PATRICK

prized possession : relationship with jesus christ

 

On the eve of his forty-seventh birthday, Patrick is beginning again. Recently released from jail after six years, he inhales deeply and says, “I feel like I’ve got a pair of wings… “I have a bike and sixty pounds of gear and I’ve just been riding up and down the eastern Rocky Mountains. I don’t know if I’ll ever settle down. It’ll be awhile.” Originally from rural Green River, Wyoming, his family began migrating to Colorado in the mid-1980’s. He recalls having a “sort of a normal life going,” until he got an arrest for a DUI. Without a car, he lost his job, and was soon hustling drugs on the streets. He was caught, and spent time behind bars on and off for fourteen years. “Prison got that shit out of my life,” he declares. Patrick now optimistically savors life’s simplicities. “People take the trees and birds for granted. Appreciate the very simple things,” he tells. “Leaves blowing in the wind. Just relax.” 

 

Prized Possession: “I can only give thanks to Jesus Christ. I’m out,” Patrick shares in a near-whisper. “He gives me the strength and knowledge and puts people like you on my path when I travel. Genuinely good folks to talk to. The better you put off, the better it comes back around.”