As I listened to Jeremy Bates, the “Hope Dealer,” Wednesday, I thought about a lot of what he said. Making good choices can lead to good things, while making bad ones can be a stumbling block or deterrent for things later in life. I’ll admit that I’ve made good choices and bad choices in my life. Some have affected marriages; others have had an effect on my career.
But as he spoke about second chances, it wasn’t my own life I thought about.
“Life is about second chances,” Bates told students at Columbia Academy, East Marion High School and West Marion High School. “If you ever get a second chance, please do something a little differently than you did the first time. Those second chances are not unlimited.”
I immediately thought of my childhood friend, Billy. He struggled with issues in junior high and high school and went on to succeed at a career in law enforcement until he faced criminal charges. Granted, he didn’t commit assault, or kill someone, but what he did was a felony, at least in Ohio. Billy did not pay the court-ordered amount in child support to his ex-wife. He didn’t agree with a judgment. The amount he owed ended up being a felony.
Now although the situation is long cleared up, Billy still has a felony conviction on his record. His career in law enforcement is no longer possible. Billy, in turn, took his second chance to become a businessman and has succeeded in it. His mark in his community was so indelible that county commissioners back where I grew up appointed him to a service board in December. Unfortunately for Billy, despite his second chance, many resisted because he was, in his past, a felon.
Many people who don’t know Billy showed up at a county board meeting, some on his side and some demanding he be removed from his appointment. The whole thing has blown up as television stations have conducted investigations, and he’s been on the front pages of all the area papers.
Bates spoke about not only second chances, but for having the courage to do the right thing, even in difficult cases or when peer pressure is involved.
For my friend , it meant opening up about his past to several television interviewers. One of the county board members who once supported him has now withdrawn her support. What the outcome will be is unclear.
What I do know is that Billy tried to make the most of his second chance. He’s also speaking out about what he believes is the right thing to do. He feels his voice is needed on a local board as one of diversity. Billy, who is black, wants to serve his community, not based on race, but based on his experiences, which is commendable. Maybe a man with a felony conviction in his past can help add a dimension to a group that is supposed to be representative of his community.
Sometimes, admitting your past and telling the truth hurts, just as Bates told our area teens. Ultimately, the truth may cost my friend, Billy, his position on a board, but it will have happened with integrity, the same integrity Bates encouraged area teens to have in difficult situations.
I wish my friend Billy good luck in his quest for a second chance. I also wish our local teens well in their decisions as we enter prom and graduation season later this spring.
Keep in mind, that there may be a second chance, but that chance may not involve the opportunity that you want. Also keep in mind that some are not afforded a second chance and that a mistake in some regards, especially drinking and driving or drug use, could be fatal.
And remember, the words Bates told the students about life: “The struggle is real, but there is goodness in the struggle.”
Mark Rogers is managing editor of The Columbian-Progress. Reach him at news@columbianprogress.com.
