Footprints in the Sand

*As with most of his posts, this is a week behind, Brandon wrote this last Saturday right before he left on a fire Sunday morning.*

On September 1, I am hitting a major milestone-I will be eligible to submit paperwork to be moved to a halfway house. There are 25 or 30 halfway houses in Colorado and the one that I am applying for is located about 10 miles from our home and only about three miles from my office. 

Halfway houses are still ran by the Department of Corrections but they are meant to help prisoners "reintegrate" back into their respective communities. For me, the halfway houses offers some huge advantages-

1-I will be closer to my wife and kids and I'll get to spend significantly more time them.

2-I will be able to return to work at Spartan.

3-I'll have other privileges like attending my Church, the gym, and my kids' sporting and other events.

4-I'll no longer be in "prison" as we know it.

From a psychological standpoint, I'm trying to remain focused and not get "trunky". There is no mandate or guarantee that I will be moved. If I get denied, I won't be able to reapply for six months so Sallie and I are tempering our excitement. There are a lot of factors that go into being accepted and I tick the box for the major ones.
No prior history, good ties to the community, family support etc...but as I eluded to in previous posts, from the beginning my case has never been typical. Needless to say, that first week in September is a ray of hope for me and my family-we would appreciate any extra prayers you all could muster on our behalf.

For some reason these past few days I've been thinking a lot about my first couple of weeks in the prison system. Those were the darkest, scariest and most challenging days of my life. Being locked in a 8'x10' cell 24 hours a day with little to no human interaction was nearly unbearable-there were definitely times when I didn't think I could survive. 

As humans, we tend to block out so many things when we go through a traumatic experience. I know I had to block out so much of the environment-I had to go on autopilot, survival mode, if you will. But the further removed I've gotten from those hellish weeks, bits and pieces of memories have come flooding back to me-and some of them are really good.

I remembered that just a few hours after I was sentenced, I was being held at the Weld County Jail in a holding cell with 10 other people. I was kept in that cell for about seven hours. While I was in there, I met a kid named Joseph who was on his way back to prison for the 4th time. At the time, I was so scared of so many things-everything that I knew about prison was what I had seen on TV-and it was terrifying. I had forgotten that Joseph and I spent most of that first day talking about what I could expect. He answered so many questions that I had and really helped me understand what I was getting into. I had completely forgotten about Joseph until this week-he was a Godsend.

When I first arrived at the prison processing facility, it was terrifying. When I arrived, I had nothing, not even a toothbrush. I was classified as "indigent". Now, I found myself in the situation not because I didn't have any money-I just couldn't have access to it for 10 days. All I was issued by the state was a bedroll and toilet paper. I was locked up in Pod3-the maximum security are because of a flu lock down. Every single inmate in my area was a gang member, most with tattooed faces. I knew I needed at least a toothbrush and deodorant-but also knew I shouldn't expect any help from any of those guys. How wrong I was.

One kid-maybe 22 years old named Garry-a black kid who had spent most of his life on the streets saw that I had nothing-offered me a new stick of deodorant. I can remember thinking there was a catch-there was not. I didn't have to join his gang or owe him in return-it was just pure graciousness. After 5 or 6 days, I had everything I needed-all from complete strangers that I didn't even know a few days earlier. I wish I could remember the names of all of those hardened criminals who helped me out when I needed it most-I'd love to repay them or at least thank them again knowing how long I assume, it took them to save up and buy for themselves.

Sometimes I think that during our hardest, knee buckling trials God is pouring out blessings on us; but we are so immersed in the trial itself that it is hard to see it. I am so thankful that I remembered this week what God did for me back in those dark days-it completely reminded me of the poem Footprints in the Sand -

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."

Photo courtesy of Rio Blanco County Sheriff's Office


Brandon Stephens, Weld County Jail, Wood Group, Sentenced, 5 Years, Prison, NFL, DRDC, Rifle Correctional Center, Colorado Department of Corrections, Jail, Judge Quammen, Steve Wrenn, Weld County, Executive, Oil, Gas, White Collar, Wood, BYU, Masters Degree, Colorado State University, SWIFT, Firefighter, Wildland, Sawyer, Fire, Inmate, Brandon Stokey, Miracles, Centennial Community Correctional Center, Delta Correctional Center, DRDC, Denver Diagnostic and Reception Center, Felony, Sallie Stephens, Greeley Tribune, Judge Thomas Quammen, DA Steve Wrenn, Weld County Court, Oil & Gas,. Halfway House, Centennial Community Correction Center, CCTC, Felon, 416 Fire, Silver Creek Fire, Spring Fire, Cabin Lake Fire

Inmate Band Of Brothers

This past week we ended a 14 day stretch on two fires that were located within two hours of the prison facility. The Stewart Gulch Fire was near Meeker, CO and the Red Canyon Fire was close to Rangely, CO.

