When you're talking like this, it's like what in the old testament?

Speaker 1: 37:28

they used. They used oil to like anoint kings and prophets and people, and so in the new testament the anointing is this is not that, it's the spirit okay of god. You know, that's the anointing. So he started singing about the anointing and he's up there and he's got like one of those little pop-up keyboard things and he's up there and then he starts singing about the anointing and then he starts calling it the grease and he says okay, oil yeah.

Speaker 1: 38:00

So he starts calling it the grease and I think he I think they said he was making this up in real time, I don't know, but then he started singing. The song was released to grease. So he was like lord, release the grease, release the grease. And it was getting weirder and weirder, like by the second. It just kept like. It was just more weird. So I'm sitting there there's probably 50 people in the congregation, maybe a little bit more. So they started a march, they started riding the train. You know, come on, ride this train let it ride, it.

Speaker 2: 38:32

Come on ride the train.

Speaker 1: 38:34

It's the chew, chew but it was the release, the grease train, so everybody was on the train going around the church, hollering and carrying on, and it was not a very big church, it was just a little. I don't, I couldn't get up, I couldn't do it you couldn't bring yourself I couldn't get on that train and I was watching the train and they were going around and he just kept getting louder and louder and he would say the same thing over release the grease. Then he started spelling r-e-l-e-a-s-e-t-a-g-g-r-e-a-e-s-e you know just so.

Speaker 2: 39:07

Were people singing along with him or clapping or what they were carrying?

Speaker 1: 39:10

on. They were carrying on, so they went around a few times. I was towards the back and I didn't get on the train. So they stopped the train for james and the pastor's wife was like james, come on, you supposed to be on this train. So I was like I don't want to get on the train. She was like come on and get on this train, get on this train. So I got up, I got on the train, I walked, I didn't holler into, I walked around one one full time one lap did one lap on the train and I got to the end, stepped off the train.

Speaker 1: 39:41

I wasn't in the middle anymore. I looked back and I said, lord jesus, this is not where I'm supposed to be. And I left and I never went back like that.

Speaker 2: 39:48

You never went back after that nope, that's the end. I mean, I tried to stay nice and just you know did they call you because you had been part of that church yeah and helped you with the prison stuff there was a lot the housewarming party all that, you just were like we're done I'm out, I'm not doing all I'm not doing all that.

Speaker 1: 40:07

Thank you for the housework, thank you for the no, no, I kept relationships, like I kept a lot of, but most of the people that was in relationship had already left okay like, but he would do stuff like if somebody missed church, he would talk about them from a sermon like call them out.

Speaker 1: 40:22

Oh, you know what's wrong with them. You know why they have proms it's because they don't pay their tides like people. That's struggling with little kids, you know and he's horrible it was just, it was time. It was time for that it's hilarious.

Speaker 2: 40:33

So you literally stepped off the train. I got off the train.

Speaker 1: 40:37

No, but I could see the train from the other side and I was just like I ain't supposed to be on this train. You know, I'm, I'm like, I'm like, I ain't even judging them. If y'all want to ride the train, ride the train, but james k jones is not supposed to be on this train releasing the grease with the norse songless and I just it's just time for me to move on like it's just time. And you know, there was no hard feelings.

Speaker 1: 40:59

Um, actually, uh, during that time, the pastor there had loaned me some money because I was struggling and, um, we had set up something like I would pay like $100 a month to pay it back. It was when I was trying to start a paint business. That ended up as a disaster, but I mailed him a check every month, you know, just like I said I would. And then at the end I got a really glowing letter from him and he was like you beat the statistics. You know you did what you said you were going to do and I'm so proud of you and I don't have any hard feelings towards him.

Speaker 2: 41:31

It's just, I'm just not, I'm not into all that you just weren't supposed to be on that train.

