ANGELS RISING

BY EMMANUEL TENORIO

MEMBERS OF LATINO CLUB PRESENTING A THANK YOU GIFT TO JELLY ROLL. IMAGE SUPPLIED BY OREGON STATE PENITENTIARY

We've heard of fallen angels, but we don't really talk about things going the other way, with angels rising from hell. The light of an angel rising is like a beacon to all the others living in darkness who can witness it. It calls to the fallen with the promise of a better way.

I have a lot to remember about Jelly Roll when he came to OSP. I remember seeing him as he first walked through the security gate and passed through the old OSP walls. I remember him putting his arm around me for a picture after we presented him with some art. I remember his songs that hit close to home and I remember him taking the time to sign some of my art and my concert ticket.

They say the eyes are the window to the soul and when I looked into his eyes as he listened to me talk to him, I knew I had come face to face with true goodness. Whether he was a famous singer or a panhandler on the streets, I would have recognized this about him in any scenario because it is so much a part of him.

For many of us in prison we know what it's like to be a monster. I was like a tornado that destroyed everything and everyone around me. Their only offense being that they were in my path. Some may have trusted and thought themselves safe, others were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. What turns us into monsters? I guess there are different ways a monster can be born, but I remember knowing that I didn't have to be scared of monsters anymore when the monster was me.

If I had met Jelly Roll years ago, what would I have seen in his eyes? Would I have seen evil? Would I have seen a monster? I will never know, but what I do know is that he saw himself as a monster. He's lived in darkness and rather than be consumed by it, he flew out of hell. Not contenting himself with his elevated place, he has begun lowering ladders for others to follow. So, while he's rich and famous, I'd be happy if my eyes could just reflect half of the goodness I saw in his. His light will inspire many angels rising. | ET

EMMANUEL TENORIO WA BORN IN CALIFORNIA TO A FIFTEEN YEAR OLD MOTHER. FROMA YOUNG AGE, HE WITNESSED AND EXPERIENCED ABUSE — WHICH LED TO HIS HOSPITALIZATION AS A FOUR YEAR OLD. HE STARTING LASHING OUT AT A YOUNG AGE AND WAS ARRESTED AT 14 YEARS OLD. ART HAS BEEN A RECENT POSITIVE OUTLET.