Letter to the Editor

'Hard' is no excuse

I have the privilege of going in to the Cape County jail once a week to help guys see a different option in life. Our group being there encourages them; but there is little evidence of lasting change.

I have never been one to stay with something that does not work. So lately, I have been asking myself, and them, "why so little evidence?" It has led to some good discussions.

One answer was, "Ya'll are here two hours a week, but it's all the other time with all the other guys that makes it hard." Some want to change and some do not. I can appreciate the fact that it adds difficulty; but "hard" is not a legitimate excuse.

For most of them though, evidently, they have allowed it to be legitimate; so much so that half a cell of encouraged men give way to the other half...because it is hard. Being in jail is not hard; what their wives and kids are going through...that is hard. Choosing, every working day, to get up and go to work...that is hard.

Asking the question, "Why?' has been a good thing. It has helped me to see where the breakdown is and what to focus on. All the good news in the world will not carry us if we let "hard" knock us off our course -- no matter who we are.

MIKE JONES, Cape Girardeau