Speaker 1: 41:35

No, and I really don't feel like I was. I was supposed to be a part of that church because it was going in a different direction and but it it okay. So my relationship with Tommy fell apart. My job fell apart. Then I started trying to start a business. That fell apart. Then my church fell apart and then Steve came to me. You know I was still meeting with Steve like once a week, but he said you got to stay connected in the community of believers and so I was like I don't know, I don't know where to go, like I'm. He said well, why don't you come hang out with me for a little bit? And I said no, I don't like your church, I don't like the dog biscuit people and have you and all them Joel.

Speaker 2: 42:15

The dog biscuit people. You don't remember the last time the lady.

Speaker 1: 42:18

That was the first time I went to Steve's church. She stood up at share time and tried to sell dog biscuits.

Speaker 2: 42:22

Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 42:25

So like I'm not, I'm just not into all, that's not my you know. And he was like look, I'm not asking you to stay, you don't have to stay, but you got to be connected somewhere. You're connected to me. Just come, just do this for a little while. Till you can, you know, till you can, like, clear your head, figure out what you want to do next, and I'm here and I'll support you. But he, he said you have to be, you have to be plugged in in the community of believers.

Speaker 2: 42:48

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 42:49

Like you have to, you can't just not go to church. And I was like I know that, but it's just, I don't want to go to that church. But I felt like I didn't have anything else to do, so I went to his church and I didn't care for it. But then there was that whole thing about you know, I still had you know, like was interested in his daughter, but then oh yeah, the sparks had flown.

Speaker 1: 43:08

Yeah, but then right after I started going to this church she got engaged, her little boyfriend, oh okay, so that was rough. I mean, it was like well, I don't know, it was just depressing, yeah. So all that stuff, my first three or four or five months started feeling like you know, where I thought I had like the mightest touch and everything was great. And I'm hey, how you doing it all just landed where everything just fell apart.

Speaker 2: 43:29

It's like you. It was like you were done with the honeymoon period of coming out of prison.

Speaker 1: 43:33

You know you just got into real life, right, and then that just led me to. You know, just honestly, that that first summer I was in a deep depression. You know I lived by myself, I was by myself. I think the first like thing that really like shocked me was that I didn't have any air and I didn't know, like air conditioning.

Speaker 1: 43:52

No, I didn't know, I didn't have any air. Like I remember there was like one of those. It was a small apartment and the heat was like one of those little furnaces that was in the hallway. That kind of heated up the whole house. And then, as you moved in in February yeah, I didn't know, but I didn't have any air Like there, like I didn't. There was no like central heating air and, like the first day that got hot, I was like what is happening? Did you have a?

Speaker 2: 44:15

window unit.

Speaker 1: 44:16

No.

Speaker 2: 44:16

Oh my gosh.

Speaker 1: 44:18

It was like if you want to one, you had to go get your own.

Speaker 1: 44:19

They didn't supply anything Like, I had to go get my own refrigerator, my own stove, and so now I found out I had to go get my own AC. That was weird and I didn't really understand how when the units worked and you know, by that time I was struggling financially and so I just I went to Walmart or somewhere and bought one and put it in the. I thought if I'm going to be hot, I don't want to be hot in my bedroom.

Speaker 1: 44:44

Right, so I put one in the bedroom. Eventually I got one for every other room.

Speaker 2: 44:48

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 44:49

But it was just, it was depressing yeah that is whoo you know, here I was this hot summer of 2000 and I had no air.

Speaker 2: 44:58

And what were you doing for money at that point?

Speaker 1: 45:00

Oh, I had tried to do the uh, start my own business. It didn't work out. The painting, yeah, I mean, it worked out for a minute, but it didn't work out long. And then I had taken on some odd jobs with a guy that was building log cabins that I went to church with and I hated that. So I was trying not to go back into the restaurant business and my friend, john Bertolini he lived in Helena, alabama, which is probably about 30 minutes south of Birmingham. He was so scarred by what happened to him at Rossies that he took a job with his neighbor who owned a landscaping company in Helena that was up and coming out. They were, their business was booming, driving a dump truck, and it was like the guy paid like $10 an hour and all you had to do was just, you know, ride, drive. And he told me, talk to the guy and he wanted me to come give that a shot because he well plus, he knew I liked working the yard and I do. I love working the yards.

