I am all primed to make the trip to Salem. It should take about 3 1/2 hours and I need to be there by 1:10. I hope all goes well and Mike is surprised and happy. It should be good. It looks like a good day and the trip should be okay.

I left at 8:08 and  and everything went fine and I made Portland around ten thirty. The traffic was much thicker than I remember through Lake Oswego. There is always a lot of road work and this was no different. I had to stop and get some gas this side of Salem and it was almost $3.00 a gallon. I was looking for a restroom all morning and afternoon. I drank less than two cups of coffee so I must have had a lot of water retained.

I parked in a parking lot until twelve forty five and then drove to the prison and stopped at the guard tower and they gave me directions to the IMU unit which was on the east side, or backside of the prison. I drove by the visiting entrance and had to turn around and find a parking place.

A guard unlocked the door as I headed toward a small entrance building. She checked me out and I waited about five or six minutes and finally she decided she would take me in. First I went through metal detector and then into a small glass room. Then outside across a narrow corridor with barbed and razor wire. There was a courtyard on the left and an open area on the right. When she came to an heavy metal door she had to yell for someone to unlock the door. Finally it clicked and she opened the door. She said enjoy your visit as I entered a dimly lit room with several booths with glass partitions.

I glanced around and saw Michael standing behind one of the panes of glasses. He had a surprised look on his face and then started smiling. I was mighty glad to see him. He looked okay but slightly haggard and maybe needing some sleep. We grabbed the phones and started talking. I reminded him he needed to believe in the Secret. He agreed. We talked about many things after I wished him Happy Birthday.

We spent quite a bit of time talking about Joel. He said that he had heard that Joel's mother wanted him paroled out to her. I did a double take and said what? and he repeated that it would never happen. He said that his mom had said that his son had called and wanted to live with him when he gets out. His son's mom and her boy friend have broken up. Mike said he was thinking about subscribing to National Geographic Junior for his son. I told him I thought it would be a great idea. I volunteered to pay for it and he said he could take it out of his account which was even better.

He said his life was pretty miserable with this one guy singing and raising hell all the time. He sings periodically and interrupts sleep and all chances of concentration. He put wet toilet paper in his ears and now his left ear is really sore and he has some cotton and plastic that helps some. He thinks he will be on that level for two more weeks and then he will going up stairs. I just hope he does not blow up before that happens. I think there is just so much a person can stand and he might be near the breaking point.

It was all over much too soon and the lady must have noticed the look on my face because she said I'm sorry. I really hated to leave him. He was still in that stall watching me walk out the doort. Dang!

The drive home was okay and fairly fast. There were some congested spots and then the rain came about the time I got to the outskirts of Portland. I was going to stop in Troutdale but missed the restroom so went on to The Dalles and ate at Cousins. I got home about 11 hours after I left.

Memorable Positive Moment was seeing Michael's face when he saw me walking toward him.