Free Free Freed at Last Essay by Robert Rigler

The garden he took care of for twenty years took care of him.

The younger prisoners used to laugh at him when they would see him smiling and talking to the flowers as he weeded and hoed. They would ask: " What's up Old Timer?" His answer: "These flowers take me out of here sometimes and I don't feel like I'm in prison, I am free."

The count was off by one man; it was Old Timer. Everyone said the last time they saw him he was in his garden. They went out there and all they found was his ball and chain on the ground. The ankle bracelet was still locked. The guards searched everywhere. They knew that after 20 years in prison, Old Timer couldn't have really escaped. After all, he was old, out of shape, he had a bad heart, never got a write up, or got into trouble.

Some say that if you talk to his floweres they'll talk back; or if you look at his garden long enough you can see his smiling face in the flowers and plants.

Did Old Timer escapre, or did the flowers set him free? Who knows for sure, bu this year people signed up with the Horticultural project and they all asked if they could work Old Timer's plot.