Speaker 2: 45:56

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 45:57

So I thought, you know, maybe that's something I could try. I didn't need a lot of money, but it was nice to have it Right. You know, like my household bills weren't that much, my rent was only like $300 a month.

Speaker 2: 46:09

Right.

Speaker 1: 46:10

But so I took the job, thinking, okay, I got to figure out you know what's next. And I was feeling like, you know, I had always thought I was supposed to be like involved in ministry and helping people and doing something, and that none of that was working out. And so I thought, well, if I can do the drive the dump truck, you know I'll just start studying with tapes and stuff while I'm doing that. And I drove the dump truck for one day. It was basically you had to go somewhere and they had to fill it up and then you had to bring it back and dump it out.

Speaker 1: 46:44

And when I got back at the end of that day, the boss his name was Greg he was like man, that's service. And I was like what, what are you talking about? I'd gotten like 10 loads back and forth in eight hours and most people only got seven. And I was just like I was just doing what you said. I mean, I stopped, I took an hour for lunch, like I did everything you told me to do. But he was impressed with me. And the next day I came in and he's like I decided to put you in charge of a landscape crew and I was like I don't know. So he throws me the keys to this brand new like $100,000 truck and gave me like seven workers and sent me out and did you know what you were doing?

Speaker 1: 47:25

No, I know I did not, I didn't know anything about it. But he just said I know you can figure it out and I'm here, you know, gave me walkie talkies. I mean it was. I was kind of having fun at first but then it just kept, because you know me, I'm not into like nothing, I'm not into. I'm not like wired, I don't. I don't do good with like heavy equipment or fixing stuff. Like I can like paint something, I can plan a tree. I can't build a wall, you know I can't do. But they did like they built like walls, they put in sprinkler systems and I was always tearing up something. Something was getting like I would rip the bumper off or knock the walls down.

Speaker 1: 48:03

Or one of the funniest stories about that summer was I couldn't, I can't, back up a trailer. Even to this day I can't back up a trailer. But we'd have to pull trailers with the Bobcat on it and trying to back it into the yard. At the end of the day I knocked a wall down that was built out of like cross ties, and so the Mexicans that worked on my crew, I would pull in to the thing and they knew I couldn't back it up, so they would take the Bobcat off and there was like six of them would like physically pick up the trailer and move it so I could just back it in. And it was fun. He I mean he was only paying me like $10 an hour, but then if I had overtime he'd pay me in cash. So I was making it but I was hating it.

Speaker 1: 48:46

And then the last job I did for him was like the end of that summer was where we put in. We had to put in sprinkler systems and so we had this thing called a trencher and you would have to go in. You'd have to dig like six feet or four feet, I can't remember. But with a trencher, if there's any kind of wires in the way if it's a phone wire, a gas line, and you hit it, it's gone.

Speaker 1: 49:11

So then you have problems with the homeowners and I did that all the time, like I was hitting the gas or what my cable don't work or my phone's out, and so it was just. It was hard. And the last one I did for Greg was in Vestavia. It was a big house that we were there for like two weeks with all kinds of stuff, but we were putting in a sprinkler system in the back and I'd started to trench a hole and I was at the edge of a. I don't know if a trencher is like a thing that goes down in the ground like you lower it with a switch and it goes down and it just it creates like a little thin hole to be able to run pipes through for a sprinkler system.

Speaker 1: 49:49

But as I was lowering that down in, at the edge of the yard next to the fence, it hit a rock and it bounced. And when it bounced it grabbed the chain link fence. Oh my gosh. No, it was a miracle that I didn't get hurt, but it was like the fence was there one time, one minute, and the next minute the fence was gone. And then it was just there were just poles standing there and I felt like the poles were mocking me, like what are you doing? What are you doing here? You?

