Starting from Stratch.

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Today, I am taking you to Huntsville, Texas.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is the first employer of the town. In Huntsville, 6700 persons are working for this local industry.
Right outside the Greyhound Station,  is the first place you are dropped  when you get out of prison.
A dozen of buses are leaving  everyday with inmates right  out of jail. With a 50$ check in their pocket, a few personal belongings in  an orange net,  this  is the first place where  they reconnect with freedom, and the outside world.   After a long line, they can exchange their first check for cash in the station.
I met Edwin,  sitting on a metal bench,  waiting for his bus to Dallas.  Seven years in prison, several  books in his bag, he was about to meet his mother. He was born  and raised  45 years ago  in Paris-Texas.  Ed is  very calm,  and soft spoken. With all the other men around he feels a certain sens of community. Yet, they  are all standing alone in silence. There is a certain mood of shyness , and stillness around the Greyhound station. Motions are slow.
Ed wants to learn to speak French. While in jail he took some business classes to be a Private Investor. We both smile at the irony of his dream . Do you believe someone will give you his money ,   right out of prison?  Well, I will start by investing my own money. I have my books here , in my bag. I will keep learning, and practicing.  The past is the past. We are in the land of opportunity. Now I am starting from scratch. I feel new.  That’s what  American Dream is all about . The ability to rise from ashes. Everything is possible if you want it, and if you work  hard at it. The opportunity is what you create. That’s also the idea of freedom.I am a free man now.

Would Edwin been born in Paris-France, rather than Paris-Texas, keep the same hope in the future?  I doubt it.

Across the country, seeing more and more abandoned buildings, empty stores, ghost  factories,  one can wonder  if  the American Dream lies just in this incredible  faith, regardless of  all circonstances of life.  The trust in one’s ability to reach his full potential. Always.

Have a good one!