The Stewart Gulch Fire was a Type 3 fire (type I being the most severe). It was only 63 acres but had a lot of extremely steep terrain on it, so technically it was a pretty tough fire for us. There is a huge shortage of fire-fighting resources throughout the West right now so we were the only crew on the fire (we were supported by 2 engine crews). It was a huge challenge for us to handle the fire without additional support but it provided us opportunity to showcase our capabilities. We ended up spending five days on the fire before we had it fully contained. This fire produced a lot of "hazard trees" as they are known to firefighters. Hazard Trees are trees that have been burned but haven't fallen or snagged on other trees or trees that are still on fire. The other sawyers and I spent a lot time seeking these trees out and cutting them down. There was a huge canyon with enormous trees that had hundreds of hazard trees in it. It was so bad that every few minutes, huge trees were falling over just feet from where we were working with our saws. I've now decided that the only sound that scares me more than a prison cell door slamming shut, is the sound of a 600 foot tree falling down, unexpectedly, just feet from you. 

This fire was so hot that the entire root systems of trees were on fire underground. So even though we could see no visible signs of fire above ground-the fire was destroying root systems and falling trees all over this canyon. We were very successful in cutting down a lot of the trees but it was an eye-opener to work in the environment.

As part of our best practises, there are a couple of us who are trained to be a lookout and weather watch. A lookout's job is to be located somewhere on the mountain where they have eyes on all members of the crew, the fire and the weather. Fires often create their own micro-weather patterns so the overall weather forecast is often not adequate for predicting fire behavior. We use instruments that you spin like a side lasso that determine temperature and relative humidity-two of the most important factors in fire danger. Incoming weather fronts can have associated winds that can severely affect the fire as well. We utilize these lookouts on all fires but because we were the only crew on this fire, it was extremely important that our lookouts handled their jobs seriously. Fortunately, they did and we functioned as a well oiled machine. 

We were able to "spike camp" which means we camped right near the fire-we created our own base camp. We slept on top of the highest mountain and were blessed with a "super moon" and an awesome view of Mars every night. I love sleeping out under the stars.

After finishing up the Stewart Gulch Fire, we were reassigned to the Red Canyon Fire which was a brand new fire near Rangely, CO. It was being moved from a Type 3 fire to a Type 2 fire due to the size and because structures were being threatened. As firefighters we love to hear that a fire is a Type 1 or 2 because it means that a full-scale base camp will be set up that includes catering-awesome catering, this fire was about 5,000 acres. The base camp was setup at the Rangely Community College. It's a beautiful little campus and I loved sleeping on the grass versus the sagebrush. We were told as we arrived on site that there were not a lot of crews available so we would be getting some hefty work assignments. There were absolutely no Hot Shot Crews available so a lot of their normal duties fell on us. From a physical standpoint, this fire was one of the hardest things I've ever done. The terrain was so steep-60-70 degrees in most of the areas we worked. And we typically hike 3-5 miles each morning just to get to the fire. The elevation gain for our daily hike was anywhere from 400-800 feet. Carrying all of our gear, including the chainsaws, wasn't so bad but working on those slopes all day cutting down and dragging trees was extremely demanding-15 hours a day! I would typically sweat all the way through my chainsaw chaps each day-usually before noon. I drank 7-8 70 oz. Camel Back bladders of water each day-and I still felt dehydrated. I was eating about 5,000 calories a day-and still losing weight.

We spent 9 days fighting the Red Canyon Fire. Or the 2nd to last day we got caught in a huge hail storm while we were on the mountain. Most of the vegetation from the mountain slopes had been burned so there was nothing to hold the water and mud on the mountain. As we were about halfway down the mountain, all of the sudden we heard what sounded like a raging river. We looked down into the canyons below and could see a wall of water, mud and debris destroying everything in it's path. A flash flood. Fortunately, we were working our way down the ridge and were hundreds of feet away from the danger. But it was amazing and terrifying to see the power of mother nature completely surrounding us-one hundred foot flames above us and raging mudslides below us-all happening at the same time.