Speaker 2: 50:17

feel like the poles were mocking you.

Speaker 1: 50:19

They were mocking me. The poles were just looking at me like why are you doing this? Like this is not because I'm not even good at stuff like I can play in a flower bed, but I can't do it. So I got my little walkie-talkie. It was like you go, and it was a phone too, but if you did it, all the people would hear you. So I was like does anybody not a fix of chain link fence? And my boss was like wow, and so I drove back that day. I went in and I said look, I appreciate you giving me an opportunity.

Speaker 2: 50:48

This has been a hard slumber, you know.

Speaker 1: 50:50

I mean, he paid me the best he could he did.

Speaker 1: 50:52

I mean, you know, I got some poisoning now and I'm miserable. And I said this is, I'm tired of tearing up your equipment and you have this sadness about me and you want to keep letting me do it. But this is, I'm not made for this. So I said I want I'm putting a notice, I need to put it in notice and I need to do something else. And he said well, if you don't work here, what are you going to do? I said I'm going back to my world. I'm going back to the restaurant world. I'm going to get me a job in a restaurant. And he was like how long do you think that would take you to do that? And I said probably, I could probably find a job by the end of the day. And he said well, I'm going back to my world. You're free if you want to just be done.

Speaker 2: 51:26

Oh, he was a good guy. Yeah, he knew, I'm sorry.

Speaker 1: 51:30

And uh, but he was like you know, if you ever, you know, if ever need anything, I'm here. And you know he became Like a friend.

Speaker 2: 51:37

What's his name?

Speaker 1: 51:38

Greg, greg Eddons, he's still, I'm not landscaping companies. You must, like Jesus, were up. Walmart world.

Speaker 2: 51:45

What was the name of it? E&e Landscaping it's two brothers, eddons, and so I moved on from that.

Speaker 1: 51:53

But, uh, you're free, just everything, everything, just Everything just fell apart and I was back, you know, trying to. You know I still had all the fines and it was just. It was a hard, hard summer. And then, I guess, maybe just to like Top that all off, my mom was having health problems and she needed surgery. But she was in some kind of situation and so I told her if you just come up here, I'll take you to UAB and we'll figure it out. So her Husband slash boyfriend they'd been married at one point. He brought up there and dropped her off and then I took her to UAB and helped her get some surgery.

Speaker 1: 52:35

But it was hard, um, having her. I'm like I, mom, I never knew you talk so much like all the time. But then, um, I found a job in mountain brook at a place called the lemongrass bistro and it was in the mall. There in mountain brook was real fancy and the lady that ran it she was like Amazing. She had, like to this day, my mouth water thinking about the food that she made. But she was a mountain brook and she hired me to be a server. And if people that don't know mountain brooks like the, the richest part of alabama, maybe even the richest part of the southeast, but they don't, uh, they don't tip good Like you can, like you would think, if somebody had a trust fund and two bazillion dollars, they'd give you a good tip. If you wait, wait on them.

Speaker 2: 53:27

Yeah, mountain brook is known for um old money, I guess, and they say it's the something about the Fifth. It's definitely top 10 richest zip codes in the country. Oh yeah, it's, but it's old money, it's interesting. Yeah, beautiful real estate, old money I always wonder where does what does that even mean? Where does old money come from?

Speaker 1: 53:47

You know, like if you had a, your ancestors or your grandfather or somebody started like coca-cola or birmingham news. That's old money like you just have more than you need. But anyways, I worked for her for two or three weeks and she was always asking me to go run to sam's for um, you know, take the keys to my Mercedes, run to sam's and buy this, that and other, and. But she wasn't paying me. She was paying me too. You know, when your server you get paid two, fourteen an hour or you did then I'm sure is now.

Speaker 2: 54:18

But then oh yeah, cuz you get your money and tips.

