FORGIVENESS...

Hey y'all,

There are two stories in the news today that really have set my "thinker" on HIGH.

1) Billy Cannon was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame...Again!

B) Differing tales emerge about Susan LeFevre, 32-year prison escapee and suburban California mother

In these stories I see foolishness, tragedy, struggle, fear, fall from heights, hope for forgiveness, and just outright ignorance.

Y'all have probably already heard about the story of Susan LeFevre being arrested out there in San Diego, CA. 32 years ago she escaped from jail in Michigan while serving time for selling heroin. Then she went on out there to California and married a nice fellow, raised a nice family, and was always looking over her shoulder to be "found out." She was! And it looks like she's going back to Michigan to finish out her sentence.

What is odd to me about this whole deal is that "an anonymous tip" came to the California law enforcement authorities from Michigan. That's just weird. If somebody can keep their mouth shut for 32 years...why would they open it up now? If there was somebody in Michigan that knew where this LeFevre chick was all this time...why now?

Like I said, my "thinker" is running on high. Was it a relative with a grudge? Was it a trusted friend that tried to extort money without success from Susan? Was it a dying fellow drug dealer that knew where she took off to 32 years ago? Was it Susan herself...trying to clear her conscience...thinking that if she put her best face forward she could get pardoned and go on with the life that she evidently has worked hard to build and not have to look over her shoulder (or sleep with one eye open) anymore?

Here is a video from CNN with this LeFevre chick talking about her plight.



Then, you've got Billy Cannon being elected to the College Football Hall of Fame for the second time. Heck, Billy just set a record!

My beloved Father, and my beloved Granddaddy were at Tiger Stadium on Halloween Night, 1959 when Billy Cannon enshrined himself forever in the annals of College Football history. I was not quite two months old, so they didn't take me down to Baton Rouge with them (dangit).

Billy returned a punt about 90 yards against Ole' Miss, and put The Tigers up 7-3. If you've never seen the film of it you ought to look it up. Almost nobody remembers that there was still 10 minutes left in the ball game, and Ole' Miss drove the ball all the way down to LSUs' goal-line. Then on 4th & almost nothing Billy Cannon (playing defense) made a saving tackle at the goal line. He was a tough dude that played "both ways." He was a "national class" sprinter, but was as big as the defensive linemen....tough dude!

Billy deserved the Heisman Trophy he got. And he also deserved to be in the College Football Hall of Fame. He had a pro career in the AFL, but it didn't last all that long, and he went on into Dentistry. That was back when you could play pro football for a few years and come out "broke." They didn't make a gozillion dollars a year like they do now...those fellows actually had to make a real living after they finished playing around like little boys.

It was a real sad story about what happened with Billy. I guess he must have always wanted "fortune" to go along with his "fame." So he got involved with counterfeiting US currency (like the government-issued Federal Reserve Notes are any different than the "funny money" that he printed up). But it's against the law to make up your own funny money...so he got convicted and went to jail at Angola.

I have watched over the last few years Billy doing his best to rebuild his "fame," if not his "fortune." It's real sad in a way, but heartening in other ways. Billy makes personal appearances around Louisiana (for a fee), but I have also seen him in news reports giving "pep talks" to high school football teams before big games. I've seen him talk about his mistakes, and try to urge young people along the right path. I give him kudos for that.

Cannon is a complex guy...hard to figure out. He did his time at Angola for his crime. He now does work as a Dentist at Angola for the prisoners there...a complicated life story for sure.

Here is a piece of the article about Billy being reelected to the Hall of Fame.

"NEW YORK: Billy Cannon was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame — "Again," LSU's 1959 Heisman Trophy winner said with a laugh.

Cannon was among 15 newly elected Hall of Famers announced Thursday by the National Football Foundation, along with Lou Holtz, Troy Aikman, Pat Fitzgerald and Don McPherson.

In the early 1980s, Cannon was voted into the Hall of Fame, but the honor was rescinded after he was arrested on federal counterfeiting charges. Cannon pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison in 1983. He served 2 1/2 years.

Cannon said he was mostly happy to represent a great team that won a national title in 1958 under coach Paul Dietzel, but had yet to have a player inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"I have always felt that because of the team we had in that era, one of us should have been in the Hall of Fame," he said.

Cannon said former teammates linebacker Max Fugler, safety Johnny Robinson and punter-placekicker Tommy Davis would all be worthy Hall of Famers.

"We had an excellent football team, a great group," Cannon said. "I've gotten a lot of accolades that should have gone to that team.

"The great thing is, when this old bunch gets together, they don't hold that against me."

I am glad for Billy that he is going into the Hall of Fame. He deserves it. However his odd life has unfolded (and it is about as odd as it gets), he was one of the greatest College Football players ever. The College Football Hall of Fame would not be complete without Billy (and his story). My "thinker" tells me that Billy did his crime, and did his time...and the HOF did the right thing.

So, back to Susan LeFevre... I really don't know what to think about this gal. She claims that she was a minor drug dealer on the streets (maybe even just "with somebody that was selling drugs" at the time). But the police reports from her arrest list her as a major dealer of heroin.

She says that she threw her coat over a barbed-wire fence and climbed over it while escaping from jail. But Michigan officials say that she was a "work-release" inmate at a jail with no fence.

One thing I can believe her about...she's kept her nose clean for 32 years. Well at least I think so...you never know for sure. I see this nice-looking lady with a nice family, living in a ritzy neighborhood near San Diego, CA, and my first thought is "Let it go!" "Come on! What good is going to be done by slamming this gal up?" "She's old now. She's no threat to anyone. She has lived with all of this eating her up inside all these years."

But then my "thinker" kicks in and I realize that we Americans expect our judicial system to enforce the laws that our legislators pass. We expect criminals to be prosecuted, and penalized for violating what our community deems not appropriate. This chick was a part of a violent culture that was making her community unsafe to live in. She was sentenced to serve time in jail for her crimes.

The fact that she either made "The Great Escape," or just walked out of the place doesn't matter. She owes the people of Michigan some more time. It is pretty stupid to spend thousands of dollars keeping the gal locked up. She seems to be pretty good with words. Maybe a judge can sentence her to a couple of years of going around to schools in the inner-cities, small towns, and on Michigan public service ads to try to teach kids that there is a "better way" to live your life (at her own expense).

That might be a good way for this gal to help. She can explain (like Billy Cannon does) how hard it can be on a person when they "let down" everybody that loves and cares about them...the guilt they feel...the hurt their loved ones go through...and on and on.

Just a rambling thought...