While visiting my son at prison, I met three adorable kids in the sally port. My guess is that they were 14, 10 and 6 years of age. I learned later that they were visiting their father and were
accompanied by their aunt.

What called my attention to them was how protective the elder brother was of his siblings. I complimented him for that and asked if I could hug him. He opened his arms and began to cry; his youngest sibling demanded a hug, too.

It was a warm, tender moment I will never forget. As a mere stranger on the sally port, I was grateful the aunt didn’t protest.

During a subsequent visit as I sat with my son, my new “friends” enthusiastically greeted me as their father darted a scowl at me. The father’s attitude revealed why those children were so starved for love.

I have been a social justice advocate for many years and I have seen the maturation and transformation process take hold in the lives of incarcerated people, but what I rarely see is such
enormous love and acceptance from perfect strangers.