Speaker 1: 54:20

Yeah, but then I wasn't making any money in tips. But then Her I think it came to an end for me. There was a hair salon upstairs and I waited on these girls it was like six of them that came there having like a little office party and we just had the funnest time and there was this, uh, this african-american girl. When I brought the bill because she charged a lot for her food she was like we're gonna pay this bill and we're gonna tip you. Good, because you did great and this is not your fault. But I want you to go back and tell your boss lady, if she want to know why this place is empty, look at what she charging, because you know, because she did, she overcharged. And then I was like, well, I can't work here. If I can't like pay my bill, there's no reason for me to get dressed and come here.

Speaker 2: 54:59

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 55:00

So I had moved on from that and I ended up um the day that mom had her surgery was while I was trying to find another job and I had taken her to uab and I was with her all day down there and I literally had three dollars in coins in my pocket. That was all I had like to my name and like I was trying to take care of myself. Now I had my mom trying to take care of her and like just that fear, like I was just scared, like what am I gonna do? But it's like I knew I just needed to keep stepping and I never missed anything and never missed a rent payment or A bill, or fine, I made it through, but it was so in that moment, you literally had three dollars to your name under three dollars under three dollars.

Speaker 1: 55:41

That was that. Yeah, I was trying to pray, like what do I do? I felt like I remember, like people said, if you feel depressed, go do something for somebody else. So I went and gave blood. I didn't know what to do.

Speaker 1: 55:50

I mean, I had to be there all day waiting on her surgery to be he's all good blood while I'm at it but then, um, that and you know Going I love Steve, he was my person, but like his church, like I felt like I was in the desert, like these were not. I didn't want to be a part of it. And then, um, shawna's wedding was coming up, so they were all celebrating that. But then I was in like a men's group with Steve where he told, where Shawna said, you know, I think I'm not supposed to marry him. And he told her, I asked the spirit of fear, let me pray for you.

Speaker 1: 56:24

And I remember just feeling like somebody kicked me in my stomach. I was like I don't know if it's that, what? If it's Jesus telling her don't marry him because she's supposed to marry me? I didn't say that, I was just, like you know, going through that. And then, um Didn't want to do go watch the wedding and all that stuff, because watch the way, well, no, I really felt like I was like struggling as a show.

Speaker 1: 56:47

I was struggling this thing, I thought that she was the one like I really believe that, but it just wasn't working out. It was just like the church didn't work out, the relationship with Tommy didn't work out, the job didn't work out. No, this was another thing. It just wasn't working out and it just got me, like to my lowest point. I was depressed. Um, honestly, every day I would say why am I here, like, why do I live in Birmingham, alabama, struggling by myself, when I could go home, like I could go home um Phoenix city, I could go to my. I go to Atlanta to my granny's, and steve was my anchor through all that, like every time He'd be like james. This is life. I know that. You think that. You know life is rainbows and butterflies. This is life. If you leave, if you quit, you're gonna quit again.

Speaker 2: 57:34

So you've got to push through and that is such sound advice and such wisdom because I because I do feel like I mean truly, who has not been in a place that they want to like.

Speaker 1: 57:48

Okay, I need to just quit this and well, I woke up every morning like that, like okay, today's the day, I'm just gonna leave, I'm just gonna pack up, I'm just gonna pack up and leave, I'm just gonna go. And then, you know, after my mom left, um, that was hard, because she was with me for two or three months, but then oh, she was with you two or three months.

Speaker 2: 58:08

Well, she had to heal up, okay and then they were having problems.

Speaker 1: 58:12

There was problems and things they earned Jeff, her, her significant other. They were having to move out of the house that she had lived in for 10 years and I was starting to feel like he was taking his responsibility to be her husband and passing on to me. So I called him and said you need to come pick her up. I'm not doing this, I'm just out of prison. It's time for her to come home.

Speaker 2: 58:35

They barely could take care of yourself. No I couldn't three dollars in your pocket, no well, no I.

Speaker 1: 58:40

the next day I got a job right now, I'm just saying Restaurant jobs are easy to find understand your sentiment, but I was working two jobs.