My short time as a Wild land Firefighter has given me some perspective on why there is such a brotherhood amongst the fire community. Our crew has spent every waking moment with each other for the past couple of weeks. We've all worked so hard alongside each other, we've sweat, bled, laughed and nearly cried-every day. 

We have all worked so hard to make the team and there is such an amazing bond that is built when a group of humans join forces to battle a common enemy. For our inmate Band of Brothers, it's the ultimate irony; we are risking our lives to get our lives back.

We all come from very different backgrounds and up until this summer, the only thing we had in common was the fact that we were all felons-but now I am proud to say that we all also share another title---Firefighters---and I could not be prouder. 

Brandon Stephens, Weld County Jail, Wood Group, Sentenced, 5 Years, Prison, NFL, DRDC, Rifle Correctional Center, Colorado Department of Corrections, Jail, Judge Quammen, Steve Wrenn, Weld County, Executive, Oil, Gas, White Collar, Wood, BYU, Masters Degree, Colorado State University, SWIFT, Firefighter, Wildland, Sawyer, Fire, Inmate, Brandon Stokey, Miracles, Centennial Community Correctional Center, Delta Correctional Center, DRDC, Denver Diagnostic and Reception Center, Felony, Sallie Stephens, Greeley Tribune, Judge Thomas Quammen, DA Steve Wrenn, Weld County Court, Oil & Gas,. Halfway House, Centennial Community Correction Center, CCTC, Felon, 416 Fire, Silver Creek Fire, Spring Fire, Cabin Lake Fire

When Everything Goes Wrong

I love everything about American History-especially World War II. I just finished a book that had a story that I really wanted to write about.

On June 6, 1944 the Allied Forces launched their attack on the Germans in Normandy, France. We have come to know this infamous event as "D-Day". So many of our "boys" sacrificed their lives that day storming those cold beaches. There are countless stories of heroism but one of my favorites is that of the 101st Airborne-particularly the paratroopers.

The 101st's mission was to fly over 20,000 British and American paratroopers behind the "atlantic wall" as the German stronghold had been titled, and parachute in behind enemy lines. We used
 C-47 airplanes to fly the soldiers in; it took 432 planes stretched over 300 miles of airspace to bring the paratroopers in. The C-47's were 100 feet wide from wingtip and were not equipped with guns nor armour; they were flying greyhound buses bringing our soldiers to war. They flew in a V formation composed of 9 planes. Both the pilots and the paratroopers they were carrying were really just kids. Most of them in their early 20's or younger.

None of them had ever fought in any real battle; just simulations in training. The pilots had not been trained to fly during the nighttime or in bad weather; they were now executing their mission under both conditions. I'm sure that everyone was terrified, I would have been.

As the planes approached the coastline of France, they encountered significant clouds. Because they were flying at night, the pilots worried about colliding so they broke formation. By the time they were out of the clouds, they were too far separated to try and regroup. Almost immediately, the pilots starting encountering gun fire from German artillery.

The pilots had been trained to slow their planes down so that the paratroopers could jump but once they were under fire, many of the pilots sped their planes up to avoid being hit. They had also been instructed to fly below 500 feet in altitude to avoid the radar detection; the clouds and gunfire had caused many of the pilots to change altitudes as well. In short, the allied invasion by air was turning into a chaotic disaster. The planes were flying too fast and at the wrong altitude to properly execute the mission. The paratroopers jumped anyway.

Many of them hit the ground within seconds of their chutes opening. Because of the speed of the airplanes, the paratroopers were spread over a huge amount of distance; in some cases miles away from their assigned groups. By all calculations, almost nothing had gone as planned; it was a near disaster.

However, the one thing that our soldiers had been trained to do was fight. And so as they landed, whether they were in the right place with the right people or not, they started fighting the Germans. As it turned out, because paratroopers had been dropped all over the city, and were now engaged in battle, the Germans assumed the number of allied forces to be many times larger than what it actually was. This assumption caused hesitation and confusion in their leadership and was a huge contributing factor to the Germans losing their strongholds in Normandy.

What struck me when I read this story was how a completely disastrous situation had turned out to be a huge positive.

