1 – How to Find a True Friend
How to Find a True Friend
1
An unusual friend in an unusual place In 1921, one of the world’s worst prisons was called Sing Sing. Even murderers and robbers dreaded to enter that crowded, dark place with its thick walls and high barbed-wire fences. Fights and riots were common. Deaths were frequent. 2
Twenty years later the prison was a safe place with some of the prisoners reforming and returning to society. Many gave the credit to the prison warden for his wise reforms. He always disagreed. “All the changes came because of my wife. She is buried just beyond the prison walls.” 3
She was the mother of three children. Everyone warned her to never go into the prison. It was too dangerous. She ignored the advice, walking with her children among the prisoners. Together they showed kindness. They would give a piece of fruit to one man, a bar of soap, or a pretty picture to another. 4
She asked her husband about the men’s criminal records. Finding out that one murderer was blind, she asked him “Can you read Braille?” He didn’t know what it was, so she taught him how to use his fingers to read the letters made with little bumps. 5
Later, she met a deaf prisoner. She learned sign language and was able to communicate with him and encourage him. The
6
1