The Legend of Ray Johnson - Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

In Part 1 of this story, I introduced you to Ray Johnson, the inspiration for the fictional character, Ray Folsom, who plays a pivotal role in my two novels, The Blue Team and Wardrobe Of The Wolf.

I met Ray in the summer of 1988 while he was in a Colorado prison, and I was playing for a Christian basketball team. Over the next 3 years we became pen pals. After finishing my final year of playing basketball at George Washington University, I bought an old station wagon and drove out to Colorado. It was May of 1991.

After finishing my final year of playing college basketball, I bought an old station

wagon and drove out to Colorado. It was May of 1991. Now that I was nearby I

could go visit Ray in prison, which I did. We became good friends.

A few months after arriving in Colorado I was fortunate enough to land a spot on

the coaching staff at the University of Colorado. I was thrilled to be starting what I

thought would be a long and illustrious career in coaching. Ray was excited for me

and our letters often discussed basketball.

In the fall I got a letter from Ray that explained he was once again eligible for early

parole. But there was one caveat. Because he had been released early to halfway

houses in the past, only to start drinking again and get sent back to prison, the

parole board would not allow him that option this time. He needed to go live with

someone, in a stable environment, in their home. And that someone couldn’t be one

of his old friends, an ex-con or a drinker. Ray asked me to help him find that home.

Me and Ray in Boulder living room

I couldn’t find anyone willing to take Ray and at the time I was sharing a dumpy

house in Boulder with two other roommates. There was no way they would be fine

with me inviting an alcoholic ex-con to come live with us.

Then my housemates informed they were both moving out at the end of the year.

After much prayer and contemplation, I decided to offer Ray the chance to live with

me. I was 23 years old, still quite immature, and had no idea what I was getting

into. But it was Ray. I had to try.

Ray immediately accepted the offer. I spoke briefly with his parole officer on the

phone. I thought many meetings to go over the logistics and rules regarding Ray’s

early release would follow. The parole officer seemed most concerned about guns

in my home. There were none. I was most concerned with him understanding I

couldn’t have Ray come live with me until the other renters moved out at the end

of December. We never spoke again.

The University of Colorado had a home game the night of December 6, 1991. I

was wearing my new blue blazer and khaki slacks, full of self-importance as I

patrolled the sidelines, observing our players warm up an hour before tip-off. I

turned to look into the stands, which were already filling up, and there, about 5

rows behind our bench was Ray. He smiled and waved at me.

Me coaching at the University of Colorado

I froze, hardly believing my eyes. What was he doing here? Had he escaped? And

what was I going to do? There were two guys still living in our house. After the

game I got the story from Ray. The department of corrections approved of his plan

to live with me, gave him a bus ticket and some money and sent him on his way.

I couldn’t let Ray sleep on the streets, and I didn’t have the money to pay for a hotel

room, so for the rest of the month he slept on the couch. I didn’t know what to say

to the other guys in the house, so I didn’t say anything. After a week they angrily

approached me, demanding to know who this old guy was sleeping on the couch

and how long would he be there.

I don’t recall my exact words but I’m sure they included something along the line

of me begging for their patience and grace as I tried to help my friend who just

happened to be an ex-con. The fact that I was trying to help Ray must have

appealed to their better natures because they didn’t kick Ray out and a tense truce

settled over the house for the next few weeks.

To be continued...