Three months after starting Spartan Companies, my former employer filed a civil lawsuit against me. Having never been involved in anything close to a lawsuit, this was a terrifying. I can remember asking my civil attorney if there was any chance this would turn criminal. He assured us that less than 1% of civil cases go criminal; particularly if they are settled. Shortly after I settled with them for not only for an amount that made them whole, but covered damages and fees; they filed criminal charges.

As we consulted with our attorneys, they felt that because we had settled it civilly and they were owed nothing more, my history, etc., the chances of any time served were very, very small. In fact, my legal team could not find a single case where full restitution had been paid and the defendant was given a prison sentence. A few months later, I was sentenced to five years in prison.

Sallie and I have talked about this time of our lives often and agree that anything and everything that could go wrong, did. There was not one small thing that went our way during any of the legal proceedings; not one. No matter how much we prayed and fasted, we could not catch a break.

I suspect that anyone reading this has been in situations where everything goes wrong. It's terrible to go through and a lot of times it just doesn't make sense. One thing that helps me is the hope that many years from now, I will be able to look back and say that out of something so devastating and so bad; came something good. A flower can grow through cracks in cement, certainly we can as well. I don't know what that flower will look like or when it will grow, but deep down, I truly feel something good will come out of this entire situation.

       *Our first family photo from the Colorado Department of Corrections.*

Brandon Stephens, Weld County Jail, Wood Group, Sentenced, 5 Years, Prison, NFL, DRDC, Rifle Correctional Center, Colorado Department of Corrections, Jail, Judge Quammen, Steve Wrenn, Weld County, Executive, Oil, Gas, White Collar, Wood, BYU, Masters Degree, Colorado State University, SWIFT, Firefighter, Wildland, Sawyer, Fire, Inmate, Brandon Stokey, Miracles, Centennial Community Correctional Center, Delta Correctional Center, DRDC, Denver Diagnostic and Reception Center, Felony, Sallie Stephens, Greeley Tribune, Judge Thomas Quammen, DA Steve Wrenn, Weld County Court, Oil & Gas,. Halfway House, Centennial Community Correction Center, CCTC, Felon, 416 Fire, Silver Creek Fire, Spring Fire, Cabin Lake Fire

Prison Economics 101

***Brandon and his SWIFT team were called out last Tuesday, July 23rd to a fire called Stewart Gulch near Rifle. They were there about 5 days and then reassigned to the Red Canyon Fire. It's about 30 miles south of Rangely, Colorado. Last we heard it's just about 6,000 acres. He is scheduled to come off August 7th. He was so excited to be heading out again, 14 days is a long time to go without hearing from him. The good news is knowing those days are days earned makes it worth it!***

While I would consider most things about prison to be understimulating, (at best) one thing that I have found absolutely fascinating is the economic system that exists behind these walls.

Every prisoner in the Colorado Department of Corrections has the option to have a job while they are incarcerated. Each facility has it's own job listings with some of those being common jobs like working in the kitchen, maintenance, library, janitorial etc. Other jobs are only offered at specific facilities like milking cows, woodworking, firefighting (SWIFT), highway cleanup, etc.

If you choose not to have gainful employment while incarcerated you receive $.24/day. Most of the common facility jobs pay $.84/day. As firefighters, we get paid $1.84/day and up to $20/day when we are on fires. So, on average, the typical inmate is grossing about $25/month. But, most inmates owe restitution in some form and so 20% of your monthly paycheck is applied towards restitution. So that leaves the average inmate about $20 of net monies each month. The only other "legitimate" source of money is to have people from the outside add money to your account. The sad truth is that a great majority of prisoners have either burned all bridges that would possibly provide additional monies in here or their circumstances never allowed for them in the first place. 

