I spotted him standing in line a few yards from where I sat. “Now’s your chance,” I thought to myself. Mimicking those same thoughts were ones spoken aloud by my husband, Mike. “You better go now or you’ll lose your chance to talk to him,” he urged. That was all the motivation I needed.
I stood next to him and blurted out, “Howdy!”
He turned. I smiled.
He then greeted me with similar enthusiasm and a smile that warmed my heart.
I showed him my name tag, compliments of the Great North Innocence Project (GN-IP). This evening was their annual gala which had finally brought the two of us together.
“Does this name look familiar?” I inquired. He responded with a curious “No.” It was not too surprising, given that what I was about to share with him happened ten years ago in 2015. This exchange we were now sharing was long overdue.
I explained how I had recently come across correspondence he and I had while he was still incarcerated. “I was sifting through names of all the people who’ve reached out to me over the years through my website, A Matter of Facts, and I came across your name,” I explained.
Recollection was still absent from his face.
I continued. “I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw your name, especially after hearing about you in the news following your exoneration. And then…I freaked and wondered if I had bothered to respond back to you. So…I went digging through my emails and sure enough, I found the correspondence between us. I have to be honest. Back then I received a lot of messages from people looking for help and sadly, I was overwhelmed. As much as I tried, I could not respond to everyone. Your message was so kind and respectful so it was a huge relief to know that I hadn’t ignored you.”
Marvin Haynes* stood there reconciling the details of this long lost connection. “I do remember writing to you!” Familiarity flooded his memory. “Can you send those emails to me? I’d like to see them,” he said.
“Yes, of course,” I reassured him.
“Please, I’d like you to meet some of my friends and family. They’re just over there at that nearby table.” I said. “Plus I have something I’d like to give to you.”
“Sure,” said Marvin. I introduced my husband, Mike, my sister, Clare, a friend, Mark Charron, and finally, Keith Kutska, all of whom were delighted to meet my new friend.
I then pulled my last copy of Reclaiming Lives out of the cloth bag that was hanging on the backrest of a nearby chair. Marvin glanced at it. “You wrote this? I want to write my own book, too,” he said excitedly. “Well, maybe I can help you with that, give you a few pointers,” I offered. That would be great!” Marvin’s excitement grew. I explained that my contact information was inside the book and we agreed that we’d be in touch.
I asked Marvin if he’d pose with me for a photo. He agreed and Mike took the first picture. “Oh, I should be holding your book up for the next one,” Marvin declared.
An entire month passed before I finally got around to gathering the contents of those emails onto a word document which I sent to Marvin in a private message. I reiterated who I was and included the photo Mike had taken of us (with him holding my book) at the Benefit.
To my surprise, almost immediately, Marvin tagged me in the following post on social media:
Donate to Marvin’s GOFUNDME Campaign
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Sketch of Tom Monfils by Artist Jared Manninen