Speaker 1: 58:47

I found a job waiting tables at Tony Romans, the real place, and on Lake Shore. I did that at lunch. And then I found a job at a place South of Birmingham. It was a Greek restaurant called Justin's. But, um, I worked lunch at Tony Romans, I worked dinner at Justin's, the. It was like steak and seafood. But the guy that owned it he was like a hotheaded Greek and he had all these ideas and he wanted all women To work lunch and all men to work dinner. So it was like he wasn't giving me a lot of shifts and he was treating me like I wrote something down one time wrong on a ticket, the temperature down, and he like screamed at me and hollered at me and berated me and told me it was coming out of my tips the price of the steak and I don't think I only worked for him a couple months, but he was mean and, um, the rest of the staff like pulled their money and paid for it.

Speaker 1: 59:39

He was like, and that I didn't even know them. I didn't know him, but it was just. I was just in a like a lost kind of place where it was just um, just Gosh. I hate this like. I hate everything about this. I hate, you know, not having enough money. I hate trying to figure it out and it was so. One of the hardest things I ever had to do is ask my mom to leave because that hurt her feelings. And then, you know, but it was. You know, I had to do what I had to do and but again, every day I would wake up and be like this is not this, this is not life, that's not what I'm doing. I mean, I hate. I hated both the jobs I was working. I hated the church I was going to. I didn't hate it, I just felt like I wasn't getting anything out of it.

Speaker 2: 1:00:22

Right.

Speaker 1: 1:00:22

It was just not. It was like very conservative, very, you know, traditional.

Speaker 2: 1:00:27

Well, just it's. It's interesting, I mean, as you describe this, I feel like this. I've heard this so many times and, quite frankly, felt that so many times for myself. Everybody just being in a place of, just like I hate this.

Speaker 1: 1:00:43

And something's gotta give, so much right yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:00:46

So I mean, how do you push through what happened next?

Speaker 1: 1:00:49

You just don't quit. I've learned that when you're in a situation where it hurts and it's a dry season, you just don't quit, you just keep going. And so I just kept going. And then it's funny how suddenly, like that season ended, like In it, like it felt like it was five years, but really, like when I was doing the notes for this episode, it was only like Seven months of that hard, hard season. But I got a call from a lady named Doris. She had been a uh, a hostess when I worked at Rossi's and she was like one of those ladies like her husband had a good job, she didn't have to work, she just wanted to work. And, um, she heard my story, became a James K Jones fan, you know like so many of us do.

Speaker 1: 1:01:34

No, I mean she did, but she loved me, like you know, and she went to church with Sam absent and his wife, who was somebody I knew, and um, oh, did I mention Rossi's went out of business right after that.

Speaker 2: 1:01:46

No, you don't forget, and I the building's not even there now.

Speaker 1: 1:01:49

They didn't they came through knocked it down. So I was like, well, maybe I didn't make such a bad decision, um, but uh, she called me and she said I know how much you liked working in italian and you know you're doing so good and so great. I just I took a job at this little place on rocky ridge road. It's called leonardo's, it's owned by one of the brunos and mr Folletta, and you know the brunos were the people that had, like the brunos, uh, grocery store chain.

Speaker 2: 1:02:18

I don't know anything about the slope one.

Speaker 1: 1:02:20

but if you said bruno back in the mid days you knew you tell them out that was big money. Oh okay, like it was. Uh, they started and these were like back in the, you know, like the 30s and 40s. They started the brunos grocery store chain and then one of the sons who actually Co-owned leonardo's, he started big b drugs which got bought out by cvs. So I mean they were movers and shakers.

Speaker 1: 1:02:42

They were making things happen. But uh, she said uh, I think you would love it here, small, we have a great little lunch business, a little great little dinner business. The food is authentic, so you know everything. It just it just feels like something you would love and so I got in my car and I rode. It was only like 10 minutes from where I lived and I looked at it and it was a had been a taco bell that had been converted Into an Italian restaurant and I was like I don't know about that, but that was like, uh, november of 2000, and, um, I think we need to maybe pause on that and we'll pick up next, because that was where my season changed.

