I was released on 17 Dec 2014. I was sentenced to serve one year, and not be released until 20 Apr 2015. I petitioned the judge to release me early so that I may check myself into a Veteran Affairs treatment center for PTSD.
So, at 9pm, I was released. All I had were the clothes on my back, which was a pair of shorts and a long john shirt, and it was 45 degrees outside in Virginia. I had no idea what I was going to do.
I proceeded to walk to Wal-Mart, approximately 6-7 miles away. Now I had been incarcerated for 26 months at this time, and had not moved around that much. Once I got to Wal-Mart, I must have walked around at least 20 times, just enjoying being free, seeing real people, and generally just baffled on what to do next. I knew I could not spend from 11 pm until 7 am in Wal-Mart without arousing several suspicions. I happened upon the night manager and he was doing his rounds. I began to tell my story and explain the night was cold, I was on the streets and all I had were this pair of shorts to wear. Through talking with him, he went to the customer service counter and began looking through the returned merchandise of the day. He found me a pair of sweatpants, a zip up hoodie, and a pair of gloves. I thanked him profusely and decided it was time to move on.
Not know where else to go at such a late hour, I decided to begin wandering around the streets of Virginia Beach. I walked endlessly until around 1am. At this point I am getting extremely cold. I entered a gas station and asked if they could spare a cup of coffee. Score!
At this point, the gas station's LED sign was showing a temperature of 37. I knew at some point I was going to have to get out of the cold. I also had not eaten since 330 am the following day, because I gave my food away (as tradition states) when I learned I was getting released. I stopped at a McDonalds, and asked if they had any food to spare. I was given a 4 piece nugget and small fry. Perfect enough!
From there I decided to seek shelter from the cold. I remembered in my wanderings a group of extremely old, abandoned houses. I figured the wind was blowing from north to south, so I would hole up on the south end of one of the house just to get out of the wind. Once I arrived at one of the house, I noticed they were all boarded up; however, one had a door that looked like it led to a storage area. So, I open the door and discover it leads to a cellar of some sort. Not wanting to go deep into the dark, I sat on the second step and kept the door cracked to watch the sky. At this point, I know I was about a two hour walk from the probation office.
I waited for the sun to start rising before I started my walk to the probation office. On my walk, I once again stopped at a gas station and begged for a cup of coffee. I arrived at the probation office safe, sound and unharmed.
What did I get out of this experience? A LOT! I relied on years of training to be self sufficient and survive in a somewhat hostile experience. I also learned humility while begging for clothes, food, and a warm cup of coffee. It was an amazing experience which I was blessed with.
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