The Door to Freedom
All he had to do was walk through one more door, and he’d be free.
It was February. A guard had summoned Damian to help him carry a Concept2 rowing machine being delivered that day to Limon Correctional Facility.
The two men walked out of the building that housed the recreation area, down the long outdoor walkway that dissected the courtyard and into the guard house where visitors check in. The last time Damian traversed that walkway, he was a free man. It was more than 14 years ago. He was visiting his uncle who was serving time at Limon.
This time, the experience was surreal.
“I seen the parking lot. Like, through the door. I remember looking through the door,” he said. “That was an experience — seeing the parking lot. I thought about it all night.”
He continued: “It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Escape did not cross Damian’s mind that day.
“I can legitimately say (that) I did not think that,” he said.
For years, he’s been reading mountains of books to help him get his mind right: “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius, “The Obstacle is the Way” by Ryan Holiday, “The Master Key System” by Charles F. Haanel and “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne, to name but a fraction. He teaches Bible study, he’s a peer assistant to fellow prisoners struggling psychologically, and he’s a Level 2 CrossFit Trainer who helps administration-approved inmates with their health and fitness.
He knows it’s not much when compared with the gravity of his crimes. But it’s something. So, he’s hopeful.
If he sticks to the right path, he believes he has a shot at one day being paroled — being freed from his life sentence.
And that’s why there was no sense in escaping through that door back in February.
“I know that door will be open legally, if I just keep doing what I’m doing,” Damian explained. “I don’t need to kick that door down. It will open for me.”
About the Author
Andréa Maria Cecil is a career editor and writer whose experience includes six years as Assistant Managing Editor and Head Writer at CrossFit Inc. headquarters. She spent the first 12 years of her professional life as a journalist — starting with The Associated Press in Detroit and Baltimore — before transitioning to content marketing with an emphasis on authentic storytelling. She is the editor of “Speal: A David and Goliath Story” by Chris Spealler that sold 10,000 copies worldwide.