Speaker 2: 1:03:21

Well, okay, so that is interesting. Yes, let's pause and pick up next time. But you say now you can see that's where your season changed. But as you were Driving to that restaurant, you got the job there like immediately. You didn't know. No, I didn't how big of a change that was going to be no, it would be uh. I mean you said it suddenly changed. You know earlier that that season ended, but like in that moment you didn't know your season suddenly changing.

Speaker 1: 1:03:47

Well, no, I also didn't. In that moment I didn't even know if I wanted to work there right. Like I was, I guess, like scarred from what happened at Rossies, like I don't, I'm not going to be in that kind of environment Like the slimy. You know I'm not doing that Right, so I didn't know, but uh, so let me just say that this makes me very emotional.

Speaker 2: 1:04:08

I well, okay, so here's the deal. So this is going is about to shift your season entirely and get like a whole new kind of era for you, which we will unpack my next start. Be right.

Speaker 1: 1:04:19

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:04:19

But here's what I'm feeling like led to encourage myself, as well as other people that are listening, that you don't know, like, what you're embarking on, maybe what's happened even recently, that is a total shift in season for you, that is a total shift in the air that you don't know, that that's what that is. But just to know that there's a gift, maybe that you don't even realize you're walking out or walking in right now, that's about to change things for you.

Speaker 1: 1:04:49

That's true. This next season of my life was one of the best ones of my life, actually.

Speaker 2: 1:04:55

Why are we so emotional?

Speaker 1: 1:04:56

I don't know.

Speaker 2: 1:04:57

We're both starting to cry right now. What is your problem?

Speaker 1: 1:05:01

And we'll tell the story in the next one. This was a. This was a family owned restaurant and you know, mr Fuleta and his family became my family yeah, I mean not my family, but like family yeah Took me in, um, he had a background similar to mine not not quite, but he had been a big time attorney in Birmingham and there had been something happen with the judge where their feds were investigating some kind of fraud or something and the judge committed suicide because I think there's some shady stuff going on and somehow Mr Fuleta's name got caught up in all this and he ended up getting charged with something that he didn't do. And but because he was a lawyer, he knew if he made a deal that it would ruin his life. So he went to trial. But when he went to trial he lost and he had to go to federal prison for a couple of years and then, when he got out, that's when he started Leonardo's.

Speaker 2: 1:06:01

I actually did not even know that part of the story, really yeah.

Speaker 1: 1:06:04

That was our first thing that really like connected us was. I was straight out of prison, but so was he.

Speaker 2: 1:06:11

I did not know that, but we will talk about that more. I know we're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves, but yeah, so well, we'll just entitle the next episode Leonardo's that was.

Speaker 1: 1:06:20

that was a life changing season for me.

Speaker 2: 1:06:22

And just to know that, whatever season you're in, if it's a hard one, things can change suddenly.

Speaker 1: 1:06:28

In an instant. Yeah, All right guys. Well, thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next week and anything else.

Speaker 2: 1:06:34

Thanks guys, that's, it Bye.

Speaker 1: 1:06:38

Hey guys, thanks so much for tuning in to the Straight Out of Prison podcast. For more exclusive content, head over to our website, teamjonesco.

Speaker 2: 1:06:47

Yes, you can subscribe by clicking on the become a patron button and that's going to get you access to our for real. Real, which is very different than the highlight real some very juicy content there.

Speaker 1: 1:07:00

Good stuff, or you can look us up on Facebook and Instagram. Straight Out of Prison podcast.

Speaker 2: 1:07:05

Yes, that takes the story to a whole new level where you can see some of the people that James talks about in his story and see some of the places that he's been. I've been loving it in your two.

Speaker 1: 1:07:15

Prison recipes. Yeah, but thanks, Good stuff. We'll see you soon guys.

Speaker 2: 1:07:20

Thanks, bye, bye.