The obvious question is, what do prisoners spend their money on? (keep in mind that at no point are we actually given cash-all transactions are handled via account). When prisoners are first brought into the COD they are issued the following items-

(1) Duffle Bag
(1) Jacket
(3) Pants
(3) Shirts
(1) Knit Cap
(1) Boots
(5) T Shirts
(5) Underwear
(5) Socks

Once a month, we are given the opportunity to buy more items from a Prison Catalog. The catalog offers everything from radios, TVs, and lamps to shorts, running shoes and bath robes. All of these items, of course, cost money. Once you buy these catalog items, they go on your permanent property list and if during an audit or room inspection you are in possession of something that is not  on your list-it is confiscated and you chance being written up. Here is my entire property list with corresponding prices-

Alarm Clock-1  $16.89
Boxers-3 $4.31
Brush-1   $1.27
Comb-1   $ .38
Combination Lock-1 $6.70
Earbuds-1 $17.54
Fan-1 $29.05
Insoles-2 $15.32 (ea)
Mirror-2  $2.00
Moustache Scissors-1 $5.20
Nail Clippers-2 $ .72 (ea)
Athletic Socks-3 $1.14 (ea)
Sweatpants-2 $14.58(ea)
Sweatshirts-2 $14.58(ea)
15" Television-1 $286.42
New Balance Size 15 Shoe-1 $60.97
Thermal Shirts-2 $12.82(2)
Tweezer-1 $1.84
Watch-1 $23.38

As I write out what amounts to my entire prison net worth, you'll probably think how insignificant my possessions seem. What's amazing to me is how grateful I am for even the little things. Because I was moved between facilities so much in the beginning it took almost three months for me to get a pair of New Balance running shoes. I'd never be caught wearing them on the outside but as I workout every morning, I find myself being so grateful to just have a pair of shoes. And something as simple as a TV in your room can be a game changer. At $287.00 it would take an inmate with no outside financial support 15+ months of saving to afford a TV! Prison has given me perspective that I fear I never would have gained in any other circumstance.

The other way to spend money in here is on "canteen". We are provided three meals a day here but you can imagine- the meals are limited in their ability to satisfy the pallet (I hope that was politically correct enough).

If we want any snacks, additional food, toiletries and mail supplies, we order them via canteen each Wednesday. Canteen is a prison's version of going grocery shopping. (I've included a sample canteen list) The list is somewhat limited but prisoners are notorious for being creative with food. Some of the most popular items are soup (Top Ramen), coffee, Snickers, popcorn, cookies, Hot Cheetos, Ruffles, tuna, protein bars, Lean Meal, toothpaste, toothbrush, etc..But the most coveted item on all of canteen is the ICED HONEY BUN. At almost 800 calories, it is not uncommon to see inmates eat 3-4 a day. 

On any given week I typically spend $50-$70 on food. My regular order always consists of pack of tuna, protein bars, PB Snickers, Lean Meal and my absolute favorite-Welch's Fruit Snacks. Not only are they my downfall but they remind me of my two little nephews. Although since I've lost 38 lbs in here, they are easier to justify.

Canteen orders are delivered on Tuesday nights. It's always intriguing to me the change in energy level as the goodie bags are delivered. The entire facility acts like we're on top of the world. However, by Thursday or Friday when all of the food has been consumed, the loan sharks start circling the weak. By Friday, the price of a honey bun has skyrocketed to double what it was purchased for. It's a simple supply and demand scenario. Those who want the honey bun typically do not have the means to buy it so they commit future payback by 2X. So here within the walls of a prison, we have a futures market-capitalism thrives in all environments!

It is actually against the rules to barter or sell goods so OBVIOUSLY none of that goes on. If any of it were to go on, postage stamps are what would be considered the currency. They hold their value extremely well and so the exchange rate (hypothetically of course) is equal to the value of the stamp. As I previously mentioned, a honey bun also has tremendous value and could yield huge capital gains later in the week-all depending on relative global supply and the unhealthy commodities markets in general.

Gotta love prison!

Brandon Stephens, Weld County Jail, Wood Group, Sentenced, 5 Years, Prison, NFL, DRDC, Rifle Correctional Center, Colorado Department of Corrections, Jail, Judge Quammen, Steve Wrenn, Weld County, Executive, Oil, Gas, White Collar, Wood, BYU, Masters Degree, Colorado State University, SWIFT, Firefighter, Wildland, Sawyer, Fire, Inmate, Brandon Stokey, Miracles, Centennial Community Correctional Center, Delta Correctional Center, DRDC, Denver Diagnostic and Reception Center, Felony, Sallie Stephens, Greeley Tribune, Judge Thomas Quammen, DA Steve Wrenn, Weld County Court, Oil & Gas,. Halfway House, Centennial Community Correction Center, CCTC, Felon, 416 Fire, Silver Creek Fire, Spring Fire, Cabin Lake Fire